San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

September 9th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

  This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA. Call to order 7:00pm by James. SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Borko Dragojlovic, Mark Adelman and James Kahn. SDTTA Board Member(s) absent: Simon Lee. SDTTA Member(s) Present: Earl Alto. Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes. The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for August 2014 by Mark and seconded by James. The Board carried the motion. Treasurer’s Report:  None. Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report. Membership Report: Our current paid membership count is. Equipment Report: Our current table count is 30. Action Items:

1. Filling the Treasurer’s position was tabled until the Board elections of November/December.
2. The Juniors program started last Friday (Sept 5th) with a total of 7 kids attending. Bob had an idea of offering “scholarships” to individual kids to help pay for the training. The item will be brought up at the next Board meeting once it is determined if there is interest in sustaining the program. We would also like to set goals for D.J. Alto and his “team” so that certain benchmarks are achieved over the life of the program.

We will get in touch with Daryl and have him advertise the “Junior” program on our website, which will be on Friday nights starting at 6:30pm.

3. John mentioned that Isaac’s school would be interested in having us loan them 2 tables to help generate interest in table tennis. Borko will talk to Isaac and have him contact his principal to see if we should move forward on this item.
4. The potluck picnic that was scheduled for September 13th, along with the equipment swap meet, has been rescheduled for September 27th, due to the Senior Games being held at the club.
5. The first Sorrento-SDTTA club event was held on Sept 13th. It did not go as planned since one of the Sorrento teams didn’t show up, which then created an odd number. The format used, created too much waiting around for many participants, so hopefully lessons were learned and future events will run more smoothly.
6. James attended the L.A. Open recently and shared with the Board his experiences and discussions he had with the L.A. club’s president. Our club could learn a lot by the way the L.A. Club runs their L.A. Open, and they would be willing to assist us in making the Neil Smyth Tournament more successful. The L.A. club also expressed interest in teaming up with SDTTA and maybe have a southern California table tennis tournament in the future. James would like to plan a meeting with the L.A. club president to discuss any future endeavors between the two clubs.
7. The idea was presented that we should start filming the top table on our Thursday night round robins and then posting them on our website. James and Bob will look into it and see what equipment is needed and what other issues need to be overcome.

    The motion to adjourn was made by Mark and seconded by Bob at 7:51pm.   The next meeting is October  14th at 7:00pm.   Respectfully Submitted,   Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary  

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

August 12th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

  This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA. Call to order 7:05pm by James. SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Borko Dragojlovic, Mark Adelman, James Kahn and Simon Lee. SDTTA Board Member(s) absent: None. SDTTA Member(s) Present: Angie Bengtsson and Earl Alto. Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes. After a few minor changes to last month’s Board meeting minutes, the motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for July 2014 by Mark and seconded by James. The Board carried the motion. Treasurer’s Report:  None. Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report. Membership Report: Our current paid membership count is. Equipment Report: Our current table count is at 30. Action Items:

1. Earl discussed getting the Juniors program up and running and to ensure it stays on track, that the progress of the kids be monitored and certain goals be set (ratings). Also discussed was investing in

your better players and one of the ways would be to sponsor these players to the National and 5 Star tournaments. Earl said that the “Learning Tree” has availability of equipment and people to assist us in any way possible, if we ever need them. An inter-club event was scheduled for September 6th, between SDTTA and the Learning Tree, to be played at the Sorrento Valley location.

