2021 is my last year of USAWS

[JeffSurdej]

Usaws. It’s hard to quantify what awsa gets. Nothing directly. Awsa gets the benefits that usaws provide us as the NGB. From what I’m hearing this safesport requirement is going to be something all sports will have to do in the near future. Mandated from congress not USOC. I’m going to ask HQ to perhaps list all USOC benefits. We did this about 4 years ago and it helped show the benefits. Not all the regulations we’ve seen over the years are USOC driven. Sone like MVR are insurance driven as well.

[Jody_Seal]

@JeffSurdej

Let's see $250k from a government entity.

Where can this information be had?

Again where does it benefit me or any of us as skiers?

Why does the awsa need a overseer entity such as usaws?

 

I am looking for my usoc benefits.

How much a year does that executive director make ?

I would say that $250k a year pretty much gets eaten up by that guys salary!

 

Is there a dedicated usaws business office? Where is that?

Got any photos?

 

Again let's see for awsa any elite team member gets their health insurance paid for, is this true?

 

Where does that $250k benefit me? And i still have to pay out $90 a year for membership. $10 a year for state membership. Now $25:a year to be on the "RANKINGS LIST" on top of drivers background check another $7 a year

As a judge and driver $10 a year for clinics . Add another $100 a year for Mrs. Jody as she is a senior scorer.

 

And now you voluntold me to undergo government socialistic indoctrination that has the potential for retaining personal information

All to volunteer and pay in upwards of $10k a year in travel costs so as that some other skiers can get their rankings list score.

 

I think that there are many others that will no longer participate and this organization will loose far more then $250k a year..

 

 

[MISkier]

It seems the bill driving the mandate was a highly bipartisan initiative and may not have been the result of any particular political leanings or abandonment of democracy.

 

 

 

 

[skierjp]

When did WTF become a button like Awesome or Like. That is so jacked up. No wonder our world is screwed up. That's about enough for me to consider my involvement with BOS.

[JeffSurdej]

@Jody_Seal lets try this challenge, if awsa were to break away from USAWS, list 5 things we would not have to pay for or have regulations to if we became our own governing body? We would still need insurance, a staff, still be subject to protect our athletes against sexual abuse, etc, etc.

[jgills88]

@Jody_Seal You've made the claim a few times in this thread, but the USOC is an independent entity that gets no funding from the US government. It is NOT a government entity

[Jody_Seal]

@jgills88

https://www.google.com/amp/s/federalnewsnetwork.com/sports-news/2019/07/overhaul-would-give-congress-power-to-fire-usopc-board/amp/

 

 

2.2 million federal grant??

You sure?

[klindy]

@Jody_Seal in the article you posted it says -

 

“The USOPC, which receives no federal funding, gave $3.1 million in 2018 and NGBs doubled their pledge to a total of $2 million.

 

Last year, Congress provided a $2.2 million grant to the center that was spread over three years and could not be used for investigations.”

 

The grant was to the Center for Safe Sport which is, I believe, a separate organization from the USOPC. @jgills88 was specifically talking about the USOPC as I read his comment.

[usawaterskiHQ]

This is Nate Boudreaux, Executive Director of USA-WSWS, I've read through a number of these comments and felt it was appropriate to respond to clarify some misconceptions/inaccuracies that I've seen in this thread. The below will be added to the FAQ on our website soon but should help to address a few things.

 

Q- USA-WSWS requiring members do Safe Sport training because the USOPC is making them?

No. USA-WSWS is joining 15 other NGBs by voluntarily introducing requirements on members to complete SafeSport training. Given the family nature of our sport, there are very few events that exclude children. Additionally, unobservable and uninterruptible one-on-one interactions that take place between minor athletes and adult participants within our sport create vulnerabilities for sexual abuse and misconduct to occur. By requiring awareness training, USA-WSWS is taking proactive measures to create a safe and positive environment for all members on and off the water.

 

Q- If USA-WSWS was not part of the USOPC we would not be required to do Safe Sport training?

