The Semi-Annual General Membership Meeting was held Sunday November 3rd, 2019.

All items recommended by the Board were voted in favor; specifically:

• Award Honorary status to Stephani Armstrong
• Up to $45,000 for architectural costs to develop Facilities Plan and 1st phase drawings
• Revision to the By-Laws

Dear Members,

Thank you all for your feedback on the preliminary proposals, which resulted in a few very helpful changes.  Please find enclosed information for your review, on the key issues that will be voted on at the Semi-Annual Meeting on Sunday November 3rd.

There will be two main proposals.

Facilities:  Develop architectural drawings for an Integrated Facility Plan, and for Phase 1

The Board would like membership approval to take next steps towards updating our facilities.

First, a quick summary of what has been done to date:

• 2018 – Early 2019:  Following the member survey, our New Construction Chair led Mini-Committees and discussion of which areas members want to improve.  Five key areas were identified — bathrooms, kitchen/lounge, barbeque area, fitness center, and pool infrastructure. We also met with three local architect firms for bids and proposals.
• May 2019:  Members approved a dues increase, primarily to pay for major improvements in a phased approach, likely to span 5-10 years.
• Mid 2019:   The Club hired Tomaro Architecture to develop some preliminary concepts and meet with City of Manhattan Beach to assess potential feasibility; at a cost not to exceed $5,000.  The City provided guidance as to which changes could be made, and others that would not be allowed. Based on that information, we learned the scope and areas of the property that would most-likely get approval.

Proposal:  Develop architectural drawings for an Integrated Facility Plan and Phase 1; not to exceed $45,000.  Funds to be used as follows:

• Retain Tomaro Architecture at a cost not to exceed $35,000.  
  1. Develop schematic designs of all key areas to be remodeled (ADA bathrooms, BBQ area, kitchen/lounge, fitness center, pool equipment), at a cost not to exceed $20,000; to include meetings to ascertain requirements, schematic design documents, drawings and scale documents, additional feasibility meetings with the City, best order of new construction phases, and assistance to get preliminary construction estimates from contractors.
  2. Remaining funds (approx. $15,000) to begin design and construction documents for Phase 1, to be determined based after developing the Facility Plan; or for other expenses directly related to the Facility Plan.
• Spend up to $10,000 for associated fees such as site survey updates and engineering studies (geotechnical, etc).

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Bylaws:  Changes to correct, clarify wording, and remove inconsistencies

The Board is proposing a ByLaws revision to improve wording, remove outdated sections, and fix inconsistencies with current policy.  The effort started as a small review, but expanded as we enlisted the assistance of a California corporate attorney. Numerous changes were recommended on almost every page, to improve readability, interpretation, and clarity.

Please note:  We are not proposing any changes to current policies, rules, authority, or privileges of any members or officers.  Rather our objective is to “Clean Up” the Bylaws so that they properly define current existing practices, and serve as an accurate and easy-to-understand set of rules for how MBBC operates. 

The revisions fall into 2  general groups:

1. Improved wording for clarification, or to correct typos, grammar, and duplication
2. Inconsistency between By-Laws and current policy

The first group of changes are self-explanatory.  

The second group are summarized here:

• In the Bylaws, Children are classified as Members.  But in practice, children are not members. They do not have the privileges of members and cannot use the Club without their parents.  We recommend removing the “Junior Member” classification for children, as it is confusing and problematic to call them members.
• The Bylaws state that new members pay $350 of their initial membership fee upon joining, and the balance later.  But for the last 5+ years, new members have paid their initial membership fee in full, not in two phases.    
• Our Bylaws reference stock certificates in many places.  In practice, the Club has not issued any stock or membership certificates in over 20 years — and our attorney confirms that certificates are not required to prove membership (California Mutual Benefit Nonprofit Corporation).
• The Bylaws say Playing Memberships are for only 6 months, and must be individually reviewed by the Board and renewed every 6 months.  But this is not what we do in practice, and not necessary. We have also updated the classifications and qualifications for Playing Members to be more consistent with how the Club admits new members.
• The Bylaws state the Club must elect a Badminton Committee with staggered terms, which has not been done for many years.  We have modified the requirement to be discretionary, and the wording to be less onerous; so that future Boards can more easily follow this procedure.

