I stopped requiring USATF membership at my beach vaults last year, over concerns that requiring membership of all participants would make the pole vaulting pit a USATF members only area, and that my bar putter-upper volunteers would have to be three step SafeSport compliant.
I had hoped to resume requiring memberships once the National Office put out a clear policy regarding SafeSport at events.
However, a key component of requiring a USATF membership is having the ability to verify that membership.
My events attract participants from 3-4 USATF Associations every year. This year I had vaulters from Pacific NW, Inland NW, Oregon and Montana Associations.
As an event director, it is not reasonable for me to have to contact the membership chairs of four Associations to verify memberships.
When space allowed, I have taken entries as late as the night before the meet. In the past, I was always able to verify memberships myself.
Now, USATF feels that event directors should not have access to this information. They want them to either go through membership chairs, or apply with their Association to have access to all the membership data within their Association, and still have to go through other Associations’ membership chairs for participants outside their Association.
First, that has never been the job of membership chairs, to do membership verification for event directors.
Second, the logistics of accomplishing this on a tight schedule are a nightmare.
Third, giving event directors access to the Association membership data is super problematic. Using the event directors’ lookup, all you could see was name, city, age and club. The Association lookup gives much more personal information like email, phone number, etc. Everything on your membership application.
If the concern was the fact that a public link existed, there are solutions to that problem. You can put it behind a log in and have event directors apply for access. Bam, problem solved.
The real issue here is that once again, the National office has made a decision that has a BIG impact on volunteers’ ability to do their jobs, with ZERO consultation of those affected. This is just the latest saga in what has been years and years of the same underlying problem.
THE SPORTING IQ IN THE OFFICE IS TOO LOW
And the staff’s unwillingness to engage the volunteers who make this organization function means that low sporting IQ is causing massive problems, year in and year out.
Associations rely on revenue from sanctions and memberships to exist. If the national office keeps doing things that make sanctions and memberships less desirable, event directors will continue to take their business elsewhere.
Why would any non-Championship event require USATF membership at this point? Is this what our Board of Directors wants? Is this your vision?
If it is, then the volunteers need to replace the Board. And if it isn’t, then the Board needs to remedy the issues with our staff.