Federal law (effective in 2018) broadly applied many minor athlete abuse protections and requirements to many amateur sports organizations (not just USOPC NGBs), and requires those organizations to adopt child abuse prevention procedures and implement training programs for adult members, and the SafeSport programs provide USA-WSWS with the tools to accomplish these obligations.

 

Additionally, I wanted to clarify how much $$ we've received from the USOPC over the last 2 years and what those funds were used for, etc. The below does not consider any USOPC insurance benefit for our elite athletes (six athletes receive health insurance coverage thru the USOPC) or Operation Gold payments (prize money supplied by the USOPC for 1st-4th place open male and female finishers at the Masters Water Ski Tourney or/Pan Am Games).

 

2020

• Administrative Grant ($25k for compliance staff person and $25k for 3rd party financial firm)- $50,000

• Covid-19 Relief Grant (half restricted for high performance/elite athletes; which we plan to offer thru an USA-WSWS elite athlete grant in 2021) - $32,400

• Digital Media Agreement (move website to Team USA platform) $50,000

o USOPC covers cost of cyber insurance since we moved to their platform (budget relief) $3,200

 

2020 Total: $135,600

 

2021

• Administrative Grant ($25k for compliance person and $25k for 3rd party financial firm)- $50,000

• Digital Media Agreement (move website to Team USA platform) $50,000

 

2021 Total: $100,000

 

I'm also happy to address any USA-WSWS members concerns over Safe Sport and/or the USOPC relationship. Feel free to email me at nboudreaux@usawaterski.org or call my direct line at 863-508-2095. We do appreciate your membership and your passion for the sport of water skiing.

 

Nate Boudreaux

Executive Director

USA-WSWS

 

[klindy]

So about $12 per member for 2020 and $9 per member for 2021 (YTD). And that doesn’t include the insurance benefit or prize money contributed either. Or any additional costs involved with engaging a third party program like SafeSport (or actually SafeSport) to meet federal requirements.

[lpskier]

@skierjp Water skiing was “invented” in Lake City, Minnesota, not Winter Haven, FL. If you meant to say “organized water skiing” began in Winter Haven, you may well be right. I remember visiting AWSA HQ in Winter Haven in the early 1970’s.

[JackQ]

@usawaterskiHQ Nate, 100K for the website!, not to drag up that topic again.... But we should ask for the 100K back from whomever executed it, as unfortunately it is the least user friendly/unintuitive website I have experienced in years. But, this should be a separate tread.

[klindy]

@JackQ not sure where you got the 100k figure. But more importantly, we GET PAID by USOPC to use their website template.

[hammerski]

Just took the course, it’s 95% common sense, 5% insight into how pervs operate and what to look out for. It’s more like 2 hours for all modules because you have to wait for the lengthy video to play, when you can read each transcript in about 5 mins max. Training videos like these are really annoying. They always seems to get the slooowwwest talkers, like we’re reading lips or something. The average person can read 3-4 times faster than a person talks. Add a slow talker to it makes it even worse. My .02, if they let someone like Horton do it it would be done in 40 mins!

[Not_The_Pug]

My opinion on this training for all members, it is excessive. If they need oversight at tournaments, why not just make this part of our official's training? Anyone that is an official gets the training every few years as a requirement and it is not a burden to new members signing up for a tournament. I'm not talking about a full training, you can always do a condensed version in 30 min or less.

 

For most these types of training, I just bring up two screens and take the test (pass) and let the video or time count down for the prescribed time for each module (do other tasks while waiting to move to next module). As others have said most these things are common sense.

[UCFskier]

with the increase in cases involving adult coach/athletes and youth there needs to be some form of action. doing nothing is not a strategic approach for lessening the liability our organization will face. everyone on this board/forum is well aware of the not too distant sanction which was levied against one of our sports top athletes (right or wrong not looking to argue this one again). so what should a governing body to protect the competitive sport from being sued into non-existence?

 

seems like a small price to pay for piece of mind and protection of the sport.

