Well I think we have got the judge thing stired up good.There are some options and we can all agree that some of those options need to done sooner rather than later.
Now for another topic, what are your views on the sanctioning of contest. It seems to be that the current board has been using a rubber stamp for the most part without reguard for existing contest or weither or not a contest is ready. Examples would be approving contest where there is just not enough teams to support it. Should there be closer attention paid to other factors to ensure a sucssesful contest by the kcbs or just approve it and collect the money.:shock:
I'm getting to this late, after a weekend of catching up with the 'honey-do' list.
I've listened to the meetings after the fact, and in some cases I believe you were pleading your case. I believe I understand the issue, as well as your concern. The first part of my answer is that yes, we need to take a closer look based on recent experience and continued growth. My proposed solution would be regional sanctioning committees to provide information and suggestions to the BoD based on personal knowledge and experience. There should be no question that members within a given region would have sufficient contacts to assess the level of interest in proposed contests. That type of input would carry more weight with me when it was time to vote on sanctioning.
That being said, being the first contest in an area should not guarantee exclusive rights to a date or area of coverage. If an organizer wants to phone it in, after 'X' number of years, and someone else can put a better package together then I think the new organizer deserves a shot. I think that in that case, there needs to be a greater level of scrutiny to insure that the organizer is going to be able to produce what they promise. That burden should fall on the BoD and office staff (letters of agreement, contracts, etc...). The teams and judges will vote with their feet and checkbooks.
Going a step further, I know that there are issues and concerns about some of the larger contests with larger prize lists. There were conflicts with Sam's Club this year, and I know for a fact that some teams had to make choices regarding that series and the Royal for example. That shouldn't happen, and is avoidable with proper planning. Using regional committees I think that it would be possible to get enough information to determine what contests were considered to be "crown jewels" for each area and plan accordingly to avoid conflict. It doesn't guarantee that there won't be a conflict, but it's a step in the right direction and involves membership in the process.
I think it's possible to find more balance to benefit everyone, if EVERYONE is willing to contribute.