USRA President’s Report
January 2002

2002 Annual Meeting Summary 

            Hello everyone, and welcome to a new year of Giant Scale racing.  As most of you know, the new officers and Board members have been busy the first few weeks of this year, and I thought I would bring you all up-to-date.

Annual Meeting:

                The Board convened for its annual meeting on January 12th and 13th in Las Vegas, and all Board Members were in attendance. The first portion of the meeting was open to the general membership, and approximately 10 members came to the meeting.  These members were given the opportunity to address the Board, and many did just that.  The members then were invited to stay in the meeting room while the Board discussed the first few items on the agenda.  A detailed summary of the Board meeting is up on our website at www.usra-racers.org under the link Annual Meeting Summary, but here are a few of the items we worked on.

Incorporation:

                The Board decided to proceed with the Incorporation of the USRA, and Loren Tregallas and Archie Snider are putting together the final documents needed.  This Incorporation of the USRA will give every member an added layer of protection against liability. When we file for Incorporation, we will be filing as a non-profit association.  Filing for Non-profit status with the IRS was also considered, but the $15,000 cost was deemed not worth the benefit that we would receive.  It was also noted that a company making a contribution or donation to us as a form of sponsorship, would receive a larger tax write-off if they claimed it as advertisement, rather than a donation to a non-profit organization.

4.6 ci Engine Availability:

                With the very limited availability of engines for our 4.6 ci classes, the Board discussed the options surrounding increasing the displacement limit for these classes.  It was ultimately decided to increase the displacement limit to 81cc or approximately 4.9ci EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2003... that is next year, not this year.  This will give us many more options for us to choose from, including engines made by Zenoah, ZDZ, BME, and Fox.  The ability to easily update a current Zenoah 445 into a GT-80 at a reasonable price factored heavily into our decision.

USRA World Championship Series:

                The Board decided to make a few changes to the point system from last year to encourage participation in the Championship Series.  Beginning this year, you will be allowed to count your best three out of the four races towards the Championship.  This will still give a slight advantage to those who can make all four races, but not unduly handicap those who can only make three events.  The points awarded for a DNF or did not finish have been eliminated this year as well.  In the past, a class needed to have five entries at an event in order for those entries to earn points toward the Championship.  That has been amended so that classes with 3 or 4 entries can now earn points at an event.  If there are 4 entries in a class at an event, 1st place will receive 15 points instead of 20. 2nd will receive 11pts, 3rd = 8pts, 4th = 6pts.  With only 3 entries in a class, the points will be awarded like this, 1st = 11pts, 2nd = 8pts, 3rd = 6 pts.  It was also decided that a class will only be eligible for USRA World Championship status if there are at least two events with enough participants to earn points in that class.
                The Board also setup an awards fund for the Championship series so that our champions can receive trophies at the end of the year.  An additional $10 sanction per entry will be deposited into an awards account that can be used to purchase Championship awards.  Efforts are underway to increase this awards fund through sponsor participation.

Constitution and Bylaws amendments:

                Amendments were passed by the Board to better establish that the USRA is a rules body, and sanctions races for its Championship series.  Amendments were also made to establish guidelines for how the Board conducts business during the year when it can not meet face-to-face.  These changes were made so that it is not necessary to hold board meetings at our races.  Since every member on the Board is a racer, expecting them to make decisions that effect the future of the USRA at a racing event that they are competing in is just not fair.  Other amendments eliminated prorating dues when a member joins late in the year, and established a late fee if a member does not renew their membership within 30 days of the new year. (Renew next year on time, or it will be an additional $20 charge)  This late fee was established so that incoming dues would be received early in the year when most of the Association’s expenses occur.  The Board also streamlined the nomination process for election, and moved up the dates for the elections so that the new officers and Board members can participate in the decisions that will effect the next racing year.
                The most significant change to the Constitution and Bylaws had to do with the structure of the USRA Board of Directors.  The Board unanimously decided to limit the Board of Directors to the President, the Vice President, the three District Representatives, and one Promoter Representative from each region.  The President and Vice President will be elected by the entire membership, and the District Representatives and Promoter Representatives will be elected by the members in each region.  As a transition to this structure, the current Board will be comprised of;  Tom Keating the Eastern District Rep.; Julius Miller the Central District Rep.; Fred Sattler the Western District Rep.; Chris Justus the Eastern Promoter Rep.; Fred French the Central Promoter Rep.; Archie Snider the Western Promoter Rep.; Vice President Scott Hanbury; and President Ken McSpadden.  Loren Tregallas will continue to serve on the Board in a non-voting advisory capacity.  The current Board Structure will remain in effect until late 2003 when the new Board will be installed after elections.

