BWSL Meeting Minutes

5.13.08

 

I –Roll Call:

Teams present:  Xtreme, Rocking Flamingos, Ravens, Renegades, 2 Xtreme and Panthers

Teams Absent:  Fury, PHI

 

II – Unfinished Business: 

A.                Update on Surplus Registration Money

a.       Trudy reports the following:

§  $4262 in the bank now

§  $1250 is owed for the boot bags

§  $263 is owed for the visors

§  $200 check has not been cashed by the referee assignor

§  $880 is being paid to FSSA for spring registration fees

§  This leaves a surplus of $1669

b.      The park has not yet sent an invoice for the fees for the summer.  However, last year’s fees were $1620 for the summer.  We should have a credit from the park not allowing us to use the field on 5/4/08, so we should only have to pay for 7 weeks of games.

c.       BWSL is very upset about the park’s handling of our field reservation for the scheduled Championship Day on 5/4/08.  We have been told we will get a “credit” due to the loss of the use of the fields on that day.  However, we feel that we should be entitled to more than that due to all of the planning and money spent on prizes for the Championship Day and the fact that the park never notified us that we would not have access to the fields on that day (which we had reserved well in advance).  We are requesting to get a credit for the field as well as parking passes for the summer season.  Bania will follow up with Michelle from the park.

 

B.                 Women’s Summer League

a.       There will be 8 teams for the summer as all spring teams indicated they will be putting in summer teams (Ravens, Renegades, Xtreme, 2Xtreme, Fury, Panthers, Flamingos, PHI). 

b.      We will only need to reserve one field.

c.       Games will be at 6:00 and 7:15 pm. 

d.      Halves will be 35 minutes each.

e.       Per player cost will be $35.00.

f.       Bania reports she has updated the players looking for a team link on the website.

g.      Bania will update the registration page on the website (it is still under construction at this time).  She will have this done by tomorrow.

h.      Summer Registration will begin as soon as the website is ready and will end 5/24/08.

i.        Jean will email out updates of who has registered to team reps periodically throughout the registration time frame.

 

C.                 Referee Fees

a.       For the summer Women and Coed leagues, referees will be paid $35 per game.

b.      The issue of raising referee fees in the fall was tabled.

c.       Discussed the quality of referees and the small pool of referees that are currently officiating our matches.  The league would like to see a larger choice of referees and higher credentialed referees.  If we could get this caliber of referee, the league would be more amenable to raising the ref fees. 

d.      Discussed the Referee Assignor’s duties and the requirement of a certification test to be a referee assignor.  It was mentioned that Fernando has expressed interest in being our referee assignor if the BWSL would pay for his certification.

 

D.                Coed Summer League

a.       The league decided not to merge with the Miami Sports and Social Club for a Tuesday Coed league.  The BWSL coed league will continue to operate as it has in previous seasons.  Jenny will notify Steve from Miami Sports and Social Club.

b.      There are 3 teams who are definite for the summer coed season: Flamingos, Panthers, and Hard Rock.  There may be a 4th team.  It was decided to go ahead and plan for a coed season with 4 teams this summer.  If we cannot get 4 teams registered in time, the summer coed league will be cancelled and all money returned to players.  If this is the case, there would be coed pick up on Tuesdays. 

c.       All players in BWSL leagues are required to have a state player pass card, this includes coed players. 

d.      It was agreed upon to try a new format for this summer coed session.  The following will be the rules:

                                                                          i.      There will be 3 female field players and 3 male field players. 

                                                                        ii.      The goalie can be male or female.

                                                                      iii.      A goal scored by a female will count as 2 points.

e.       Jenny will make up a coed schedule assuming there will be 4 teams.  Games will be at 7:00 and 8:15 pm with two 35 minute halves.

f.       The fields are reserved for coed Tuesdays and women’s Sundays thru December.

g.      Debbie will update the rules for coed.

 

E.                 Tax exempt status

a.       Debbie will update the rules/by-laws to add in a statement that says the BWSL is a non for profit organization.

b.      We have not registered to be exempt from State taxes.  This will require some paperwork to be completed and for us to complete a tax return each year for the league.

c.       A discussion followed regarding what are the costs and benefits of being a tax exempt organization.  It was questioned if the time spent to complete all of the forms and file all reports on a yearly basis would be worth the amount of money that might be saved.  It was pointed out that as a tax exempt organization we would be able to receive donations, which may entice larger corporations to give to the league. 

d.      A question was raised if we would need to hire an accountant due to the strain that these requirements may place on the Treasure.  It is not known what the cost of an accountant would be.  We need to get some prices.

 

F.                  Board Members and Team Reps playing for free

a.       It was determined that Board Members and Team Reps should be able to play for free as a reward for all of the time given to league activities and meetings.  The logistics of how this will work will be determined at a later meeting.  This would start for the fall season.

b.      A suggestion was made that qualifying board members/team reps could be credited for an upcoming season rather than a check being issued. 

 

G.                Webmaster

a.       Previously, we paid a webmaster $200 a season.

b.      If we hire someone, they would be expected to really manage the website and add in current links to USASA and women’s soccer news/events.

c.       We would need a candidate for this position if it is decided to hire a webmaster.  Ericka Barquin expressed an interest, but would need some assistance and software.

 

H.                Board Dinner

a.       Since it was decided that board members will get to play for free, this idea of a board dinner was not approved.

b.      We are not sure there will be enough money to financially allow a board dinner at this time.

 

I.                   Fall Tournament

a.       We first need to find out what Saturday dates are available from the park to proceed with making decisions about the fall tournament.  Item tabled until we obtain the dates.

 

 

NEXT MEETING DATE:  6/16/08

 

 

AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING:

1.  SCHEDULING A CHAMPIONSHIP DAY FOR THE FALL

2.  BANNER NEEDS NEW LOGO – COST OF A NEW BANNER

3.  FALL TOURNAMENT

4.  WEBMASTER

5.  TAX EXEMPT STATUS/ACCOUNTANT

 

 

ITEMS THAT NEED RESOLUTION PRIOR TO THE FALL SEASON:

1.      REFEREE FEES

2.      BOARD MEMBERS AND TEAM REPS PLAYING FOR FREE