Medals Galore at the Huntsman World Senior Games

by

Curt Dommeyer

The Huntsman World Senior Games are held every October in St. George, Utah, a community that has an elevation of about 3,000 feet and is located 120 miles northeast of Las Vegas. St. George is a popular location since it offers lots of scenic areas nearby such as Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell, and the Grand Canyon.

 

The Huntsman Games offer senior athletes, those aged 50 to 100, opportunities to compete in one or more of 30 sports.  Among the sports available were archery, basketball, bowling, mountain biking, softball, tennis, volleyball, and track and field. Because of the popularity of the games, the tournament regulators placed a cap on how many athletes may enter each sport.  For example, badminton was limited to 100 entrants, pickleball was limited to 776 entrants, and table tennis was limited to 225 entrants.

 

The 2018 Huntsman Games were held from October 7 – 19.  They catered to 11,032 senior athletes, and they attracted athletes from 32 countries.  The oldest athlete was 96 years and 7 months old, and s/he competed in the bowling.

 

Since I’m now retired and free to travel throughout the year, Sue and I decided that we would attempt to experience this year’s Huntsman Games.  We figured we would have no trouble entering the badminton events, but we were not sure about our ability to enter the pickleball competitions. Last year, the pickleball events filled up within the first minute that entries were taken online.  Because many people could not enter the pickleball last year, it was decided that a lottery system would be used to accept pickleball competitors this year.  In other words, the Huntsman Games would accept pickleball entries during a two-week period.  Then, if they had more entrants than they could handle, they would randomly select competitors from the pool of entrants who were properly entered.  Sue and I attempted to boost our chances of getting entered by volunteering to serve as line judges during the tournament. Apparently, our strategy worked, for we were permitted entry in several of the pickleball doubles events.

 

On October 12^th and 13^th, Sue and I competed in the badminton events.  There were about 60 entrants in the badminton, and about a third of them were from Canada.  The badminton was a bit disappointing for me, as there was little competition.  I competed in three events, and I had only two matches in the 70+ singles, one match in the 65+ men’s doubles, and one match in the 65+ mixed doubles.  It was fairly easy for me (and my respective partners) to win all the matches and pick up three gold medals.  Sue had a similar experience in her three events, but she was pushed to three games in the singles and three games in the women’s doubles. Nonetheless, she also won three gold medals.  Another member of our club – Phil Brunner – walked away with a gold medal in 80+ men’s singles, a silver medal in the 65+ men’s doubles, and a bronze medal in the 75+ mixed doubles.

 

The pickleball competition started on October 15^th, and it was a lot more challenging for me and Sue.  The pickleball competition at the Huntsman Games and other places is “double elimination.”  That is, you can continue to play matches until you have lost two matches.  Once you lose your first match, you drop down into the loser’s bracket, and you proceed to compete against other losers.  If you are eventually able to beat all the losers, you will find yourself moving back to the winner’s bracket where you will compete for the gold medal.

 

Unlike badminton where you would simply enter an age category event, pickleball divides the events not only by age but also by playing ability.  For example, Sue and I competed in the 65+ mixed doubles and the 3.5 playing level. (Playing levels go from 3.0 to 5.0 and go up in .5 increments.)  There were about 100 teams in this category.  Rather than have one massive tournament among the 100 teams, the tournament organizers made five separate groups – A, B, C, D, and E –  and each group had its own tournament.  Sue and I were in group D, and we managed to win all our matches and land in the finals against a team that came up from the loser’s bracket.  In the finals, we did not play up to our abilities, and we won a silver medal.  Pickleball is a relatively new sport for us, so we were happy to do as well as we did.  Sue also won a bronze medal in the 60+ (3.5) women’s doubles.

 

 

Sue and Curt at Huntsman Games

In closing, I should mention that one of our older club members, Lee Calvert, competed in the table tennis competition.  She won gold medals in the 90+ women’s singles, the 85+ women’s doubles, and the 85+ mixed doubles.  Congratulations, Lee.

 

We had a fantastic response rate of over 225 responses, which represented about 60% of all families. Thank you SO much for your time and input, the feedback was amazing. In addition to the ‘checkbox’ type answers, we received hundreds of written comments on many issues. I can assure you the Board and future Boards will carefully study and take action based on your thoughts and input.

We had responses from Playing Members, Provisional Members, Regular Members, Associate Members, younger members and older members. The Club truly has a varied range of demographics, all represented in the survey.

A few general observations :

First, it is clear we all really love being members of MBBC. The top question that got the highest response rate was “What you love about the Club”. We got about 150 answers to this question alone…. and they really captured the essence of what makes MBBC special.

Secondly, there are clearly aspects of the Club that members generally do not want to change, as well as areas that members want to improve. This data will help your Board greatly, serving as a roadmap to focus on what the majority wants done and in what order.

Lastly, the survey showed that for any topic, there are a range of opinions. One member said the outdoor kitchen area is “fine”, while another called it “disgusting”. What we need to do is look at areas where there is a general consensus, and realize we cannot make everyone happy — but in a democratic way work on areas that the members feel is most important.

Click here to see all survey results

To summarize, members are using all aspects of the Club, especially the pool, courts, bathrooms, lounge, and BBQ area. They are very pleased with the areas that have been recently remodeled. They are not pleased with the condition of our older areas, such as the bathrooms, lounge, and outdoor kitchen.

Members like the low-key “beach casual” personality that MBBC offers, and do not want that to change. They like the WorkCredit system, which helps keep dues low and brings people together in various activities.

Lastly, members very much want to improve and maintain our facilities, and would likely support a dues increase to help pay for a better club.

West End Improvement Complete

We are thrilled that the Sport Court project is complete and has already seen a lot of use! Thank you to all who helped make this plan a reality!

There are two locations for the poles and nets. Posted here is a “how to” adjust the nets and the poles for volleyball, etc.

 

A huge thank you to Gary Penberthy and Stephani Armstrong for managing our recent project to repair and repaint the courts.  All your hard work and time saved the club a good deal of money, and helped ensure the project was done carefully and professionally.

Both Past Presidents, Gary and Stephani worked hard to manage and finance the project, making runs to lumber yards and paint suppliers nearly every day sometimes twice per day to keep the workers moving forward.

Thanks again for helping the club to keep our courts in world class condition!

BEFORE

AND AFTER

The Semi-Annual General Membership Meeting was held Sunday May 20th, 2018.

All items recommended by the Board and/or Nominating Committee were voted in favor; specifically:

• Changes to the By-Laws (see details here)
• Dede Tran elected to the 2018-19 Board as Adult Badminton Chair
• Election of Officers for 2018-19

2018-19 Board of Directors

President:  Nancy Andreas
Vice President:  Art Merkin
Treasurer:  William Yu
Secretary:  Lijun Wang
Adult Badminton: Dede Tran
Junior Badminton: Yuko Kawasaki
Entertainment: Shiney Chen
House Chair:  Marcos Yang
New Construction:  Faith Lyons
Communications:  Lynn O’Connell
Past President:  Rocky Wilson

The Board is recommending several changes to the By-Laws. Specifically, to Article III, Sections 4, 9, 10 and 13, and Article VIII, Section 1.

Summary of Changes

The first paragraph of Article III, Section 4, Dues, Fees and Fines is to be replaced in its entirety. With this change, members who are delinquent in paying their dues and fines, Playing Members, and Junior Members will be required to enroll in, and maintain enrollment in, automatic withdrawal. There is no change to the determination of when an account becomes delinquent. The remainder of this section (items (A) through (K)) are unchanged.

The attached new version of Article III, Section 9, Member Obligations, will replace the existing Article III, Section 9 in its entirety. Key changes include:

1. Define what a Workday Obligation is and who needs to do them.
2. Define the accrual of Workday Obligations for departing and new members.
3. Simplify the list of things that can be considered a workday.
4. Clarify which classes of members have General Meeting Obligations (need to attend meetings).
5. Clarify the issue of General Meeting attendance, proxies and missed meeting fines.

The first paragraph of Article III, Section 10, Resignation and Termination is to be replaced in its entirety. With this change, the effective date of a resignation from the first day of the month following acceptance of such resignation to the last day of the month of the acceptance of such resignation. The remainder of this section (i.e., everything after the first paragraph) is unchanged.

The first paragraph of Article III, Section 13, Nomination and Election of Officers and Governors is to be replaced in its entirety. With this change, the Nominating Committee will be required to keep the Board apprised on such committee’s search for the ensuing year’s Officers and Governors. The rest of this section (i.e., everything after the first paragraph) is unchanged.

Finally, the first paragraph of Article VIII, Section 1, Execution of Documents is to be replaced in its entirety. Currently, the Board may enter into contracts on behalf of the Club up to $20,000. The proposed change restricts this to emergency and/or general maintenance repairs and provides a $5,000 limit for other expenditures. The rest of this section (i.e., everything after the first paragraph) is unchanged.

We did not provide a formal redline version because it would be unreadable.

We recommend that you review the proposed changes to the By-Laws and the existing By-Laws.

Complete Text of New Changes

ARTICLE III – SECTION 4. DUES, FEES AND FINES  (first paragraph only)

Dues, fees (including guest fees) and fines shall be due and payable on the first day of each billing period and shall be considered delinquent if not paid in full by the second day of the month following the start of a billing period. If an account becomes delinquent, and in order to retain membership, such account must (i) pay the balance in full by the time of the next billing from the Club or make other financial arrangements acceptable to the Treasurer and (ii) enroll in, and maintain enrollment in, automatic withdrawal (i.e., ACH). Notwithstanding the foregoing, all Playing Members and Junior Member accounts are required to enroll in, and maintain enrollment in, automatic withdrawal. Dues, fees and expenses of, or associated with, temporary guest members shall be paid by the sponsoring member. Dues may be increased or decreased by two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of those voting members present at a regular or special membership meeting at which a quorum is present.

ARTICLE III – SECTION 9.MEMBER OBLIGATIONS   (in entirety)

Members of the club are required to fulfill Workday Obligations and attend General Meetings, as outlined in this section. Financial penalties will be assessed for failure to fulfill Workday Obligations and failure to fulfill General Meeting Obligations. Fines will be assessed at the end of each fiscal year for returning members, and at the Effective Date of resignation or termination for departing members.

(A) Workday Obligations

1) Each Workday Obligation is to be approximately four (4) hours of work. Partial credit will not be granted. All Workday Obligations must be verified by the event organizer and approved by a Board member. Members may not self-report the fulfillment of Workday Obligations.

2) Each Regular, Legacy, Provisional, and Playing Member of the Club is required to perform three (3) Workday Obligations for each fiscal year. Each Intermediate Associate Member of the Club is required to perform one (1) Workday Obligation for each fiscal year. Workday Obligations shall be performed between June 1 of the fiscal year through the following May 31.

3) Spouses may fulfill each other’s Workday Obligations.

4) Members are encouraged to perform additional Workday Obligations during the year; however, such additional Workday Obligations shall not carry over into subsequent years.

5) For the purpose of determining when Workday Obligations accrue for new or departing members, the year is broken into the following three (3) four-month periods, or “thirds”: June through September; October through January; and February through May.

a) Members whose membership ends during the year will owe one (1)Workday Obligation for each full or partial third of the year during which they were members. By way of example, if a member departs in December, they would owe two (2) Workday Obligations for that year, one (1) for each of the first two (2) thirds of the year.

b) Members joining during the year will owe one (1)Workday Obligation for each full third of the year during which they are members. By way of example, if a member joins in December, they would owe one (1) Workday Obligation for that year, for the last third of the year.

6) Members will be assessed $150 for each unfulfilled Workday Obligation during their tenure. The annual fines for failing to perform Workday Obligations are as follows:

For 1 unfulfilled Workday Obligation: $150
For 2 unfulfilled Workday Obligations: $300
For 3 unfulfilled Workday Obligations: $450

7) Workday Obligations may be fulfilled by any of the following methods:

a.  Participating in regularly scheduled workdays at the Club as scheduled by the House Chair, which will be announced in the Shuttlecock and posted online.
b.  Participating in projects approved and scheduled by the House Chair or New Construction Chair.
c.  Providing assistance for badminton tournaments at the Club as verified by the tournament chair and approved by a Board member.
d.  Serving on a committee for a party or other event as verified by the party or event chair and approved by a Board Member. The ability to earn Workday Obligations for such events must be pre-approved by the Board.
e.  Serving in other capacities specifically approved by a Board member.

8) Workday Obligation Credit for Board Members

a) A member who serves on the Board of Directors, and his/her spouse, shall be deemed to have fulfilled all Workday Obligations during the Member’s tenure on the Board and the following year. A member who serves as President of the Board of Directors, and his/her spouse, shall be deemed to have fulfilled all Workday Obligations for each year after such Member’s tenure on the Board.

b) The Treasurer and House Chair shall be deemed to have fulfilled all Workday Obligations for the next two years after such Member’s tenure on the Board.

c) If a member serves consecutive terms on the Board, such member’s additional years of deemed fulfilled Workday Obligations shall accumulate and applied to periods immediately after such member has completed service on the Board, instead of being applied during the member’s subsequent consecutive terms on the Board.

9) Disputes regarding the fulfillment of and/or fines assessed for Workday Obligations shall be resolved by the sitting Vice President.

10) Persistent Default in Workday Obligations

The membership of any member who fails to fulfill their Workday Obligations during any two-year period may be terminated. At any time, the Vice President (or his/her designee) may review the participation of each member during the preceding two-year period, and report to the Board regarding any member who has failed to fulfill their Workday Obligations during the preceding two-year period. Promptly after receiving such report, the Board shall determine whether to terminate the membership of any such member.

(B) General Meeting Obligations

1) The club has two (2) General Meetings per fiscal year, with the first one to be held on the second Sunday in November, and the second one to be held on the third Sunday in May.

2) Each Regular, Intermediate Associate, Legacy, and Provisional Member of the Club is required to attend both General Meetings associated with a fiscal year. Attendance in a fiscal year may be satisfied in either of the following ways:

a) Attending in person and signing in at both the November and the May General Meetings; or
b) Attending in person and signing in at one (1) of the General Meetings and submitting a timely proxy for the other General Meeting.

3) No General Meeting credit will be given for a proxy unless the Member attends in person and signs in at the other General Meeting for that fiscal year. In other words, if a Member submits a proxy for both General Meetings in the same fiscal year, no General Meeting credit will be given for either meeting.

4) Members will be assessed $100 for each failure to fulfill a General Meeting Obligation as described in Paragraph (2) above, for a maximum fine of $200 per fiscal year per member. Such fine is in addition to any Workday Obligation fines.

5) Spouses may not fulfill each other’s General Meeting Obligations.

6) No General Meeting Obligation credits are given to members solely by virtue of such members serving, or having served, on the Board of Directors.

SECTION 10. RESIGNATION AND TERMINATION  (first paragraph only)

Any member may resign. Such resignation to be effective on the last day of the month in which the written resignation is accepted by the Board of Directors, but such resignation shall not relieve the member so resigning of the obligation to pay dues, assessments or other charges theretofore accrued and unpaid, if any. The resignation must be addressed to the Board of Directors and be accompanied by stock certificate (or affidavit of lost stock certificate) and keys and/or other equipment member may have in his possession before stock can be refunded.

SECTION 13. NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND GOVERNORS  (first paragraph only)

The Board of Directors shall at least six weeks prior to the annual May meeting, appoint from the membership of the Club, a committee of five individuals composed of the most immediate past presidents who shall recommend a ticket of Officers and Governors for the ensuing year. The Nominating Committee shall keep the Board apprised of their search and final recommendations shall be made to the current Board by the May Board Meeting and mailed to the Regular, Intermediate Associate and Associate Members of the Club at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting. However, nothing herein contained shall preclude the nomination of other candidates of the Club to be balloted for at the same time. No person shall be eligible for election as an Officer or Governor unless their name shall have been posted as a candidate along with the person nominating them upon the bulletin board of the Club for at least three (3) days preceding the date of the election. No person may be nominated in the ways herein specified unless the nominated person consents hereto.

ARTICLE VIII – SECTION 1. EXECUTION OF DOCUMENTS  (first paragraph only)

The Board of Directors may authorize any officers, agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Club in a sum not to exceed $20,000.00 for emergency and/or general maintenance repairs only; and up to $5,000 for general or confined to specific instances. Such authority may be only be authorized by the Board of Directors, no officer, agent or other person shall have any power or authority to bind the Club by any contract or engagement or to pledge its credit or render it liable for any purpose or to any amount. All contracts, bond and other instruments in writing shall be first approved by the Board of Directors and be signed by both the Treasurer and the President.

If you are mailing checks to pay your MBBC bills/invoices, please send payment to the following address:

Cloud Smart Accounting
P.O. Box 2189
Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274

Please note, starting June 1, all Monday through Friday Junior practices will be held from 5-7 pm.  Saturday will remain 10-1.