Rules and Specifications Revisions:

                At the annual meeting it was also decided to move the renewal date of the rules and specifications so that they would not be due for review on the same year as the installation of new officers and Board members.  With that in mind, only minor wording changes were done for clarification purposes to these documents.  The Rules and Specifications will be reviewed throughout this year, and next year’s version will be valid for 2003-2004.

Financial Report:

                At the time of this report, I have still not received all records and receipts from the outgoing officers of the USRA.  This has made it difficult for me to construct any sort of financial report on our account. In February, I will begin constructing this report with the information that I have, and will make this report available to the membership after review by the Board.  In the meantime, the Treasurer and I have control of the account, and will fully document any expenditures that are necessary for USRA business.  I would like to welcome and thank our new Treasurer Kevan Avery for his help with this matter.  I also would like to commend Lynda French for her hard work in assisting us with last year’s election, and for her continued excellence in handling our membership duties. A big thanks to both of you.
                I think it is also important to thank the entire Board for their outstanding work at the annual meeting.  The Board members donate a large portion of their free time, and vacation time to make a contribution towards our Association.  They all listened carefully to every opinion, and openly discussed every item.  They all put aside their personal interests and made decisions that would benefit the USRA as a whole.  Every member should know that they have an outstanding group representing them on this Board.

AMA Trade Show in Pasadena:

                The USRA had a booth at the AMA show in Pasadena as part of our Special Interest Group (SIG) status with the AMA.  I had a lot of help from members in putting the booth together, and many more members volunteered to bring aircraft for display.  I actually had to turn some of the offers down because we ran out of space!  Archie Snider and the AeroSport team brought down a T-6, and an Experimental for display, as well as the “small” set of pylons with lights.  We also had a laptop hooked to the datalogger in the Experimental displaying a graph of some engine data.  Scott Baker made a great looking engine display with some different racing powerplants that we use courtesy of Mike Johnson Ford Racing.  We had flyers advertising the racing series, and Roger Smith of R/C Excellence sent us two cases of magazines to pass out as well.  We also created a sign displaying some of the sponsors that helped us in the past.  The booth was very well received, and we were very busy the entire weekend.  We had a chance to see some of our members and catch up with what they are doing, and some members took the opportunity to renew their USRA memberships while they were there.  I had the chance to speak with many of the AMA folks, and they are enthusiastic about our future.  I really want to thank those members who helped me put the booth together, and stood on their feet for hours answering questions. They were all great ambassadors for our sport.  Thanks to Robert Holik, Dave Presta, Kelley Hartranft, Scott Baker, Kent McKenna, and Steve Sahagian for your help.

What does the USRA do?:

                In the short time I have been in office, I have been asked this question or a variation of it many times,  often by our own members.  I have also had to dispel many misconceptions and rumors about our Association.  I have even learned a few things about USRA that I didn’t know.  With that in mind, I wanted to give you all a small primer on the USRA that you might find educational.
                The USRA is a rules body that is in charge of developing rules and specifications for aircraft that race in our series.  We are also responsible for the development and maintenance of our racing procedures.  These rules, specs, and procedures insure that when you go to a USRA sanctioned race in Texas, or Ohio, or California, or Kansas, the race is held in the same standardized manner, and with the same airplanes.  As we race, we review these rules against real-life occurrences at our events to make sure that there are no loop-holes or gray areas where someone can circumvent the intent of the rules.  Also at our events, the USRA inspects aircraft for both size and dimensional adherence to the specifications, and for safety.  The USRA Vice President is in charge of technical rules and inspections, and often will assign inspection duties to the District Representatives.   If no USRA representative qualified to make these inspections is racing at that event, one must be sent to the race at the Association’s cost.  The same goes for our T-6 fuel dock operator, and radio impound officer.  The T-6 fuel person will also periodically weigh aircraft, and keep an eye out for someone trying to fly a damaged or unsafe aircraft.  The USRA also supplies an inspector to examine engines in our T-6 and 4.6ci classes.  All of  these costs to the association are typically covered by the sanction fees that the event promoters pay to the USRA.  This sanction fee is $20 per entry.  At some events with low participation levels, the sanction fee may not cover these expenses, and we must dip into our treasury to cover them.
                The USRA does not make any contributions toward prize funds at our events, as this is the sole responsibility of the event promoter.  The USRA does not employ the timing and scoring personnel, the CD, or the pylon judges either.  We are however, responsible for giving them a clear set of instructions on how to do their jobs. The USRA also works with the race promoters to construct a USRA World Championship Series that establishes a point system that rewards heat race finishers with points that count toward a year end Championship.  The awards for this series are paid for by a separate sanction fee and remains separate from the USRA treasury.
                The dues that we all pay is used for most of the other expenses we incur like administrative costs such as copying, mailings, etc.  We also purchase equipment and supplies that we need to perform our duties, like scales for weighing aircraft, blank timing and scoring forms, log books, etc.  We also pay for your subscription to R/C Excellence, and buy ad space in that magazine too.  In return, Roger Smith gives us article space in every issue to report on our races, and help sell our sport to new racers.  If we have any money left, we purchase ads in other magazines promoting our sport, or attend trade shows like the AMA trade show in Pasadena.  Board Members do not receive free dues, or free entry fees at any of our races.
                Race Promoters secure a location for their events, and are responsible for staffing all of the jobs that are not the responsibility of the USRA. They most often need to pay a fee to use the airport, and/or pay the fix based operators there for their inconvenience.  They must also pay for insurance to cover themselves in case of an accident.  They must either build their own set of pylons, or borrow a set from another promoter.  The same goes for the timing and scoring equipment.  None of this equipment used at any of the races belongs to the USRA.  The USRA writes the standards which specify what that equipment must do.  Race Promoters are responsible for purchasing trophies and distributing prize money.  When all is said and done, a Promoter is lucky to break even.  I know that Texas, Kansas, and California’s races lost money last year, and Ohio just broke even.  The money lost at these events comes out of the promoter’s pockets.
                While at a race,  contestants can protest an aircraft’s legality as it applies to the specifications, and they can protest whether or not a USRA rule or procedure is being properly enforced or followed by the race officials.  They cannot protest a judgment call made by a race official.  In other words you cannot protest that you didn’t break the deadline, that you didn’t cut that pylon, or that you didn’t jump the start.  The race officials are like baseball umpires, or basketball referees...their judgment calls are official and final and there is no TV instant replay.  Members are expected to exhibit good sportsmanship and professional behavior at all of our events.
                The USRA is governed by a Board of Directors.  That Board is made up of a President and Vice President, a Representative from each region, and a Promoter from each region.  Each of these Board Members has only one vote.  If a member has an opinion, suggestion, or problem, they are to contact their District Representative who Represents them on the Board of Directors.  If that member does not feel that he/she is being adequately represented by the District Representative, they can contact the President or the Vice President.  In the Constitution and Bylaws, there are provisions set forth for members to make proposals, and also to remove Board Members and officers.  When all of the just completed amendments are in place, I will make a copy of the current Constitution and Bylaws available to any member who would like a copy.  I strongly urge all of you to get one and read it so that we can all be better informed.  I will also make available a complete copy of the Rules and Procedures when that document is updated.

                That does it for this month, I hope you are all getting ready for the upcoming year.  We have 74+ members already renewed, and the grapevine is buzzing with news of new racers, and racers returning to action.  It should be a very well attended racing season.   I look forward to seeing all of you at the races!

Ken McSpadden