1. Behnam did not approve last month’s Board meeting minutes because he would like a breakdown of how all members vote on any particular item. Behnam motioned to have it annotated in the minutes the results of how each Board member votes. James seconded the motion and it was passed by a 4-2-1 vote.
2. John resigned as Treasurer but wants to stay on the Board. The selection of a new Treasurer was tabled until the next Board meeting.
3. The new club shirts arrived with the SDTTA logo printed on the back. The shirts will be selling for $20 each.
4. The potluck picnic is scheduled for September 13th, along with the equipment swap meet. The event will go from 11:30am to 2:00pm.
5. It was brought up once again on how we can make Friday’s more exciting at the club. One idea was to have an inter-club competition with the Sorrento Valley (Learning Tree) club. The location of the event would rotate, between clubs, on a weekly basis. Both clubs will work out further details.
6. Bob brought up the idea of waiving the $5 fee for non-members who would like to play in the Thursday round-robin event. After much discussion, the idea was dropped.
7. We currently have 8 “new” Joola tables in storage at City College and need to go onsite and inspect the tables and release them from liability from any damage that may incur during storage.

The motion to adjourn was made by Mark and seconded by Borko at 8:30pm.   The next meeting is September 9th at 7:00pm.   Respectfully Submitted,   Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

July 8th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

  This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA. Call to order 7:20pm by John. SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Borko Dragojlovic, Mark Adelman and James Kahn. SDTTA Board Member(s) absent: Simon Lee SDTTA Member(s) Present: None. Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes. The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for June 2014 by John and seconded by James. The Board carried the motion. Treasurer’s Report:  John Anderson will email the Treasurer’s Report for June 2014 to all Board members. Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report. Membership Report: Our current paid membership count is at 230. Equipment Report: Our current table count is at 32. Action Items:

1. Discussed coaching situation and how to proceed with getting the ball rolling. The idea was brought up that maybe we can subsidize a coach with a monthly fee to teach at the club.
2. James acquired 60 Olympic-style shirts from Andre  and a motion was made by Bob for the club to purchase these shirts from James for $10 each and to add the club logo to the shirts for an additional $4 a shirt. Mark seconded the motion and it was passed by the majority of the Board.
3. The club has the opportunity to purchase “tournaments used” Joola tables, from Andre, for the price of $500 a table. James will try to negotiate the price down and will get back to the Board members on his success.
4. The Baja team hasn’t been to the club for many months. We discussed ways to make it more attractive for them to participate in the Thursday Round Robin tournaments, but it was mentioned that one of the reasons they no longer attend was that our tournament no longer challenges their players.
5. We tabled the discussion on increasing membership dues and also who, if anyone, should be exempt from paying dues.

  The motion to adjourn was made by Bob and seconded by Mark at 8:15pm.   The next meeting is August 12th at 7:00pm.   Respectfully Submitted,   Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

June  10th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

 

This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA.

Call to order 7:05pm by Behnam.

SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Borko Dragojlovic and Mark Adelman.

SDTTA Board Member(s) absent: James Kahn and Simon Lee

SDTTA Member(s) Present: None.

Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes.

The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for May 2014 by John and seconded by Borko. The Board carried the motion.

Treasurer’s Report:  John Anderson passed out the Treasurer’s Report which has been reconciled through May 2014.

Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report.

Membership Report: Our current paid membership count is at 202.

Equipment Report: Our current table count is at 32.

Action Items:

1. Borko talked about his Saturday training session and has seen an increase in attendance lately.

2. The Board discussed the possibility of a bilateral agreement between SDTTA and the Sorrento Valley Club to allow members of one club to play for free at the other club. In the end, it was decided to leave the current format in place, which is to charge non-members $5 per day to use the club facilities.

3. Bob thanked the following club members for assisting in the setup and takedown of the tables and equipment at the Neil Smyth Tournament: James, James, Borko, Carlos, Bob, Dan, Andrew, Kettong, Emile, Phil and John.

4. We discussed the possibility that at next year’s Neil Smyth Tournament, to have a small ceremony after each event, so we can present the winners with their trophies/money. This would be a great way to showcase the winners and add a touch of professionalism to the Tournament.

5. Atilla sent us an official financial sheet on the breakdown of profit/expenses for running the Neil Smyth Tournament.

6. The subject was discussed of people challenging tables, especially when the room is full. This is the current policy, but is not always adhered to. We also realize that challengers, who ask for “winners” at a table,  should do so on a table with players who’s skill level is near their own.

