The '''2010 NSC Town Hall Meeting'''
will take
to talk about NASPA in a public forum.
As stated, our time is limited and we want to ensure thateveryone is heard from, please note that we will have a maximum three-minute microphone time. If you have a complicated question to ask, please come prepared to phrase it as concisely as you can. == Panel Members == Representatives from several of NASPA'’s committees
will be on hand to answer your questions. Booked so
far are the following:
* [[Chris Cree]]: [[Executive Committee]], [[Championship Committee]]
* [[Dallas Johnson]]: [[Tournament Committee]]
* [[Jan Dixon]]: [[Rules Committee]]
* [[John Chew]]: [[Executive Committee]], [[Championship Committee]], [[Web Committee]], and barring last minute attendance changes [[Technology Committee]]
* [[Mary Rhoades]]: [[Championship Committee]], [[Club Committee]]
* [[Dallas Johnson]]: [[Tournament Committee]]
As statedThe following are not able to attend but have submitted reports, our time is limited and we want to ensure thatJohn Chew will take questions on their behalf: everyone is heard from* [[Rebecca Slivka]] and [[Scott Smith]], please note that we will have a maximum three-minute microphone time. If you have a complicated question to ask, please come prepared to phrase it as concisely as you can.[[Technology Committee]] == Meeting Minutes ==
Minutes for the Town Hall Meeting will be posted here
from the committee representatives involved.
=== Dallas Johnson, Cochair, Tournament Committee === *Sanctioned over 500 events.*Reviewed in excess of 1,300 emails to the committee.*Reviewed and acted on 7 incident reports.*Reviewed and acted on a complaint stemming from a director’s decision to bar a player from an event.*Discussed changes to 200 mile driving distance requirement, and developed new guideline for calculating driving distance using Google maps. *Considered reducing distance restriction in highly populated regions (no action to date).*Discussed circumstances warranting an exception to 8-week sanctioning lead time requirement.*Modified sanctioning requirement for ORT events to 6-weeks, with no exceptions to notice requirement.*Initiated sanctioning of Local Club Tournament (LCT )events (beginning September 1, 2010), with 10 day advance notice required without exception, and established the following criteria for sanctioning: 1. Must be sponsored by a sanctioned NASPA club; 2. No more than 1 event per club, per month; 3. Open to all NASPA members in good standing (subject to size limitations of venue).*Initiated sanctioning of Team Challenge or Championship (TCC) events (beginning September 1, 2010, with transitional exceptions), with 6-week advance notice required without exception, using the same criteria as for Open Rated Tournaments (ORTs), except that entries may be restricted based on rating or geography.*Discussed confidentiality guidelines regarding incident reports and witness statements.*Discussed creating an online tournament sanctioning tool for directors to use.*Drafted guidelines for sponsorship of tournaments.*Drafted a statement on accommodation of disabilities at Scrabble tournaments.*Received and acted on requests for accommodation.*Coordinated with the Director’s Manual committee to update the sanctioning guidelines for 1-day tournaments.*Coordinated with the Club and Directors Committee to review guidelines for minors serving as directors and to discuss responsibilities of directors for keeping order at tournaments.*Fielded various questions from directors, including:*#Rating all local club games during a month as a single LCT (not permitted)*#Barring or placing special requirements on “no show” players (permitted within reason)*#Americans with Disabilities Act requirements as they apply to disabled Scrabble players (must provide reasonable accommodations)*#NASPA policy on non-discrimination and prohibition on gender-exclusive events (may not discriminate based on gender)*#The ability to forbid changes to tally slips once submitted (contrary to tournament rules)*#Allowing a player who has been inactive for a long time to return to play in a lower division (not permitted)*#Allowing a player who has improved significantly since last rated event to leapfrog other players into a higher division (not permitted)*#Standards for advertising of Scrabble tournaments (ads should comply with community standards of decency)*#Dealing with a “no show” player on the second day of play (remove from event pairings)*#Holding rated invitational tournaments (only Team Challenge or Championship events may restrict entries, and restriction must be on approved standards of rating or geography)*#Whether or not a NASPA-rated event can also be rated by WGPO (events can be rated by any outside organization the director wishes, if that organization’s requirements are met) === Jan Dixon, Chair, Rules Committee === Our committee:* rewrote the entire rule book* added an index There were several rules changes, most notably the rule regarding blank declaration. Many others were simplified and/or clarified. === Mary Rhoades, Chair, Club/Director Committee ===
Our committee has:
* Received fees for sanctioning two clubs in Hawaii but have not certified the clubs yet since they don'’t have certified directors.
* Administered 27 director tests to new directors and assigned mentors.
* Retested two who failed the first time and they passed the second time.
* Committee investigated incident report between player and club director and upheld club director. Although player kept complaining, when I told him he could take it to the AB, he stopped.
== [[= Rebecca Slivka]]/[[Scott Smith]], Cochairs, [[Technology Committee]] ===
Our committee:
* has been evaluating SSL and game clock phone apps; our preliminary conclusion is that it'’s too hard to guarantee that a particular SSL app is correctly configured to authorize their official use by players, and that the clock apps they'’ve looked at so far interact poorly with use of a device as a phone
* would welcome volunteer testers for such apps