CJAA Future...

[imported_mknutson]

I thought that someone who was at the Moab Meeting would have brought this up for me but....
Harry Parker has named me (Mick Knutson) the new President of the CJAA.

What does this mean to America?

I plan to get the wheels moving in america again.

I will be posting a Corporate initiative here shortly. I will also be mailing this document to all CJAA members via snail mail.

My main goals are as follows:
* Hold a vote to revitalize the Board of Directors.
* Review and release an official License program.
http://www.baselogic.com/ibf/
* Review and release an official Site rating system.
http://www.baselogic.com/ibf/
* Begin work on an official "First Jump Coarse" minimum requirements.
* Work with the BLM, State and Local official to manage contunued access.
* Put increased pressure on the NPS to listen to the BASE community and give us access.

These are just a few key points I will be attacking in the next 6 months.
I am planning on having the newly ellected BOD in place withing the next 2 months....So....

If you are interested in joing the CJAA BOD, please start gathering a paragraph on your quailification and background. THis will be used to send out ballots to ALL CJAA members for a vote.

For those of you who are international, Please e-mail me and I can give you information about how the standards being set in the USA, can also help your safety and access efforts world-wide.

--
Thanks

Mick Knutson
BLiNC Magazine

"Everything you ever wanted to know about BASE Jumping, but didn't know who to ask."
--

[guest]

OK. I think this really needs to be talked about. I'm surprised that no one is posting on this thread. Here are my thoughts...

>I thought that someone who was
>at the Moab Meeting would
>have brought this up for
>me but....
>Harry Parker has named me (Mick
>Knutson) the new President of
>the CJAA.

I am concerned that the CJAA can be handed off from one person to another like this. Shouldn't there be some kind of election for a president?

I would encourage Mick to actually hold some kind of democratic restructuring in order to get more participation. I'm not saying Mick is a bad choice (out of the current choices, I'd vote for Mick), but I do think that unless we all buy into the CJAA and make it into a group for all of us, with all our input, it is doomed to failure.

>I will be posting a Corporate
>initiative here shortly. I will
>also be mailing this document
>to all CJAA members via
>snail mail.

Might I also suggest a call for new members? The CJAA has been unable to accept new members for the (rather short) duration of my time in the sport. I'd suggest that calling for new members ought to be a first step, rather than a last one. That way the current restructuring and revitalizing can be done with the input of more people,

>My main goals are as follows:
>
>* Hold a vote to revitalize
>the Board of Directors.
>* Review and release an official
>License program.
>http://www.baselogic.com/ibf/
>* Review and release an official
>Site rating system.
>http://www.baselogic.com/ibf/
>* Begin work on an official
>"First Jump Course" minimum requirements.

I think the CJAA needs a more fundamental reorganization than this.

Here are a few issues worth thinking about.

1) Whay are there two BASE organizations in the U.S. (the USBA and the CJAA)? I think these groups ought to merge. We should have one central organization which lobbies, organizes, and gives numbers. I also think we ought to have some kind of "general meeting" forum (perhaps once yearly, somewhere in say, West Virginia, perhaps in the fall?), where the members could talk to the Board of Directors and the President face to face. Perhaps regular board meetings could also be held on line to allow public comment. Unless the CJAA is an all inclusive, democratic organization, which we all subscribe to, it's utility will be severely limited. Why should the NPS listen to a group of five or six jumpers who claim to represent us all? Why can't the people who give the numbers be part of the CJAA? If we want to be taken seriously, we need to act seriously, which means being democratic, accountable, inclusive, and most of all functioning.

2) The IPBC is the best part of the CJAA. Making sure that the IPBC continues (and grows!) ought to be very high on the agenda. Harry may think that it has served it's purposes (gather statistics, increase skill level, showcase the sport), but he is wrong. We still need to showcase the sport to more people, new jumpers like myself still have abysmal skill levels and need the IPBC for help with that (it may have increased all of your skill levels over the last few years, but I still need help!), and more statistics can only help more. We need the IPBC now more than ever.

Seriously. Let's have some discussion by and inclusion of all of us before the CJAA gets reorganized.

OK, now's your chance to flame me for babbling about issues I have no clue about...

Anybody?

