Swordfish 2009 Wrap Up & Planning

[Patch]

Yar, I hope everyone's been doing well and enjoying their time off.  Time to chat about next year...

We're planning to have a meeting in November, likely on a Saturday (ya i know I mentioned Oct but too many people away).

Things we need to discuss and some of my comments:

1)  Season review: standings wise we did very well...yay us!  We're basically one of the top twice-a-week teams in the Creek.  But....

2)  Attendance: was very poor.  We had a full boat twice the entire season.  Our standings is likely more of a reflection of how much weaker dragonboating has become over the past few seasons.

3)  Practice times:: Currently at Wed/Sat.  If you want something different, let me know.  And that includes you Ben (Coach, not Sue-Ann).

4)  Races:  FCRCC, Alcan, Harrison or Richmond, Victoria or Kelowna, maybe Last Gasp.  We can chat and vote on this.  I'm partial to Kelowna...that was good times.  We don't have to finalize on the small races but I would like to have a race in between Alcan and Vic/Kelowna.

5)  Coaching:  Jen - unless she can't/won't.  The season wasn't very fair to her.  I know she had a lot planned for us but when you're averaging 14 people coming, there's not much she can do.  Filling the boat with Bananas just to get the feeling of a full boat just isn't the same.

6)  Steers:  ??  Big issue all season long.  I would love to have Sue back but will not unless I get a doctor's note (I'm NOT kidding)

7)  Fundraising: Chocolate sales?

8)  Budget:  including practices times & race registration costs, covering the season from Feb/Mar to Aug/Sept, we're looking at about $550 a person.  We haven't ever had a defined policy on providing refunds, but I would suggest that we don't anymore.  It's enough of a pain to try to find substitutes,much less worry about any financial shortfall.  Which goes hand in hand with...

9)  Commitment:  for the past 5 years or so, myself with others (Ben Yung/Mark) have put in the money upfront beginning in November to start the season. That just can't happen anymore.  Putting in $5-7k and waiting half a year to be reimbursed just isn't fair.  If I'm going to be involved with Swordfish this year, I'll need a minimum of 15 people putting in $250 with the remaining balance to be paid once the season starts. 

What do you get for this commitment?  Well, I get the feeling that the competition will be even softer this year, especially if teams can't start practicing until March because of the Orympics.  *If* we get good attendance like we used to, we'll have a chance to do Guts & Glory again.  I want to get there again and I'd like to do it with the Fish if I can.

I'll likely begin OC within the next week at FCRCC.  Let me know if you're interested and I'll email you details.

Feel free to forward this to anyone I may have missed.

Ed

[sundawnjoy]

Will be @ mtg.

Interested in OC.

I'm baaaaaaack!!! 

[Patch]

Re: Budget

No, the $550 is not a typo. 

It is however a *very* liberal estimate.  We got a couple of good deals this year by hitting all the early bird deadlines.  This year though, stupid Dragonzone's early bird deadline for a 15% discount is October 15th!!  Plus the exact costs for these festivals have not been published yet.

This is how I calculated the budget:

Coach $500
Alcan $2000
DZ $2000
FCRCC $400
Harrison $1000
Kelowna/Victoria $1500
=$370 per person

+~$150 for accomodations
= ~$520

Then I rounded it up to the $550.  I don't expect it to actually be there, but I'd rather overestimate than underestimate.  We paid $300 this year but with Kelowna accommodations and food, that came to $485.  Add an extra race in the summer and we're not that far off from $550.

In our first couple of years, I remember rounding the fees to the nearest dime or quarter cause I was pretty sensitive on costs.  That led to some pretty interesting nights collecting fees when we didn't have exact change.

Here's what I would suggest.  I'm going to let someone else handle the exact fee collection for this year (likely Mark since he's proven to be good with the numbers and fee collection).  I would like for us to set aside an amount to maintain a float though, for emergencies/parties/whatever.

[Juky]

For those curious about the $550 vs $300 that we paid in 2009, here are the differences:

1) Jen coached us for FREE.

2) Harrison was NOT included in the membership fees.

3) Ed and I (mostly Ed) paid all the fees extremely early, so we received discounts.

4) As mentioned, Kelowna/Victoria accommodations have been lumped into the $550.

In actuality, the fees are the same (since we all have flashy new jerseys). We will discuss fees and payment, along with required commitment during the meeting.

As Dave has mentioned in the past, a couple of trips up to Whistler for some skiing/boarding and you're already at $400, and that doesn't include renting/buying equipment. Just some food for thought...

[KarenB]

Your math seems interesting...what number of team members are you calculating your figures based on? K

[Patch]

20 peeps.

[Kid Lefty]

To avoid getting 10 bags of chips and a dozen 2L pops, I'm going to start by saying that I'll be making a pumpkin trifle for dessert and Darren will make something savory (maybe a crock pot recipe, stew, etc.).

I'll also have some punch and/ or ice tea available.  However, please feel free to bring any drinks that you'd like.

Just a warning, our fridge is REALLY small/ narrow...so I would try to avoid bringing any big trays or boxes of food that need refrigeration (sorry!  I hate my fridge!!! arg).  However, we do have a lot of freezer space so anything that needs freezing will definitely have room.

Looking forward to it!  See you on Saturday!

J + D

[P-nut]

I'll bring orzo.  Thats a type of pasta salad, not to be confused with ouzo

Also, does anyone have access to a projector? and Jaime, do you have one blank wall that can be used to project on? I have lots of pics and some videos of practices that we never ever looked at. I'll bring my laptop anyway.

[KarenB]

I can bring 9 layered salad which is scrumptious. How many vegetarians are coming so I know if I can put bacon in the layers or not? K

[Patch]

I don't think Nadine and Ruth can make it until later so meat away!

[Kid Lefty]

Jen,

I have a projector and Darren is going to borrow his parents' little screen.  We should be good to go.

Jaime

[momo]

Who's in for a squirrel melt?  I can pick up a dozen squirrels on campus tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlK0Xd4c2c&feature=player_embedded