AAU Competition and Organization

[GLW]

This weekend is the AAU Chinese Martial Arts competition in Round Rock, Texas.

Over the past 3 years there have been some major changes in this group. The bylaws of the AAU CMA were reworked providing for direct accountability of the leadership to the regional people and the individual members.

This weekend, this democratic aspect will be highlighted in the fact that 3 of the National Executive Board members (1/3 of the Board) will be stepping down as new elections will be held for their positions. The Board has 9 members and 3 positions are up for election each year. The nomination process and elections are as open as AAU national parent organization rules provide for (meaning you DO have to be an AAU CMA member :) )

In addition, the AAU Rules for competition have been reworked. There is nowa process - as in just submitting the idea, suggestion, gripe, etc... about any area of the rules - to the Rules Committee.

This means that changes can be suggested from anyone. It does NOT mean that all changes suggested will be acted upon. I mean, after all, there has to be SOME Sanity Check....but all suggestions will be considered...and if not enacted, the submitter can indeed get the reasons behind not acting on the suggestion.

This is a definite change in how CMA actions are carried out.

But, to make a democratic Chinese Martial Arts org work , you have to have member involvement ...and that is ALWAYS welcomed.

[Skip J.]

This weekend is the AAU Chinese Martial Arts competition in Round Rock, Texas.
snip.....
But, to make a democratic Chinese Martial Arts org work , you have to have member involvement ...and that is ALWAYS welcomed.
Hmmm... GLW;

Wish I was ready to compete again...maybe next year.. that's really close by.

Sooo, what is involved in membership???? Something we can join now and compete later on in the year????

[taai gihk yahn]

anything has got to be better than the clusterf--k that was CMA AAU in the late '80's / early '90's...

[GeneChing]

I was on the AAU Team in the early 90's. Come to think of it, I probably made the team because of that clusterf-q...;)

[taai gihk yahn]

I was on the AAU Team in the early 90's. Come to think of it, I probably made the team because of that clusterf-q...;)

I just remember sitting in on the NY meetings shaking my head in disbelief as people tried to apply a Chinatown-politics paradigm to American amateur athletic standards and couldn't understand why it didn't go anywhere :rolleyes:

[GLW]

Membership in the AAU CMA is a yearly thing. You can sign up online and join for one, two, or 3 years. The fee is pretty low...I just don't recall the amount at this time....

As far as how things go...like many organizations in the CMA, the economy and past politics have not been kind across the board...

But, the old bylaws of the AAU CMA were pretty much thrown out / re-written. The goal was to make an organization that was accountable and democratic in nature. The National Board and the regions are accounatable to the members and there are now methods for grassroots replacement of individuals that are not adhering to the desires and ethics of the membership.

There is a permanent standing Rules Committee - and the Chairman is by the rules not allowed to be on that committee....so the Rules Committee works as autonomously from the politics of the world as possible. Their charter is to work at keeping the competition rules evergreen and always improving.

This weekend, there were 4 vacancies for the National Baord. Over the past 3 months or so, I have posted info and requests for nominations and those interested. The electi9ns was held this morning and showed that the process worked. All 4 people were new to the CMA organization world with ZERO political agendas other than a desire to promote and develop CMA in the US.

So, to answer about what and why...the past couple of years, we have worked to put a structure in place that would foster a democratic and accountable CMA organization.

That structure is now there....and like any democratic entity - it requires 2 things...first is the structure - and then is the community involvement....

So, it is now at the stage where it can become what the community - which is 100% open ended - wants it to be.

[Skip J.]

Membership in the AAU CMA is a yearly thing. You can sign up online and join for one, two, or 3 years. The fee is pretty low...I just don't recall the amount at this time....


Thanks GLW!

My cma budget is currently at an all time low from that last trip to Dallas and some follow-up workshops, but it will be back I'm sure............

[GLW]

Ok...so for an individual athlete, it appears that the cost is $27 per year.

The goal with the registration at any AAU event is to keep the out of pocket money low...so that the person who is already a member is basically getting a discount and the one who is just joining is paying a low fee but is also paying in the membership.

THAT was the plan...but a few years back, the IRS stepped in and made a rule that things like the AAU (a non-profit - and all such non-profits with donation type status) had to totally separate the membership fee from other fees.

Best I can tell, there were some folks out there with other organizations that were non-profit folding it in...and then the person paying was claiming all of the money as a non-profit donation and the receiver was looking like they were hiding money.