--Tom Aiello

[guest]

I BELIEVE THAT IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY, ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER ARE FOLLOWED. IN THEM I BELIEVE THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO JUST GIVE AWAY YOUR PRESIDENCY--IF YOU RESIGN, THE VP BECOMES THE PRESIDENT AND THEN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MAY APPOINT A NEW VP. BUT DON'T GET ME WRONG-- I THINK MICK IS A GREAT CHOICE FOR THE PRESIDENT!!

[guest]

IPBC stands for International Pro Base Circuit.

Let me stress the Pro, as in Professional. Meaning already of sufficient skill levels to compete on a professional level. If you need more education may I suggest an Instructor, or guided course on object jumping? No joke intended, this is the CJAA area. The IPBC is a competition organization.

The CJAA should be our governing body. No one wants rules, but the truth is our access to National parks, as well as our continued access to BLM lands will be determined by our ability to govern ourselves. Licensing, site ratings, and the basic standards of instruction are going to be necessary steps in the direction of professionalism.

There are a few of us who have talked about the next year. I am surprised Mick is going to waste time with a vote right now. Now is the time to move. Those who have been laying their asses on the line should be the ones at the front. If you want a vote, join CJAA and come to the next general membership meeting. Near as I can figure Mick should pick 9 others and get the BOD onto the task of ratings and licenses. Ten is plenty to maintain fairness.

There will be plenty of time to vote, and be all democratic on a nationwide full membership level.
Until then, I say we move on the ratings and change them later if necessary.
Ive seen this Bureaucratic loop for way to long now, enough.
Brian

[guest]

>IPBC stands for International Pro Base
>Circuit.
>
>Let me stress the Pro, as
>in Professional. Meaning already
>of sufficient skill levels to
>compete on a professional level.
> If you need more
>education may I suggest an
>Instructor, or guided course on
>object jumping?

I do not think I will ever be of a sufficient skill level to stop learning. I do need more education. Only a fool thinks he is beyond the need to learn.


>If you
>want a vote, join CJAA
>and come to the next
>general membership meeting. Near
>as I can figure Mick
>should pick 9 others and
>get the BOD onto the
>task of ratings and licenses.
> Ten is plenty to
>maintain fairness.

Excellent. How do I join? When and where will the next meeting be?

>There will be plenty of time
>to vote, and be all
>democratic on a nationwide full
>membership level.
>Until then, I say we move
>on the ratings and change
>them later if necessary.
>I’ve seen this Bureaucratic loop for
>way to long now, enough.

Come on guys. Unless you let the new kids play in your club, it can't be the only game in town. Because we'll start our own set of letters and add them to the alphabet soup of confusion.

Bottom line: If you don't include people, you can not legitimately claim to speak for them.

--Tom Aiello

[imported_mknutson]

Tom, The issue is not to push anyone out. THe first step is to get the wheels moving again very soon!
The next step, use democracy to re-shape the future of the CJAA. So if the new kids want in, just run in a vote and get elected. There will be a fair vote for everyone!
--
Thanks

Mick Knutson
BLiNC Magazine

"Everything you ever wanted to know about BASE Jumping, but didn't know who to ask."
--

[guest]

Thanks for your input Tom and Brian. It takes input and fire to motivate and move an organization to the next level!

Brian's right! We are needing to keep the ball rolling in our favor and by tracking more jumps, earning additional respect from the BLM governing body and asking our members how they feel via an election types of polling we will accomplish this!

Tom, I agree that the next BOD needs to be open for discussion by anyone who shows up. If you go throught the trouble to show up and say something you should have the floor. I feel the organization will keep moving and my only response would be that an open forum meeting would be best held at Bridge Day 2000? Whatcha think Mick?

I feel that this is a new era of "Coming out of the Closet" jumpers, so to speak. Meaning that a jumper with good training can purchase an airplane ticket, call the local BASE jumpers, fly somewhere in the states, drive to the site and make success, LEGAL and fun BASE jumps! No questions asked.

Now the next step is to have this person flashing a card of an organization that has respect, a card that show's this person has the skill and knowledge of gear, sites and conditions. This experience rating along with training and a better knowledge base to make successful jumps can only reflect as POSITIVE by outside communities / organizations.

Let's learn from the past and push into the future... today is a new day and as Dennis would say, "Let's Go Cliffin'".

Blue Skies and C-ya at the exit, Timmm