7. John made a motion that the equipment “swapmeet” should be held at the same time as the Club banquet. Borko seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously by the Board.

8. We discussed having a “For Sale” page on our website so members could post any unused equipment that they would like to sell. A concern was voiced that this webpage should not be used for  profit-making ventures, like someone selling shirts that they created or other like items.

9. The topic was raised again about having more inter-club tournaments with other clubs like Qualcomm, Baja and the Zaman Club. This is a great idea and will give our members much needed experience against people outside our club.

10. We tabled discussion on exhibitions at some of the local high schools.

11. We tabled discussion on increasing membership fees so there would be money available for sponsoring some of our members to outside tournaments across the U.S.

 

The motion to adjourn was made by Mark and seconded by Bob at 8:30pm.

The next meeting is July 8th at 7:00pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

May  13th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA.

Call to order 7:02pm by James.

SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, James Kahn, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Simon Lee, Borko Dragojlovic and Mark Adelman.

SDTTA Board Member(s) absent:

SDTTA Member(s) Present:

Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes.

The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for April 2014 by Borko and seconded by John. The Board carried the motion.

Treasurer’s Report:  John Anderson passed out the Treasurer’s Report which has been reconciled through April 2014.

Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report.

Membership Report: No report.

Equipment Report: The Carmel Valley Rec Center finally picked up the 2 tables they had purchased in March. That puts our current table count at 27.

Action Items:

1. We recently purchased 5 Joola tables from Andre for a total of $4,000. We need volunteers to pick-up the tables prior to the Neil Smyth Tournament. Simon volunteered the use of his company’s truck to transport the tables in.

2. We discussed the bad feedback we recently received from a Texas visitor that had been posted on Facebook. We discussed ways to resolve future issues and the main focus is on having any Board member who sees a “new” face at the club to approached that person and welcome them and explain how our club operates.

3. Borko requested table tennis balls for his Saturday training sessions. The Board approved the purchase of 2 gross (144 balls per gross) of balls.

4. We need volunteers to help setup tables, mats, etc for the Neil Smyth Tournament on Friday night (til 10pm) and to break down all equipment and put them away on Sunday night (til 7pm).

5. The Board would like to evaluate Atilla’s performance, after the Neil Smyth Tournament, to see if any improvements can be made or even to look at bringing someone else in to run the tournament. We understand the enormous amount of work and organization required to setup and run a tournament of this caliber and Atilla has proven himself in the past.

6. Borko talked to Michelle about how we can dispose of some of our non-repairable barriers. She said we could use the dumpster along the side of the building.

7. The equipment/paddle swap meet has been delayed until after the Neil Smyth Tournament. The date of the event has been tabled until the next Board meeting.

8. We discussed pro-rating our membership dues, but decided to leave the current policy in place.

 

The motion to adjourn was made by James and seconded by Bob at 8:25pm.

The next meeting is June 10th at 7:00pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

April  8th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

 

This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA.

Call to order 7:10pm by James.

SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, James Kahn, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson and Simon Lee.

SDTTA Board Member(s) absent:  Peter Sanidad and Mark Adelman

SDTTA Member(s) Present: Borko Dragojlovic

Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes.

The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for March 2014 by John and seconded by James. The board carried the motion.

Treasurer’s Report:  The report was tabled until the next meeting.

Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report.

Membership Report: No report.

Equipment Report: Bob was able to assemble 13 complete set of nets from the 3 boxes of parts that we had laying around.  Our current table count is 29. We found that the Carmel Valley Rec Center had paid for 2 tables but never picked them up, so our actual club count is 27.

Action Items:

1. Peter resigned from the Board. Borko volunteered to be a new Board member. A motion was made by Behnam to have Borko replace Peter as Board member. John seconded the motion and it was passed by the Board. We all would like to welcome Borko as newest Board member.

