TO: FSRA Members

RE: Annual Meeting Issues (Recruiting/Poaching)

 

I hope everyone has had a restful and productive summer. As you have seen, this Saturday is our annual FSRA meeting. We’ll be holding it at Golden Bear Club at Keene's Pointe in Windermere on Saturday, August 23, 2008. Because of the Row for the Cure Event on Saturday morning, we have moved the start time to 1:00PM. There will some food available at noon, so feel free to show up then to eat and socialize.

 

Prior to the meeting, there are a few topics that I would like to bring to your attention.

 

Over the last few years, the Association has made major strides towards improving our state championship. Two years ago, we moved to a two day regatta with heats, reps, semis, and finals; and also event seedings. We cut some events, which we (rightly) added back last year. I would hope that we let these changes settle and try to avoid another overhaul of the race. It’s important to provide a stable regatta and I think we’ve figured out a pretty successful model.

 

If there is overwhelming sentiment to make changes, we will have the opportunity to do so at the meeting. Any small tweaks can be made by the regatta committee (we will solicit volunteers for the committee on Saturday).

 

Beyond the state championship, there are a few critical issues that we must address, and I would like you to begin thinking about.

 

An issue which is bubbling up in Florida and around the country relates to recruiting (or poaching) rowers from other programs. I have spoken with many of you about this issue throughout last year, and I think it warrants significant discussion at the meeting. It will probably require a taskforce or committee to construct a policy over the fall. (Please note: As big an issue as this is in Florida, it’s becoming an even bigger problem in other regions. US Rowing’s Youth Committee will be spending significant time on this issue throughout the year.)

 

The recruiting issue is important because many communities now feature either two community programs, or a scholastic program and a community program. In past years, we have had a number of rowers switch programs for any manner of reason, and often not because they were “recruited” away, but for other personal reasons.

 

I will include some background on current rules and some research on the issue. Please do not interpret any research I present as indicative of my personal thoughts on the issue.

FSRA Constitution:

II.1.c. A student shall not represent more than one (1) Association Member during any one (1) scholastic year without written permission of both team's coaches, or adult leader in the absence of a coach, and approval of the FSRA Executive Committee.

II.1.d. A non-scholastic team member shall not be in attendance at a secondary school represented by a scholastic rowing team without prior written consent of the scholastic team's coach, or adult leader in the absence of a coach, and approval of the FSRA Executive Committee.

US Rowing Competitor Eligibility:

 

c. Affiliation with only one program, which he/she is registered with as of the first competition (registered/ non-registered, not including indoor events) for the duration of the spring season, defined between January 1 and June 15 of that current calendar year, to participate in the USRowing Youth National Championship Regatta.

 

SRAA

“All entries must be signed by the Headmaster or Principal of the school and contain only the names of bona fide students in regular attendance at day classes, grades 9 thru 12, whose scholastic eligibility meets the regular requirements of their respective schools. Each school shall be responsible for the conduct and physical fitness of its contestants.”

 

In seeking clarification with both US Rowing and SRAA, both organizations do not object to programs that race as “clubs” breaking into constituent schools (so long as the schools do not have a preexisting scholastic program) for Stotesbury and SRAA and then reconstituting for Youth Nationals. They assert that so long as rowers continue training under a consistent club infrastructure (i.e. same coach, dues to one organization), this will not violate USRowing or SRAA interpretation on their own rules. However, two clubs that draw from the same set of schools CANNOT pool their rowers for a scholastic race (like SRAA) and maintain eligibility for Youth Nationals.

 

FSRA’s rule is considerably more stringent than either USRowing or SRAA. However, we have a problem with implementation. As it stands, the FSRA can only enforce its policy at one event, the State Championship. As a result, we have very little ability, in the current incarnation of FSRA, to impact violations to the rule. A youth rower in Florida can switch programs in violation of our rules, and still compete at every local, regional and national event except the FSRA State Championship. We should think about some ways to fix that problem.

 

I will outline a couple problem scenarios to think through:

 

·        A club rower switches to another area club during the summer.

·        A scholastic rower moves into another nearby school district during the summer.

·        A scholastic coach encourages a talented freshman rower to switch schools during the summer.

·        A coach at a private school encourages a talented club rower to enroll at their school.

·        A club starts a middle school rowing program. A 7^th grader begins rowing for the MS program and then attends a high school that has a scholastic program, but wants to keep rowing for club program where they began.

·        A high school program hires a malicious or incompetent coach, which forces many rowers to quit. Some of the most committed rowers seek opportunities at a club program across town.

·        A community has two programs, one with a competitive focus, one with a recreational focus. As new rowers determine their level of interest, they switch between the clubs.

·        A sports academy starts a rowing program. They recruit the best rowers from around the city, state and country to row for a national team level coach at an advanced level. The academy is certified to compete as a private school in athletics in Florida.

Some of these scenarios may seem unlikely or even silly, but they have all happened in Florida or in other regions of the country. In our debate, we should be prepared to craft a policy that accounts for this range of scenarios (and others). We may find that we already have an effective policy, or we may find that we need to think of a new one.

 

Regardless, I expect this conversation to dominate Saturday’s meeting, and I hope we don’t get bogged down trying to tweak the state championship regatta.

 

If you have an interest in talking through any issues for the meeting, do not hesitate to call me at 850.321.0738.

 

All the best,

 

Dan Newman

FSRA President

dsnewman99@...

Cell: 850.321.0738