[Deanoski]

BYE BYE Tournament skiing

 

coaches and maybe official's but this is going to kill the sport again.

 

IMO

 

[Swerve200]

This thread is hard to read. All I can think is how water skiing is slowly dying and it won't take much more to finish it for good. Happy that I was able to participate during the peak and the lifelong friends I've made in the process.

 

No offense to this forum, but it's not productive.

[Jody_Seal]

 

[Golfguy]

It seems to me that the bill says "required to promptly report" not subject to mandatory training. Is there any clarification to this? I think many reasonable good intentioned people will view this as another impingement on their civil liberties and vote with their feet. We as a group should come up with an alternative to this heavey handed top down governance in our sport. A feeling of helplessness seems to be a common thread in this conversation.

[lpskier]

If you don’t like Safe Sport, you’ll really hate having to wear the kill switch lanyard every time you drive your boat.

[ForrestGump]

again, it goes back to how to do validate any program? They'll never be able to police lanyards. Ever.

[lpskier]

I understand that the Coast Guard is already working with Sure Path on a kill switch link so that if the kill switch isn’t securely fasted to your wrist or belt, you will get + or -40 buoy and zone at PG, G and B1-6 and ZO will give you slow out of tolerance boat times, except in practice where times will be hot.

[skiinxs]

@lpskier Now that is funny!! (I don't care who ya are.....get er done)

[ral]

It is interesting, though, that the boiling frog thing is a myth.

[liquid d]

I swear to GOD this is the year I quite sniffing glue too!

[dbutcher]

Check out the IWWF licensing requirement described on the USAWS&WS website. I only read it hurriedly; but it sounds like if you want to ski in a record tournament, you must buy an IWWF license ($25 for a year or $7 for one tournament). This applies even if the skier doesn't care if he/she gets on the world standings list or not. You have to have it just to participate in the tournament. If I am interpreting correctly, we continue to make skiing harder and more expensive for ourselves in multiple NEW ways. So if we have a record tournament at our lake, I have to buy an IWWF license or not ski in our own tournament. I hope sponsors add a class C tournament to their record sanction application.

[Broussard]

@dbutcher The license is required if you would like your scores to go to the world standings list (Class L or R). If you don't care about this, you can ski Class E or Class C.

 

See more discussion here:

https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/24792/are-entry-fees-going-up-for-2021/p1

[dbutcher]

I forgot about that thread, and somehow I got the impression that the IWWF license was required for Class E. If it is not required for Class E (obviously it's not required for Class C), it causes me less heartburn. I can ski Regionals without having an international license.

[Jody_Seal]

Let's take a look.

 

 

 

Class E means national Entry. A skier can set a US national record in a class E also. Some rules are different in class E than L and R.

NO INTERNATIONAL LICENSE REQUIRED.

 

Class L, world rankings list only.

INTERNATIONAL LICENSE REQUIRED. Specific level of judges needed,-2/3 senior 1/3 regular.

 

Class R , international or world record capable. INTERNATIONAL LICENSE REQUIRED.

Sr. Judges utilized only.

 

I just skied in a ELR event my scores as did my daughters w2 went on the US Rankings list only as we are not paying the playground extortion!

[markn]

Had to resurrect the topic based on recent reflection. As most tournaments in Florida are R or L (not E) here is the list of requirements I would need to ski my first tournament in 2022:

1. Join AWSA

2. Join Florida Federation

3. Take required Safe Sport seminar

4. Join IWWF

5. Pay entry fee for tournament

 

Have already paid the "extortion fee" to IWWF to be able to ski in an R/L tournament here in Florida as I was told cannot ski without it. Not the fault of the site, but that is a lot of hoops through which to jump for 2 rounds of a slalom tournament next year. Tell these requirements to a newbie wanting to do his first tournament and he might just reply...I think I will skip it....too much trouble.

[bigtex2011]

@markn sounds good

[Horton]

@markn not sure this is going to make you feel any better but you do not actually have to join IWWF. You only have to pay that fee if you want your scores to show up on the world standings list.

