Membership Meeting May 15, 2016
Attendees:
Old Business:
Approve Minutes of November Meeting
- motion – Corinne Greenrod
- second – Shauna Hodges
Any other items carried over
- Spin clinic update – Partnering with Blue Knights – Mountain High SpinFest
- August 28 (Sunday) at Standley Lake High School
- For instructors and students
- Looking for instructional support
- More info will be posted on RMCGA as it becomes available
- Working out fee scale
Contest Items:
- Question was posed: Is there any way to have the same judges for the lower classes but have them switch for the upper classes?
- as our circuit grows we will need to re-think the schedule for championships
- this year we had 62 units perform at championships
- a shorter day may save the circuit money (related to paying for personnel)
Budget Items:
- Review Budget from 2016 and discuss options for 2017
- The budget does not reflect championships as we have not yet received the bill
- Judges were the biggest cost – over budget
- $10,000 in airfare alone
- lost money on the regional this year
- WGI raised fees this year
- WGI does not offer price breaks for seniors/students but the circuit tries to make show attendance more affordable, but spectators continue to complain about the ticket prices
- Comment from the floor: Regarding out-of-state judges, maybe we should limit them to WGI certified judges rather than just “out-of-state”.
- Added only bringing judges in once per season
- Another comment regarding requiring our local judges to get certified using the WGI judging academy that was discussed last year ($125 for levels 1&2) – online training
- Schedule additional trainings using WGI qualified judges who are in town for shows
- The membership agrees that they would prefer to have the local judges go through the training in order to provide the highest quality of adjudication
- This was discussed at the November meeting, but there was pushback and it was not pursued this year
- Since it is too late for a proposal, could this be tabled to the board?
- Saving $$ from paying for out-of-state judges could enable the circuit to help pay for the training for in-state judges which could help to grow the judging talent locally and save $$ for the circuit
- End of season rebate for completing the trainings and judging a certain number of shows
New Business:
- BK experience – July 9
- GM Kuzma
- 9am-5pm
- winds, percussion, color guard, drum majors, etc.
- available for all levels of experience
- $40, $50 at the door (with ticket) or $20, $30 at the door (without ticket) fee covers: Tshirt, lunch, dinner, a ticket to DATR as part of the package (but may opt out)
- directors are invited to attend as instructors
- Spark – for marching band
- $75 gets dinner and a prime seat at DATR
- inside the stadium on the club level
- how to make your band better
- music & sound
- amplification & electronics
- visual design
- GM Kuzma
- DVDs from previous years are available for a donation
Judging Items: Kevin – unable to attend
- Some people emailed Kevin directly with judging concerns
- Concern regarding getting inappropriate feedback for the class using the sheets
- Unprofessional comments on judging tapes
- We need a place to voice those concerns regarding judges
- Use the WGI judging evaluation form – formatted as a Google Doc and link on the website
- How or when do these concerns get addressed? There have been concerns stated previously but the judges continue to be hired.
- Suggestion for the board to have a say in hiring and setting the judging panels for the season.
- Chief Judge is appointed and applications should be accepted every year…the last time applications were solicited was 2 years ago.
- Suggestion to allot a certain amount of money for judges per show so the budget is not maxed out within the first half of the season.
- Currently the circuit goes through a travel agent, Kevin books the airfare and hotel, then notifies Peggy to pay
- We need more checks and balances from the Board
Class review:
- Cadet – a place for groups to start with exposure to winter guard
- Something cute and fun
- Most of the members were children of RMCGA staff
- Discussion about not judging them and scoring them…rank if more than 1 participant
- Novice – middle school class
- Most of the guard is in middle school with the possibility of 1-2 high schoolers (on a case-by-case basis)
- Regional A – entry level class
- Largest class in the circuit
- Uses Regional A sheets
- Scholastic A
- 2nd largest class in the circuit
- uses Scholastic A sheets
- Scholastic Open, Scholastic World, then all independent classes mirror the Scholastic classes…
- Discussion about the progression over the past few years…we had national classes then the membership voted to get rid of them, units continued in Novice for several years…lol
WGI Regional:
- WGI is looking to double the regionals for 2017, which may impact our request for judges throughout the season, but the schedule has not yet been set
- WGI Denver Regional is scheduled for XXXXX
- We need to start looking at contest venues within 150 miles from Denver.
- If you know of a site that could host on a Saturday from February __ – March __, please notify Kendra ASAP. WGI asks Kendra which weekends we have a site available.
- RMCGA is the host and pays the fees
- The site is reimbursed by RMCGA.
- Needs to seat 1500 – 2000
- May get preferential
- Seeing as how we lost money, is it still worth it to host a regional in Denver?
- Dakota Ridge is tentatively listed as the location
- WGI board meeting is next weekend so we may get more info at that time
Proposed Contest Schedule for 2017:
- January 21, 2017 – eval?
