1. Present: Bill Mein (Potsdam FSC), Patricia Carvill (Massena FSC), Dianne Loonan (FSC Watertown), Linda M^cDonald (Massena FSC), Kathy Banko (SC Adirondacks), Scott Forkey (SC Adirondacks), Bob Neulieb (Clayton FSC), Cheryl Faucher (Massena FSC), Mary Ashley Carroll (Potsdam FSC), and Brenda Gravander (Potsdam FSC)

2. Secretary's Report: The minutes of the January 18 meeting were approved with the following corrections under announcements: 1) The PSA, not Bob Mock, will probably not support obtaining Canadian coaches. 2) There was a total of 45 teams participating at the Buffalo Synchronized Skating Competition.

3. Financial Report: Report was accepted as distributed.

4. Old Business:
   1. Calendar updates - Additions and changes were presented. (An updated calendar is attached.) Our website is updated as items are given to Bill.
5. New Business:
   
   1. Compete with US Competitions - Carolyn Gibson reports that Dorene Meyer called USFSA on January 22 and was told that if any skater in a competition has passed more than Pre-Preliminary MIF or two Preliminary dances, a sanction and a USFSA Official is required (This is stated in the Skate with US manual). Bill Fitzpatrick, chair of Competitions, disagrees and says that if a skater has passed any USFSA test, a sanction and official are necessary. [When seeking information from the Association,] We need to contact the Chairs of the individual committees[, not USFSA HQs]. If a competition is in-club, the rules do not apply. (Note: Bracketed text inserted for clarification by WJM.)
   2. Clubs' End-of-Season Get-Togethers - Many suggestions were given as to how clubs end their skating year: pot luck dinners, all Basic Skill patches distributed at end-of-year event, certificates made for all skaters, USFSA awards given out, voting, some events are held in schools or church halls, DJs have been hired, restaurants are cost prohibitive, videos of the current year's show are played, pizza, catered dinners, mid-week seems to work best, reminders sent, and RSVP used.
   3. Obtaining assistance from parents - Hockey makes parental assistance mandatory. Some FSCs also make parental assistance mandatory. Some clubs charge a fee if parent does not want to assist the club.
   4. Inappropriate Judge Behavior - If a club feels a judge's behavior is inappropriate in some manner, the chair of the event or the club president should notify the Referee. Clubs may also write a lette to USFSA. (See Rule JR3.03B)
   5. Funding for NC SyS Teams going to Nationals - Three teams from NC (Northern Stars, Saint Sensations, and Prisms) will compete at Nationals in Detroit. Bob made a motion that $500 be given to each team. Motion was seconded by Dianne and carried.
   6. Funding for May Meeting Attendees - Bill will attend the May meeting. Mary and Brenda are considering. The item was tabled until the next meeting.
   7. Nominating Committee - A Vice President and Secretary need to be elected this year. Two-three people are needed for the nominating committee. According to the Constitution/By-Laws, a Committee is approved in April, a slate is presented in May, and voting is completed in June.

6. Announcements:
   1. If the Intermediate class at a competition needs to be divided, Heather prefers use of Pre-Intermediate instead of Intermediate A & B.
   2. The USFSA Test Committee will investigate offering Canadian skaters who are still working on Figures the opportunity to continue testing in the US vs needing the gold test as in other disciplines.
   3. Skaters of the Adirondacks were able to watch Brian Oser on the ice.
   4. Burlington is forming a HS FS Team. More of an interest is being expressed in HS teams. The superintendent in Potsdam is also interested.
   5. Forms for recommendations for USFSA committee members have been sent. These forms are only for new recommendations.
   6. Kathy Lupia has room and board in Lake Placid for skaters. For further information, contact Kathy @ 315-646-2955 or at klupia@northnet.org. The property may also be rented for weeks or weekends.
   7. Test Chairs should have received a packet containing a rule book index and new forms.

7. Club Concerns:
   1. Clubs are concerned that skating enrollment beyond Skate w US may decline due to cost of private lessons (from $20/hr - $60/hr).
   2. The cost of judges for competitions is also becoming a problem for clubs. Clubs are required by USFSA to have a certain number of judges available at a competition. Airfare and motel rooms are expensive. Competitions also seem to have a lower enrollment than in previous years.
   3. Mary made a motion that in the 2000-2001 skating year, no meeting be held in Ogdensburg. Patti seconded the motion and it was carried. (Note: this resulted from a discussion of low attendance at Northern Council meetings.)
   4. Fund Raising is a concern of many clubs. Some of the things that clubs do are: catering events during the summer, pizza sales, pizza kits from Little Caesars (low effort), Current sales, candy bars, and candles.

8. Reminders:
   1. Test Chairs will meet in the Fall to work out a schedule for test sessions.
   2. Competition Chairs will meet in the Fall. They will address, among other things, the axel being used in a Pre-Preliminary performance and exhibitions for male skaters when there is no event in which they may compete.
   3. Performance sanctions go to Bill.
   4. Competition sanctions go to Heather.

9. Next Meeting: March 21^st, 2000, 7:00pm, Gran View, Route 37, Ogdensburg, NY

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