 

Join the Florida Federation? Yeah, well you live in Florida. Florida and the Southern region in general often seem to operate differently than the rest of the country.

[ScottScott]

Fl federation is a whole $10, and often the tournament host will take money and sign you up if you're not already....

[LeonL]

Most states reciprocate on state federation membership, but not FL.

[markn]

@Horton Based on the discussion I had with the owner/tournament director of the site, for 2021, in order to ski in ANY R or L tournament, IWWF license is REQUIRED. It is not an option for ranking list only.

[MISkier]

@markn is correct. The license is required to ski in L or R, regardless of the skier's preference for ranking list inclusion or not. The explanation of the reasoning that I received was that the presence of the extra officials and the level of officiating and technical control required for a class L/R is something that all participants in that class of tournament should pay for.

 

Hopefully, the tournament organizer will allow participants to ski class C.

[Horton]

@markn Ok that is not the National rule as I understand it

 

[markn]

In case they are not yet informed about it, they should have look at the World Waterski Rules 2021 V2, Article 1.10 IWWF License: “Following agreement by the IWWF World Congress held in 2019, the IWWF Executive Board approved the establishment of an IWWF Licence fee for 2021 where competitors in Ranking List and Record Capability competitions in each Sports Division of the IWWF would be required to hold the IWWF Licence. Based on the above decision, to compete in any IWWF "L", "R" "CP" or Titled event a skier must hold a valid IWWF license. A skier without a valid IWWF license cannot take part in those tournaments. It is requested that Federations ensure that all their athletes hold a valid IWWF License before participating in "L", "R" "CP" or Titled event.”

 

Above is a portion of the email sent to the tournament director from IWWF official Peter Frei. This verifies it is not an option.

 

 

[Horton]

@markn yea .... I guess some tournament organizers are talking about letting some skier ski under a Class E so they do not have to pay the licence.

 

@rico is this what you are planning to do?

[Jody_Seal]

@markn one more time...

If it is listed as CLASS E!!!! You don't need to pay the playground iwwf extortion.... you will receive a score that ONLY WILL GO ON THE US RANKINGS LIST...

I Have already skied in a elr event this year my crappy score went up on the US rankings list only as class E!!!

 

 

[markn]

@Jody_Seal Thanks for your post,but FYI, I did specifically state in my post it was in reference to R and L tournaments. The tournament entered to which I referred is listed as R/L....not E.

[Jody_Seal]

@markn got it..

 

If the recent poll that was taken on this website is any indication that as much as 40 percent of the membership will walk away. Usaws will be bankrupt and the organization will fold.

Then again if it does I don't think that the elitists that run this organization care.

 

Level 10 mandate ran off many of the real good not quite open skiers.

Anal rules to prop up a rankings list ideology is creating havoc within the sport.

Now a safe sport re-education mandate for all members could be the last nail.

 

Again I don't think the elitist care.

[rico]

@horton yes i am doing E, L, R. It does not change much except the scorer as to put you in the right class.

 

Not sure why it is such a big deal. If E is not listed ask the tournament organizer.

 

If competitors don’t have the licence I will put them in E by default.

 

AWSA should have made it part to of the current fee so it should s seamless...

[The_MS]

I’m not even going to take the time to watch the video they sent that explains why we need to do the training. Lame

[Horton]

@The_MS if your membership finally expires and you still haven't run 39 in the tournament my evil plan will have succeeded.

[The_MS]

It ain’t from the beer.

I was a dumb ass and renewed last Aug to sign up for a Cottonwood event in Oct. So now I had to renew to ski in our Sep Tourneys. So I have 2 more shots at it.

[RazorRoss3]

Is this just the logical extension of your well documented hatred of kids?

[The_MS]

Not really, it just my hatred of dumb ass decisions and extortion by wokeness idiots

[RAWSki]

@The_MS tell us how you really feel! Haha

 

AWSA needs a new plan..."Less rules MORE skiing MORE FUN"