This was NOT an AAU thing but something the IRS did across the board to all such non-profit organizations - from what the AAU national legal has said.

But, the idea is that membership goes from Aug. 31 to Aug 31...

Main benefit that many get is that a member school can purchase VERY reasonable insurance through the AAU for their school. The members can also be covered when they go to competitions through this. The main caveat is that for a member school to be eligible for the insurance, ALL the students must be AAU members - it is sort of an umbrella clause.

But, given how much insurance can run, it is a pretty good deal.

[Skip J.]

Ok...so for an individual athlete, it appears that the cost is $27 per year........

........ the idea is that membership goes from Aug. 31 to Aug 31...

Main benefit that many get is that a member school can purchase VERY reasonable insurance through the AAU for their school. The members can also be covered when they go to competitions through this. The main caveat is that for a member school to be eligible for the insurance, ALL the students must be AAU members - it is sort of an umbrella clause.

But, given how much insurance can run, it is a pretty good deal.

$27.00 I can do....

but what is interesting... besides another competition here in Texas... is your info on school insurance!

As a beginner instructor, that probably bothers me more than anything else.

[GLW]

There are a number of schools that join the AAU simply for the insurance.

I personally do not do this - I am looking into it though.

A few years back, I was told I did not need insurance where I taught since they had coverage for the entire location.

Then 4 years ago, they informed me I had to have a liability policy that went up to 1 million...and all of their instructors - even aerobics and dance - had to have it. At that time, I got liability through the Aerobics thing - it ran me enough that I had to raise my fees by around $5 a month.

I will be up for renewal in a few months...and at that time, I will look into the AAU's.

From what I understand, as long as the people in your class are all AAU members, the insurance covers you whether you teach in a park, a health club, a regular school, or whatever...as long as you are following the prescribed policies.

Now, if your focus is Sanshou, you would have to get other more expensive insurance - as that is more risk and injury prone.

Some folks have students sign a waiver when they join and think that is enough...

Not at all. Legally, you cannot sign away your right to sue for things like negligence and safety concerns. If you could, every amusement park in the US would have you sign a waiver when you walked in the gate.

[Skip J.]

There are a number of schools that join the AAU simply for the insurance.

Some folks have students sign a waiver when they join and think that is enough... Not at all. Legally, you cannot sign away your right to sue for things like negligence and safety concerns. If you could, every amusement park in the US would have you sign a waiver when you walked in the gate.
Ah yes, I am familiar with applying for both Workmen's Comp and General Liability and I know what they cover and don't... and you're exactly right... if you really are operating unsafe, and particularly if you're doing it on purpose... then you're not covered, I don't care who the insurer is...

I still like the waiver tho... it impresses on the students that they need to be aware of their own safety and try to be as safe as they can... Our students are almost all 60 on up to mid-80's; all with many health problems, and quite a few in rehabbing from some medical procedure. So to us, their safety is a many-splendored thing....

I may never go out on my own, but if I do, insurance will come first. From a marketing standpoint, I would point out the we did have it and it was included in their class fee price....

I still like the waiver tho....

[GLW]

The waiver DOES indeed inform the person that they are about to engage in a physical activity and they should :

Know that their physical health (as in what would their doctor say) is ok for it

Know that as with any physical activity or sport, there is some level of risk of injury.

Now, it is the instructor's job to make the environment safe and make sure the training is as safe as possible. Part of that safe environment thing is to make sure that there is also no reckless behavior by the students and or staff.

Having said that, after the informed part, the waiver pretty much is not worth the paper it is printed on in court. And for as far is it might go, a good attack lawyer can make it worthless.

Two examples:

Not a waiver but a "contract" for lessons. A friend on the east coast had a school where the student could pay for a certain number of months in advance and get a significant discount on tuition. One lady came in and paid heavily up front. He ALWAYS informed the student of the requirements for canceling the payment and refunds. He required in writing and then the refund was prorated on the regular rate and NOT on the discounted rate per month.

Said student's husband was a very big attorney in town. She simply quit attending class early on - no notice. Then about a month before her contract was to be over, she came in and demanded a refund back to the date she quit.

He pulled out the agreement she signed, it was drawn up by a decent attorney...but the bottom line was her husband was good enough that he could tie them up in court for ages and run up a VERY large legal bill on my friend's part. So...he refunded her entire amount just to get rid of her.

Similarly, on the insurance part, as an assistant instructor at one school, I was watching some students after class horsing around. I went over and told them to stop...and watched as they stopped. I then left the room.

A few minutes later, they are bothering my teacher for medical help (he is a TCM doctor very well versed in orthopedics and sports injuries)...because as soon as I left, they started up again. One ended up having to stop training for over a month to recover. Said person's parents were enraged and making threats until I pointed out that they were told to stop 5 minutes before...and they did when I left the room... We would have probably still lost a lawsuit or had insurance pay for it...but the parents then chose to be reasonable and realized that dumb adolescent males do dumb things.

[Skip J.]

These are exactly the same kind of issues I have to be concerned about on the jobsite. My lawyer is a very good attack lawyer; but he has been used more for defense than attack. Frankly, I put enough effort into selecting potential clients and negotiating the contract that I almost never have to sue someone else. But the flakes that think I look easy and want to get a little of my piece have to be taught a lesson sometimes.

This is why I want to be oh so careful with the students. If they drop dead on my floor thru no fault of my own; I know their kids are gonna come after me just to see if they can get anything. The best part about good insurance is that the big insurance companies want their hi-powered lawyer taking care of it, you just have to cooperate with them as necessary.

So it seems to me that the AAU setup is a similar thing, both the students and the school are members and the AAU provides the insurance at a price the school can pay. Any students wives trolling for insurance payments are gonna have to prove fraud or deliberate unsafe practices, or settle for a standard payment.

[Skip J.]

Paid my $27.00 and now I'm in.....

Tried to download the insurance info but most pages required a "club code" to see.

I did download the "exclusions" pages, and from that - it appears that members have a little bit of insurance without buying any.... if so, then @ $27.00 a year, any kind of insurance at all is a bargain indeed! In fact, they make a very strong statement that they don't "sell insurance", they are a membership entity that provides it as a member benefit.

Actually, at $27.00 the CMA membership is a little more costly than other memberships; because it includes an "additional benefit" that covers competing as an individual, not just as a member of a team, which has it's own insurance from AAU. Now that is a heck-uf-a-deal.... all I need is a class to teach somewhere....

[GLW]

If you have any questions about how all of that works, send an email to

Dave Pickens at

rrkungfu@hotmail.com

(stands for Round Rock Kung Fu since he is in Rond Rock, Texas...just north 15 minutes from Austin.)

[xcakid]

Some folks have students sign a waiver when they join and think that is enough...

Not at all. Legally, you cannot sign away your right to sue for things like negligence and safety concerns. If you could, every amusement park in the US would have you sign a waiver when you walked in the gate.

Sometimes...

This was tested at a skidiving place I went to in CA. The waiver held up in court actually. If I recall correctly the suit was a guy sprained his ankle during a tandem jump. He claimed the instructor was negligent and that the LZ was not properly maintained. He lost.

Point is, depends on how good your lawyer is in drafting the waiver and defending it.

Skydiving is a harzardous sport and so is martial arts. Not saying that you should not have insurance. I ran a school in the early 90's and there was no way I was gonna do it without insurance. You just need to cover yourself in all directions. Waivers can be enough. But in those cases where they have the better lawyer, an insurance policy is definitely good to have. :D

Let me add that, I have seen some schools waiver that is about 3 sentences long and some that is a whole page. Hmm... wonder which would hold up in court.

[GLW]

Ah...but the key word is "negligent"

If you have informed the person or risks, they have knowingly accepted the risks, and then you have done due diligence to negate as much of the risk as humanly possible....and you can show that you have done this, the first hurdle for the person bringing the lawsuit is to demonstrate negligence. The second hurdle is to then prove that they were not aware of the dangers and suffered due to the negligence.

Granted, that is a very simplistic description...but it boils down to the other guy :

(1) having a better lawyer
(2) his lawyer being able to demonstrate negligence
(3) his lawyer being able to say that their client was not informed.

In the end, even if you win, you lose. You have a lawsuit to deal with - and the only ones who come out on top are the two lawyers.

With any form of insurance, if you are following the rules and not being negligent, then when the suit comes up, the insurance company is on the line with you.

Personally, I hate having to have insurance. I have never had more than a sprained ankle or cut lip in any class I teach. But, where I teach requires me to have a policy...so I pay the money and have the policy.

[Skip J.]

......With any form of insurance, if you are following the rules and not being negligent, then when the suit comes up, the insurance company is on the line with you.

Personally, I hate having to have insurance. I have never had more than a sprained ankle or cut lip in any class I teach. But, where I teach requires me to have a policy...so I pay the money and have the policy.
And they have excellent lawyers .......