Attendees
Kirk Krack, Mandy Cruickshank, Tom Lightfoot, Ken McCallum. Perry Gladstone joined the meeting via phone.
Call to Order
This meeting was held at the Watersports Exchange store in Vancouver. The meeting was called to order at 7:06 pm.
Meeting Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved unanimously by the board subject to a correction on the website for the date of the June ERC.
Budget
Mandy reported that the budget is still not complete. Mandy has approached Mike Jones about doing the books. He sounded willing but did state that he is quite busy. Tom will approach a former co-worker who may be willing and able to do the job.
Pacific Cup of Freediving
Kirk reported that Canada’s women’s team came in 3rd and the men’s team came in 10th. While there were a few problems, the competition was well organized. It is likely though that the competition lost money. Mandy urged that the team arrive at the competition site a week beforehand in order to adjust to the time zone and local conditions.
Team Captains
Kirk has been considering competing. To that end, he brought up the possibility of someone else coaching Team Canada and the topic of coach selection. The board agreed that a prospective coach should have:
- Previous experience on Team Canada
- Training/coaching experience
The above criteria limits the potential coaching candidates down to the following individuals:
- Kirk Krack
- Dan Hodgins
- Ken Parkin
- Peter Scott
- Perry Gladstone
Sponsorship of Nationals and Team Canada
Perry has talked to the Vice President of IMG Canada. IMG manages figure skating and curling in Canada. Perry was cautiously optimistic and the Vice President of IMG is awaiting a written proposal from CAFA.
Perry has three other places to which he can take proposals. Mandy also suggested Saturn and clothing and swimwear companies.
Perry will get the sponsorship package together in coordination with Kirk. Perry will also approach Jason Bellows about being CAFA’s ‘PR Guy’ as he is a writer and public relations freelancer.
Fundraising
In previous emails on the list, Jim Barnes has suggested a joint effort with the Canadian Lung Association as a fundraising possibility. Perry stated that we need to define exactly what such an event would be. The agreed upon concept would be a one day event where freedivers across the country would do some form of breath-holding activity.
Mandy will write up a description of the event and submit it to the board at the next meeting.
Courses
Perry proposed that CAFA create a ‘turn key’ Introduction to Freediving course that could be taught by members in remote areas as a means of promoting the sport and recruiting new participants. Kirk explained that all courses should be taught by qualified instructors and for now, new participants will have to rely on the web site content, specifically the ‘online brochure’ once developed and the Safe Diving Practices document.
Worlds 2003
Kirk reported that Turkey is still planning on hosting the 2003 World Championships. However, many in the international community doubt Turkey’s ability to host the competition. If Turkey fails then it is hoped that some other country will be able to host the competition. If the Worlds falls through completely then the biggest competition of 2003 would be the competition in Cyprus that the UK is hosting on the May 24 weekend. As this conflicts with the CAFA Nationals, it may be necessary to postpone Nationals in order to allow a Canadian representation.
After some discussion, the board decided to wait until January to see how the situation was progressing. If Cyprus is going to be the ‘world’ event then Nationals will be delayed.
Clubs
There are currently four clubs that either have registered with CAFA or are in the process of registering.
- Toronto has registered and is listed on the CAFA web site
- Ottawa has registered with all their paperwork
- Calgary will send in their paperwork soon
- Vancouver will send in their paperwork soon
Regional Competitions
The Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver clubs all want to host pool-only competitions during the winter. Kirk proposed that the rules for regional competitions be changed to allow a minimum of at least two of the following disciplines:
- Static
- Dynamic
- Constant Ballast
Such a change would allow competitors to gain at least some official ranking in regions and/or times where holding a constant ballast competition is impractical.
The board voted unanimously for the above proposal. Kirk will update the rules document.
SFU Program
Kirk announced that the SFU Advanced Freediving Clinic is going ahead for the third year in a row. Pool time is booked for every Wednesday from 8 to 10pm, starting on January 18th. Class times will be from 6:30 to 7:30.
Prices are still to be determined.
Competition Software
Doug Peterson, an AIDA judge from USA wants a copy of the competition program that John Nunes wrote for the 2002 Nationals. John has made the program free for use but there is no user documentation and John is out of the country until December. In the meantime, Tom has agreed to write up a user manual and add a CAFA logo to the program before it is delivered to Doug Peterson.
Past President Position
Kirk proposed that CAFA create a board position called ‘Past President’ when it becomes appropriate. This would be a temporary board position to be held by an outgoing President for one year. This would be a voting position.
The board voted on the proposal and it was passed unanimously.
Miscellaneous
- Mandy is to give the membership spreadsheet to Tom so that he can start the automated renewal reminders.
- Ken will send the AGM vote tallies to Tom so that he can finish the AGM minutes.
- Tom hasn’t created the survey yet.
- Perry has completed his ‘Out Front’ segment for CBC Radio. It will air on November 27th.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm. The next meeting will be held on the 12th of December.