MNOC Board Meeting Minutes: January 2006
Date: January 11, 2006
Host: Ian Harding
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 P.M.
Present: Ian Harding, Julia Bohnen, Stephen Bullard, Mike Carlson, Pete Curtis, Jim Dickerson, Sam Meddaugh, Andrea Schneider, Frank Hanson.
- Approval of minutes
From one of our members we had positive feedback on the openness of our minutes and how democratic our
organization is. Pete had some questions as to the publishing on the web of the addresses of where the
meetings are taking place, especially as these are the private addresses of members. The consensus was to
eliminate these data from the minutes that are published on the web. Mike made the motion to approve the
November 2005 minutes, seconded by Julia, accepted unanimously.
- Recent and Upcoming Events
We have no recent events to report from. The discussion continued with the upcoming events.
Afton (Jan. 15) - (including our first ever Nordic AR) with various possibilities for competing.
At this time it is anticipated that the competition may take place on foot due to lack of snow, or else ski
the course and take off the ski on the snow-less areas. There was ample discussion on the impact the lack of
snow may have on the event, and the changes that would have to be made. Only 12 competitors are registered at
this time for the Nordic AR, with a 10 A.M. mass start. Regular meet starts at 12 Noon (ready to start the
early arrivers 11:45 A.M.), with starts continuing until 1 P.M.
Nerstrand (Feb. 12) - Mike and Julia. At this time it is not known if the park will be staffed
that weekend. If the park is not staffed, Ian will take care of bringing wood and possibly a lean-on for
warm-up if needed. There was again ample discussion as to the feasibility of Ski-O and Snowshoe-O
competitions when trails are not groomed and poor snow conditions.
The overall future of Ski-O competitions was discussed at length, considering the fact that there are
few parks in the area with good ski conditions and a good network of trails. Parks were discussed that
have networks of XC trails as a difference to pure XC loops, making it too easy from an orienteering
point of view. The possibility for having shelter, as well as our past experiences at Telemark, with
the more varied terrain possibilities, were also addressed.
Hyland (Mar. 25) - Ian will get in touch with Three Rivers Park and REI regarding the Skill
Development Clinic. The fee is still to be determined and will be publicized, registration will be set
up on-line. A "How to Teach Orienteering" session will be offered again this year. The Three Rivers Parks
parking fees and regulations were addressed briefly, also with respect to the impact that would have on
the attendance by groups like the JROTC. There was additional discussion centered around the schedule,
the need for setter and vetter and the other jobs that need to be done at this event.
2006 Adventure Race (July 8) - Ian will be the race director, with the site remaining undisclosed (Ian
is excited about the place). General information will be publicized for PR reasons and in order to be able
to rally enough volunteers for this event. A very general location will be announced earlier than Friday
night prior to the event, so as to give participants a feel for how far they need to travel to the event.
The event will be advertised on "Midwest Events" and in "Silent Sports."
- 2006 Schedule Update - Rogaine Site, AR Events, Meet Directors
All but the AR series sites and Telemark have been approved. The schedule is ready to be posted on the
website and published. Permits for the Friday evenings AR series are being worked on. Everyone is looking
forward to Stephen’s AR Spring and Fall series. The main concern is that on one hand people can leave work
and get there in time, but also that it does not get too dark and late in the night. Number of participants
for these events have been as high as 90 in the past.
The Rogaine option in conjunction with the Badger Orienteering Club is postponed. A possible site for the
MNOC 2006 Rogaine is the Pillsbury State Forest, located close to our members Heather and Owen Baird.
Meet directors are needed for all events. Current commitments are: Mike and Julia as setter, vetter and
meet directors for Lake Maria, Ian setter at Lebanon Hills, Andrea as meet director for Afton, Julia for Lake
Elmo, Pete as director for William O'Brien, Stephen will take care of the spring AR series, Andrea as director
for Willow River. These are good starts, but we need more helpers to pitch in with all the 2006 events.
- E-Punching for 2006 events
Night-O will use E-punching. Ian is looking into E-punching for a sprint at the Hyland Clinic, as
an attraction for members, practice for the AR sprint series, as well as people that want to move into
more advanced orienteering. Pete will use E-punching for the competitions he sets or vets. JROTC will at
this time not use E-punching for their courses. It would be nice to be able to use the technology at least
4-5 times a year. Using E-punching depends a lot on how comfortable the setter and vetter team are with
using E-punching. The setting/vetting class still needs to be scheduled, and Ian proposes also teaching
a section on using OCAD 8 for experienced setters.
- Finances and Insurance
Sam presented the two-year budget report. The latest membership list has also been mailed out to our
members. The consensus was to roll over the CD. There was further consideration of possibly investing in a
second $10,000 CD.
Sam further presented the 2005 Meet Data as required by USOF and the insurance. The Hyland Clinic was
discussed, especially as this is not an orienteering event as such, but rather an education event with
various stations, co-sponsored by REI and Three Rivers Parks.
All the insurance fee distributions were discussed, and how this would affect group membership rates.
New this year is that all groups with group memberships need to supply the number of participants within
their groups, and all these members will be used towards the calculation of MNOC's annual insurance fee.
With large groups, especially for those with inconsistent or low attendance for the majority of the
participants, this will tremendously affect the MNOC’s insurance fee. After a long discussion on the
various configurations of members, groups, fees, number of starts, etc. at meets there was consensus that
the group membership rates may have to be revisited, with the possibility of having different membership
fees for different group sizes. The possible impact on the participation of the JROTC schools and youth
was discussed at length with Frank; it is worthwhile looking into whether USOF has special provisions
for JROTC groups. After a rapid computer calculation using the presented 2005 meet data and current map
expenses, Pete suggested that at this time we may be close to a break-even point and thus proposed
for the discussion on Group Membership fees to be postponed until fall. Sam will nevertheless have to inquire
from groups the number of their members, including how many intend to participate in MNOC events, and
will contact them by e-mail.
- Newsletter
Pete purchased PrintShop Deluxe and installed it. There are some problems with the creation of pdf files,
the final quality being pixelated and the file size being very large. Pete needs to investigate the reasons
for this, leaving this to be a work in progress.
- Alliances
We have good alliances going with REI, JROTC and other organizations.
Ian explained the meaning of "statutory park boundary" on maps, which however does not mean that the
land enclosed in this boundary land is actual park land. The Parks and Trails Council of MN is a group
working towards land being preserved for public and park uses, working against the release of land to
large developments. An alliance between MNOC and the Park and Trails Council of MN would mean that we
could have causes of the PTC supported by our members, especially if it means to support MNOC interests,
like the maps we have developed and may become unusable if areas are sold to developers.
Julia made the motion to join the Park and Trail Council of MN, seconded by Andrea. There was additional
talk about reasons to join various organization, like "Friends of..." organizations, community organizations,
etc., and the pros and cons, and benefits to the MNOC of such membership. The motion to join the Parks
and Trails Council of MN passed with 8 yea and 1 nay vote. This membership can be revisited in one year.
Ian is in contact with the PE Department of the U of M.
- Etiquette and First Aid
Ian presented a draft with a number of guidelines. Motion was made by Pete, seconded by Mike, to
adopt the "Orienteering Etiquette" document. There was discussion on all points, but especially on
adding statements as to the right-of-way, specifically for horses. It was further specified that the
waiver of the course fees for volunteers would require some meaningful volunteering what time commitment
is concerned (e.g., not just carrying one box to a car). The motion passed unanimously. The "Orienteering
Etiquette" document will be posted on the web.
First Aid at events was addressed briefly. Ian had looked into how other clubs handle this issue.
No further action was taken at this time.
- Park Liaison Discussions
Theodore Wirth (POC extension.)
Lebanon Hills (POC and O classes for Dakota County) - letter to director of parks, offer of POC
for their brand new nature center. Our map will have to be updated, as the park has changed the routing of
their horse trails and ski trails. There was extended discussion on the park regulations and how these impact
the planning for our events.
Standing Cedars - would like to have a POC and are located on the east side of the St. Croix River,
in Wisconsin.
Camp Stearns - wants to upgrade the map, and the work is in progress.
- Web Site - New Website Report, Rankings, Attackpoint
New web site is up and running. Pete was complimented by all on a fine job. Advance testing has helped
remove problems, and some small problems have been removed after the launching. Route Gadget has been
added as a feature.
2005 Rankings for "Blue" and "Red" are available. Caveats: we are at the lowest level of consistency, e.g.,
we do not always have blue courses, we have people that go to a highly varying number of meets. Various types
of ranking were discussed, like for a particular year, rolling for the past, e.g., 15 meets, etc. Sam will
supply past Minnegoat data to Pete, so that a 5 year Minnegoat ranking could be generated.
5 MNOC members are currently registered on Attackpoint. In addition to being able to record their own
practice logs for various sports, the web-site also has numerous discussions going on about other
clubs' events, USOF issues, etc.
- Mapping
Afton - updated by Ian as 11x17, with winter trails. Plamen is working on the William O’Brian
and Camp Stearns maps. A new map for the AR 2006 location is being developed. Ian purchased a professional
version of Alltopo, providing a much better resolution. Lebanon Hills needs updating, the 2006 Rogaine site
(Pillsbury State Forest) needs to be created. A XC ski group contacted Ian for a Willow River map, which
they wanted updated for XC skiing purposes. The group, though, did not want to purchase a license for this
map; further talks may be pursued in the future. Telemark is interested in a POC and a resort map, possibly
to be sold by the resort. High quality aerial photos, including those recently released for Wisconsin,
were discussed as a basis for new maps, especially if used efficiently with OCAD. Stephen proposed the
Woodland Trails Park of Elk River for creating a new map. Other suggestions for new maps: the Interstate
Park on the Wisconsin side; the area around the Wild Mountain Ski Resort north of Taylor Falls, MN.
- MNOC Sponsorship of Groups and Events
A team of 4 MNOC members are participating in the Primal Quest expedition AR and has approached MNOC for
sponsorship. MNOC has been approached by other individuals and groups for sponsorship, and there was extensive
discussion about what kind of sponsorship MNOC can or should provide to members. It was also discussed what
kind of things to sponsor, and the general consensus was to promote primarily involvement in USOF and
orienteering/navigational events, like the past sponsorship of a young member to participate at an
international orienteering event. The team of 4 to PQ can be helped in
that MNOC can provide them with the navigation certification required for the participation, in turn
they can wear MNOC T-shirts and thus provide visibility for our organization.
The next meeting will be in March 2006, date still needs to be determined, at Mike’s.
The meeting adjourned at 10:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Schneider
January 2006
|
