Paddling Industry:

 Please find the minutes of the first WPA meeting held on Thursday, April 8, 2010.  We had a good and very knowledgeable group of Paddlers, Manufactures and Race Directors in attendance to give their views and feedback with the WPA. 

 IMPORTANT NOTE:  All the decisions that follow were made on behalf of the collective group in attendance.  Also note that these decisions are not final and there will be tentative guidelines in place until the Advisory Board and Board of Directors is voted in after the next meeting.  All boards and rules set for 2010 will set the standards to be made and finalized for 2011.

Attendees:

• Jeff Alter-  Industry/Paddler
• Brandi Baksic- Paddler
• Jay Butki- Paddler/Race Director
• Russ Coble- Industry/Paddler
• Sean Douglas- Industry/Race Director/Paddler
• Leila Endersby- Industry
• Jason Freise- Industry
• Teva Fourcade- Industry
• Dan Gavere- Paddler
• Nikki Gregg- Paddler
• Ernie “EJ” Johnson- Paddler
• Byron Kurt- Paddler/WPA
• Gary MacNabb- Industry
• Mike Muir- Industry/Paddler
• Chuck Patterson- Paddler
• Rob Pelky- Paddler
• Brandon Rambo- Industry/Paddler
• Rob Rojas- Paddler
• Scott Sanchez- Industry/Paddler
• Thomas Shahinian- Paddler
• Marc Spitaleri- Industry
• Pete Stirling- Industry/Paddler
• Peter “PT” Townend- Industry
• Jeff Werner- Paddler

Meeting Agenda:

• Mission Statement
•  WPA Vision
•  FAQ’s
•  Race Management System
•  Board of Directors- General/Group discussion
•  Advisory Board- General/Group discussion
•  SUP Board Length- General/Group discussion
•  Future Topics
•  Open Forum Q & A

Key Topics:

• SUP Board Class- to have all races equally represent all board sizes defined as: Stock/12’6”, 14’, Unlimited, SUP Surfboard.
• Advisory Boards- result, to have three Advisory Boards made of Manufactures, Paddlers, and Race Directors.
• Board Of Directors- result, to be voted on once the Advisory Boards are in place.  Discussion was to not have any one person be an manufacture on the BOD as well as Race directors.  The BOD should Include a representative from other countries.
• Advisory Board Voting Forum- to post a login forum on the WPA website for the paddling industry to vote for the three AB representatives.
• Advisory Boards- to be announced at the next WPA meeting.
• Next WPA Meeting- to be held no later than May 11, 2010.
• BOD- recommendation that the Board of Directors be selected and announced by May 24, 2010.
• OC/Surfski/Paddleboard Directors- vote to establish advisory boards and directors.
• National Body- form a national body under the WPA in the USA and other countries.

Other Topics:

• SUP Surfboard class- board dimensions to be defined, but recommended as: length- 12’5” less, nose- 16”, tail- 14”, thickness- 5” less.
• Finalize the SUP rules and regulations by May 16, 2010 for 2010.
• Womens Divisions- to include both Stock/12’6” and Unlimited classes at all races.
• Participants to make a Class- 3 paddlers to make a division and 6 paddlers to make an Elite class with prize money.
• Elite Division- One Elite division per race with a minimum prize money of $2,500.00.  Elite division race will be up to each Race Director based on length of race, and taking the 2010 rules and regulations into account.
• Elite Qualifying- it is recommended that a paddler must have proven their Elite status to participate in an Elite division in any given race with one of the following:  1) Proven themselves in prior Elite races.  2) Placed in the top 3 in a open division race.  3)  Consistently placed high in a upper paddling division.
• Elite Division Points- all point values regardless of the number of paddlers will be the same for all divisions in stock, 14’ and Unlimited for the year.
• Ranking System- good for the growth of all paddling and to announce points breakdown by April 16, 2010.
• Race Series- set up race series around the country and world to provide a ranking system to promote all aspects paddling.
• RMS- race system presented and with good response.  Continue to invest and improve the system.
• Starts- suggestion for staggered starts at bigger races with multiple divisions.
• Kids/Families- include fun races to include kids and families for the growth of the paddling sports.
• Race Insurance- Provide an insurance package for all races to provide a lower cost.

Anyone that did not receive this e-mail that should be included please pass this on to the proper person so we can have the most comprehensive list of people voting for the Advisory Boards.  Thank you for all of your input and we look forward to your feedback.

Keep the Vibe,

World Paddle Association

888.WPA.4959, ext 1