2. We discussed food for the upcoming Neil Smyth Tournament. The food must be sold in containers and we decided to supply about 60 meals a day. Meals will be supplied by Simon Burgers.

3. We currently tabled the idea of donating a table to the Balboa Park War Museum.

4. We will put on hold the purchase of 5 tables from Andre until Borko can talk to the table manufacturers and see if he can get a better deal than the $800 that Andre has offered us.

5. Borko will talk to Michelle and see how best we can dispose of the old and un-repairable barriers that are starting to pile up in the storage room.

6. It was decided, for continuity and accountability reasons, that James and Bob will be the only 2 members selling the club shirts.

7. We will be looking for volunteers for equipment setup and teardown for the Neil Smyth tournament.

8. The Friendship tournament that was scheduled for April 12th has been postponed due to the floor being waxed.

9. The equipment exchange/upgrade/swapmeet that was set for April 19th also has been cancelled due to the floor being waxed.

10. The Korean Church gathering has now been set for April 26th. We will be reserving 2 rows of tables for them.

 

The motion to adjourn was made by James and seconded by John at 8:15pm.

The next meeting is May 13th at 7:00pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

March  8th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

 

This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA.

Call to order 11:45am at Simon Burgers by James.

SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, James Kahn, Mark Adelman, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson and Simon Lee.

SDTTA Board Member(s) absent:  Peter Sanidad

SDTTA Member(s) Present:

Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes.

The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for Feb 2014 by James and seconded by John. The board carried the motion.

Treasurer’s Report:  John Anderson passed out the Treasurer’s Report which has been reconciled through February 2014.

Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report.

Membership Report: No report.

Equipment Report: There are 3 boxes of broken/discarded nets and accessories that are in the storage room being neglected. Bob has volunteered to takes these nets and try to repair them and make complete sets from all of the various parts. He will report back at the next meeting on his progress.

Action Items:

1. The new shirts will be advertised on the website at $20 for the plain shirts and $25 for the logo shirts. Shirts for the team players in the upcoming Friendship tournament will be free (donations accepted). James made a motion to give free shirts for board members. John seconded the motion and it was approved by the board.

2. For the upcoming Neil Smyth Tournament, we will not promoting via NATT, but rather Atilla will promote the tournament through his channels.

3. Atilla will find top players for the Neil Smyth Tournament and the club will pay for the airfare and hotel for up to 4 players. The club will be flexible as far as the players ratings are concerned.

4. The idea of setting up committees for equipment setup and advertising was brought up. Bob will head up the equipment committee and Mark will head up the advertising committee.

5. The Korean Church would like to reserve 2 rows of tables for a gathering on either 4/26 or 5/3. It was approved unanimously by the board.

6. The board approved the sale of 2 tables to the Carmel Valley Rec Center at $600 apiece.

7. James will talk to Andre about purchasing 5 new tables.

8. Simon has volunteered to supply the food for the upcoming Neil Smyth Tournament. James will talk to Michelle, of BPAC, to see what needs to be done to get this approved. Simon also made the generous gesture of donating all the money, from the food sales, back to the club.

9. James will talk with prospective coaches DJ Alto, Barney Reed and Milosz Przybylik about what their expectations are of coaching for the club.

10. Behnam has tentatively setup a Friendship tournament for April 12th with the Baja and Zaman clubs.

11. There will be an equipment exchange/upgrade/swapmeet on April 19th at the club. We hope to get Emilian Mihet involved with this since he has the knowledge and equipment (rubber and blades) to help out the members who have any questions.

12. It was suggested that we should start doing spot-checks on the members to see if their memberships are current. Another option was suggested we verify membership at the time of sign-up during the Thursday round-robin event.

 

The motion to adjourn was made by James and seconded by Mark at 1:07pm.

The next meeting is April 8th at 7:00pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary