Southern California Kitesurfing Association
Minutes of Board Meeting, June 1, 2008
Meeting was called to order at 6:35 P.M. by Francis Hu
Those in attendance were; Francis Hu, Dimitrii Korionoff, Dan Corbett, Jim Corbett, Al Navas, John Fitzgerald, Martin Hubert, Steve Price, Luke Bilger, Carter Thomas, Faycal Ferhat, Diane Wenzel, Dan Slater and Arnaud Vuillermet.
The first order of business was to thank the Corbett’s for hosting the meeting. Then each attendee gave a little of history of their kite boarding and where they kite.
Francis then passed out the Mission Statement of the SCKA.
Francis asked what issues were currently out there;
Seal Beach: John F. mentioned that there is a meeting at Seal on Wednesday June 4 at 6 P.M. in the parking lot with the lifeguards to discuss the possible rule of kiters having to stay 200 yards offshore.
Non-Profit status: Martin H. stated that we are considered a “For Profit” organization regarding our Pay Pal account.
Swap Meet and Clinic: Francis wanted some ideas about our next swap meet and how to get more buyers. He asked “Did we want to host another clinic?”, most said “Yes.” Francis asked for a volunteer to manage the next Swap Meet. There were no volunteers. Another thought was the swap meet should be shorter so the clinic could start earlier. When the wind comes up no one wants to be doing the clinic. It was suggested that there be “New Kite Demos” that would attract more visitors to the swap meet.
Action Items: The following people will contact the kite reps to get equipment for the demo and see if we can get some free products (swags) to raffle.
• Al, Naish and RRD.
• Carter, Cabrinha.
• Diane, Liquid Force.
• Arnaud, F-1.
• Martin, RRD.
Safety Clinic Manager, Diane volunteered to head up the next Clinic, and it will be scheduled for the mid to end of September. Diane will set the date ASAP so we can plan for it. We will hold the swap meet, kite demo and the SCKA BBQ on the same day.
Finances: Dimitrii stated there was $1100 income from membership dues. There are 36 members, and one person who purchased a t-shirt. Expenses, there were Pay Pal charges and the cost of creating the t-shirts (about $1000).
Membership: What is the selling point to joint the SCKA? A free t-shirt, a kite boarding DVD….What else? It was suggested that maybe we should have an end of the year BBQ and raffle. Jim will find out from Fred Khammar (Alfredos Beach Club) what it would take to use the facility at the Granada ramp for a party. Maybe Deon could be the DJ?
Web Site: Martin is working on it.
Huntington Beach. Luke talked about the issues regarding jumping near the pier. There was a meeting with the lifeguards and the big issue was protecting he beach goers.
Sunset Beach. Diane mentioned that summer rules start June 14, USOS guards will place markers at the kite launch/land area. For the first half of summer, the kite area will be between Broadway and 11th street. Kiters are required to launch and land in this area only. The kite area for the second half of summer is still to be determined. Kiters will only be able to launch after 2 P.M. Diane volunteered to contact the Sunset guards to offer them basic lessons on "kite safety for lifeguards".
A break was taken to partake of Ruth’s food. The meeting resumed at 7:55
Seal Beach. John mentioned there was some tension regarding the In/Out signs for kite boarders and that the lifeguards were not keeping the swimmers clear of the kite area. There is a meeting on Wednesday with the lifeguards.
What constitutes a vessel? Dan Corbett, along with other Board members will do research and respond by email, hopefully before Wednesday night.
North Beaches. Arnaud talked about Venice Beach, Topanga, Leo, County Line, Nicholas Canyon, Zuma and Trancus Beach. All seem to be OK.
Belmont Kite Beach. Jim mentioned that soon the summer lifeguards will be coming on-board soon. The senior guards will be approached again regarding one-on-one basic lessons on "kite safety for lifeguards". Jim also stated that he was told by a guard that attended the clinic that kiters are allowed to launch and land in the two designated areas at Granada and Claremont. Jim will follow up with the Cherry Station guards.
Al talked but the signage that could be erected at the La Verne parking lot. It was suggested that there be a Sign Steering Committee. The members on the committee are Al, Jim, Carter, Diane, Francis and Dimitrii. Martin and Arnaud will be included as advisors. It was suggested that the important information be large and the legalese be small. Al will call the necessary meetings to get the sign finalized so it is ready to present to the city before July 4, 2008.
Kite Racing and Down-winders. Arnaud and Carter will announce later after the Kite Zone issue has been resolved. Arnaud will conduct informal runs to work out the logistics for kite racing in the meantime.
SCKA Structure. Motion; Jim Corbett moved that we create an organization structure for the SCKA. Seconded by Martin Hubert. Motion Passed. Committee for creating the SCKA rules and structure; Francis, Martin, Diane, Jim and Carter. Francis will call the meetings to create the formal structure for SCKA.
It was suggested that there also be a Rep for each beach on the Board and that we create a private “Board Forum” on the SCKA web site to reduce the emails back and forth. Dimitrii was asked to create a membership list.
Other suggestions, BBQ should be $10 for members, $20 for non-members. Maybe we could have cards printed to handout on the beach that say something such as, “We want to help you kite safely. Go to SCKA.ORG to get more kiting information.”
Pictures were taken by Dan Slater.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:10 P.M.
Respectfully submitted: Jim Corbett, acting Secretary.
SCKA Forum