Proposal:  Move to adopt the proposed Bylaws revision, as defined in the Commented Bylaws Proposal, or the pdf Bylaws Redline Proposal.  The Bylaws as they will read if the proposed revision is adopted is also available here: Bylaws Proposed Revisions.

Earlier this year, the Board amended the jacuzzi rules on a trial basis.

Based on requests from many families, and in accordance with the CDC and the Red Cross, which advise an age limit of 5 and over for jacuzzis, the Board decided to allow children age 5 and over to use the jacuzzi.  (Previous age was 10 and over.)  As a family friendly club, we hoped this policy would allow for more people to enjoy the facilities.

Now with the end of the summer, we are polling the members — and based on your feedback, will make these changes permanent, or revert to the previous rule that children under 10 are not permitted.

Please note, the following important rules would still apply:

1.  All children under 18 must be closely supervised by an adult member at all times
2.  Adult Members have priority for jacuzzi use at all times
3.  The “no children under 5 rule” will be strictly enforced

Poll is now closed (10/15).   thank you for your input!

Lastly, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and optionally submit any comments below!

Why a 62-year-old played at the world badminton championships
By Nick ZaccardiAug 19, 2019, 4:21 PM EDT

 

Mathew Fogarty said badminton’s European elite made fun of him for playing professionally at age 59. That was three years ago. Fogarty still competes at the sport’s highest level, taking part in the world championships that began Monday in Basel, Switzerland.
Fogarty, who turns 63 on Oct. 30, is older than any U.S. Olympian in any sport since the St. Louis 1904 Games, according to the OlyMADMen.
“I play because I can, and I’m a doctor, and I think sports is a really important part of people’s health and fitness,” said Fogarty, who has played competitively since age 7, whose full-time job is a psychoanalyst and who is based in the Los Angeles area. “I’ll stop badminton when I can no longer qualify. There’s still opportunity, and I love the sport. I’m going to continue to do the best I can.”
He lost in the first round of mixed doubles at worlds on Monday. Fogarty and partner Isabel Zhong, a 27-year-old with an IMBD profile, saw their world championships end in 23 minutes, a 21-9, 21-10 loss to a Ukrainian pair.
That was more competitive than Fogarty’s last two worlds appearances — a 21-6, 21-4 loss with Zhong in 2018 and a 21-2, 21-4 loss with another partner in 2017. Fogarty’s only international match wins in the last two years came via walkover or the one time his singles opponent retired after three points, according to his World Badminton Federation profile. He won an international tournament as recently as 2011 and said his career-high mixed doubles world ranking was 32.
He and Zhong paired because they were part of the same Manhattan Beach Badminton Club, and she wanted to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games, Fogarty said. Zhong did not respond to an interview request.
“I told her I didn’t know if we could do it, but we could try,” Fogarty said. “It’s extremely remote [chances] … slim to nil.”
The top mixed doubles team from the North and South American region is in line to qualify for the Olympics. The leaders in qualifying so far are Canadians ranked 19th in the world. Fogarty and Zhong, though they are the only U.S. mixed doubles team at worlds, are 67th in the world in Olympic qualifying and third among Americans.
The U.S. has never earned an Olympic medal in badminton, which debuted at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Mixed doubles was added starting at Atlanta 1996, but the U.S. has put just one mixed team into an Olympics, getting swept out of pool play in Rio.
Fogarty, who has never played at the Olympics, is able to play at worlds for a few reasons: he can fund his way to international events to accumulate ranking points; the U.S. is historically weak and has a lack of players with professional ambitions; mixed doubles is the least common of the Olympic disciplines.
“Matt takes it seriously,” said Dean Schoppe, a fellow 62-year-old who has known and played with Fogarty for nearly a half-century. Schoppe recently retired from pro badminton himself. “Matt still approaches the matches with the actual idea of winning,”
Schoppe called Fogarty the best American junior player of his generation in the late 1970s.
“Most badminton players retire at about 26 or 27 with their first catastrophic injury, which is usually a torn Achilles,” he said. “There are people who are born [to play], you see it in every sport. Magic Johnson, they have the peripheral vision. They have the balance. They have all the intangibles that other people have to try to learn and can’t.
“He has the gift. He can look at you peripherally and see that you’re leaning. … Fogarty can hold the serve and turn his shoulders and do crap that makes you fall over, and that infuriates.”