- January 28, 2017
- February 4, 2017
- February 11, 2017
- February 18, 2017
- February 25, 2017
- March 4, 2017
- March 11, 2017
- March 18, 2017
- March 25, 2017
- RMCGA Championships – first hold at DU for April 1st
- WGI World Championships –
Discuss and vote on proposals:
- Proposal 1 discussion (member-at-large): each member should be from a different class level (similar to former task force) in order to add more voices from the membership to Board decisions
- Motion to vote for amended proposal
- Yes: 39 – passed
- No: 0
- Proposal 2 discussion (board affiliation): it is important for the board to vote for the best interests of the entire circuit; it was previously voted in as a result of Solstice having 3 representatives on the board; is a family member (Peggy) having a grandchild in Solstice cadets considered an affiliation;
- Yes: 27 – passed
- No: 9
- Proposal 3 discussion (contest locations): what would be defined as each location?; what do we do about locations that do not have applications to host in a specific month?; what if another school has a better location?, what about the western slope? – we have never sent a complete system over – Francisco provided a floor and speakers; Friday night shows are also possibilities for hosting, however it runs into problems with getting guards to go to the show & getting supplies to each show
- “south” – Castle Rock south
- “north” – 136th north
- Yes: 16
- No: 21 – not passed
- Proposal 4 discussion (contest determination): Athletic Directors don’t know schedules for spring ahead of time; a few ADs prefer to have schedules set before August; how do other circuits have the opportunity to get a schedule set before September 1?
- Conest sites are decided by November 1st giving priority to the schools that apply by that time and by best facility; if another school applies for the same date after November 1st they will not trump the earlier application
- Kristina withdrew the proposal
- Proposal 5 discussion (championship format): current judging dinner is 30 minutes, however doing a single performance then awards would reduce the time needed for scheduling; some guards enjoy the possibility of 2 shows; the kids aren’t complaining about the schedule, it is the parents; could impact the judging schedule; the WGI caliber guards are not being exposed to prelims/finals; having a “1 and done” show hinders the larger classes because even with rounds things can flip; this may be the only time that all guards are performing together; it would be nice to give the kids an opportunity to have the retreat experience without waiting until 10pm or 11pm; need to consider federal driving laws for transportation;
- Yes: 13
- No: 25 – not passed
- Proposal 6 discussion (judge evaluations): unit directors would complete the survey by the 2nd week after WGI; evaluations are submitted to the board so they can be edited for validity; results could be discussed at the May membership meeting
- As amended
- Yes: 40 – passed
- No: 0
- Proposal 7 discussion (judge concerns): this situation could be remedied by the implementation of a monthly evaluation
- Amended to go to the Board then passed to the Chief Judge
- Yes: 36 – passed
- No: 1
- Proposal 8 discussion (Regional A split):
- Submitting member did not attend – withdrawn
- Proposal 9 discussion (Promotions after Championships): is this being done to even out the classes or to allow the students to be successful in a higher class?; if you are promoted after championships you go into your marching season knowing that you are preparing for the higher class; many programs are consistently rebuilding; who would review the letters of extenuating circumstances? – the board
- Yes: 26 – passed
- No: 7
- Proposal 10 discussion (Promotions after Championships): a new instructor would be considered an extenuating circumstance; only applies to prelim/finals guards
- Yes: 23 – passed
- No: 1
- Proposal 11 discussion (Cadet class): cadet class was created just for young kids without being competitive; never voted on by the membership as a proposal; Adam wrote a proposal last year that separated out Middle School and Novice and was tabled to the board; the board discussed it and determined that all Novice was comprised of middle schoolers and would be combined under Novice
- Amended to state that Cadet class remains, Middle School (8th grade and below) is a feeder class (complete the scholastic letter), and Novice is restructured to include high school students
- Yes: 35 – passed
- No: 0
- Proposal 12 discussion (Novice class): 1st or 2nd year is clarified as new director or first year having a winter guard; how will it be monitored?
- Amended: remove 1st or 2nd year units to state units that are beginners or unable to compete at the RA level (instructor’s discretion)
- Yes: 34 – passed
- No: 1
- Proposal 13 discussion (Scholastic AA class): units promoted from RA to SA during the season were not competitive with current SA units; previous use of the National classes shows that they were not successful as intended; some current RA guards may move to the new Novice class and SA guards may move to RA; guards are not required to attend the evaluation show, so who is responsible for determining which guards can be in each class?; additional classes will result in additional cost for medals and banners and awards
- Yes: 5
- No: 26 – did not pass
- Proposal 14 discussion (Promotion): the board will make the final decision; the circuit does not have a Chief Judge that can be trusted to make the decisions regarding class placement; the current promotion policy was proposed at a time when the circuit had the national classes; look at how many times groups have been promoted and how successful the unit was
- Amended proposal – dismissing current promotional scores then the rest is tabled to the board
- Yes: 39 – passed
- No: 0
Elections:
Vice President nominee(s) – Jenn Carrasco
- Nominations from the floor:
- Jenn accepted the position
Secretary nominee(s) – Jeff Hargis – withdrew nomination, Corinne Greenrod
- Nominations from the floor:
- Corinne accepted the position
Member-at-Large nominee(s) – Marvin Goodwin (Novice/RA/SA), Adam Abraham (Novice)
- 1 year term – 3 positions from different classes
- Nominations from the floor: Danniel Isaac (RA/SA/IA), Liz Haan (IRA/IA), Ashley Cook (RA/SA/IA)
Current Board members: Vince Hodges (President) – Solstice, Jenn Carrasco (VP) – Pomona, Pomona JV, Malachi, Jonette Dukart (Secretary) – no affiliation, Peggy Sparks (Treasurer) – no affiliation, Member-at-Large – Anthony Mondragon
- New board positions will take effect July 1, 2016
- Current board members will work with incoming members until then
Items to carry over:
- eAdjudicate requirements for local judges
- Board may need to have a greater say in hiring the judges and helping to set the judging panels for the competition season
- Solicit feedback on out-of-state judges from unit directors
- Discuss promotion requirements
Motion to adjourn: Jenn Carrasco
2nd: Shauna Hodges