Badmintonphoto/BWF
Fogarty took breaks from the sport for medical school in the 1980s and ’90s. He returned in the late 1990s and kept playing deep into his 40s, 50s and now 60s in part, he said, to challenge corruption within the sport.
Fogarty had legal battles with USA Badminton. He said that past officials broke up his Olympic hopeful partnership with a teenager in men’s doubles to push others toward the 2000 Sydney Games.
“The last thing they wanted was a 42-year-old with an 18-year-old trying to make the Olympics,” Schoppe said.
USA Badminton recently had mass resignations among its board and top officials amid reports of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee threatening decertification.
USA Badminton’s new interim CEO, 1992 and 1996 Olympian Linda French, declined comment on Fogarty’s past issues with the organization because she was not formally involved at the time.
“We’re hopeful to move forward in a positive manner and wish all our athletes continued success,” French said.
Fogarty does not know how much longer he will travel the world, or even the U.S., to play competitively. A 43-year-old told him at a recent event that Fogarty was his inspiration to keep playing.
“The nature of sports is you can’t predict what it’s going to be,” Fogarty said.
Schoppe dismissed a question of whether it’s easier to play badminton at such a ripe age than other physically demanding sports.
“Imagine pulling out James Worthy and say, OK, James you are now starting for Golden State and you’re playing the Lakers tomorrow,” Schoppe said. “You cannot be old in badminton and do well in badminton. It’s nothing like baseball.
“We were the anomaly of anomalies to have success in our 40s. Nobody does.”

 

link to original article:

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2019/08/19/mathew-fogarty-badminton/

 

 

Dear Members, More details will come in the next Shuttlecock, but we wanted to inform all members of the voting results from the Semi-Annual Meeting held last Sunday May 19th. All motions passed with nearly unanimous votes. Motion on Proposal #1: Approved:  Change the Bylaws to move the date of the semi-annual meeting to the first Sunday in November (vs second) to avoid conflicts with the Veterans Day Holiday.  (Exact wording of changes in redline version of bylaws, highlighted in red) Motion on Proposal #2: Approved:  Change the Bylaws to specifically allow electronic means of sending communications, such as email.  Original proposal amended to allow a member to request notices via US Mail, and to send any notice of forfeiture, expulsion or suspension via US Mail. (Exact wording of changes in redline version of bylaws, highlighted in green) Motion on Proposal #3: Approved:  Change the Bylaws to: 1.  Increase dues for EXISTING members 2.  Raise rates for NEW members, who join after 6/1/2019 3.  Increase membership fee (non-refundable) for NEW members, who join after 6/1/2019. (Exact wording of these changes in redline version of bylaws, highlighted in blue) Please Note:  Dues will increase effective June 1st, and will be reflected in your upcoming billing statement. Dues for current members will be: $60/mo for Regular, Provisional, Legacy, and Playing Members; $40/mo for Intermediate Associate Members; $30/mo for Associate Members

MBBC members, we are excited to share our courts another year with the Mira Costa High School Badminton team (MCHS) so that they can practice and compete in CIFSS competitions.  Please be aware that MCHS will be utilizing the courts Tuesday 4-7 pm, Wednesday 5-7 pm, Thursday, 5-7 pm.  Starting January 8th and concluding June 6th.

For more information and the season schedule click here: MCHS Badminton Schedule 2019

In late November, we discovered the pool was losing almost 4 inches of water a day.  

Here is a brief history of what was done:

12/03/2018:  We have a large leak…..  our maintenance company did a full pressure test of the system on Monday Dec 3rd, and we will have more information on what must be fixed by 12/6.  The earliest work will begin is the week of 12/10.

12/10/2018:  We received a full report from the pressure test.  One major leak found as well as other areas to repair.  We are meeting with the Pool repair company Tuesday morning 12/11

12/11/2018:  The pool company should start the repairs this Friday 12/14.  We hope the pool will reopen within a few days after that.

12/15/2018:  A large leak in one section of pipe was repaired Friday.  Unfortunately, we think there is another leak that we need to find and repair.  The workers will return Monday for more work.

12/20/2018:  They tested and found another leak yesterday.  The workers will return Friday 12/21 for repairs.

12/27/2018:  The repairs were completed last weekend, we got the pool filled, cleaned, and re-opened by Friday the 28th!

 

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.