Following is a summary of the discussions between the PDGA staff and the SN BoD that was recently had at the PDGa Unity Summit in Augusta. I was not in attendance but I was asked to post this summary from notes taken by board members in attendance.

Topic #1: Divison restructuring was discussed. It was stated that these changes were the work of the PDGA BoD and not the staff members. They agreed that the SN was negatively affected by the these changes due to confusion but the PDGA thinks that the confusion caused by the new divisions and new names will die down soon.

Topic #2: The PDGA membership requirement of PDGA A-Tier's was discussed and it was again stated that this particular rule would not be waived for any SN championships event.

Topic #3: Jim Orum in the HOF: The PDGA staff stated all HOF nominations and voting is done completely by current HOF members. They did point us to a process by which players may petition to get a person on the nominated list. The SN BoD is already investigating this process.

Topic #4: The PDGA staff have received multiple emails concerning overt and rampant drug use in the SN. They were also specifically asked to disassociate completely from the SN due to this supposed drug use. Once advised of the SN BoD's efforts to pass new amendments to the SN Handbook they felt like it was a definite step in the correct direction.

Topic #5: The PDGA expressed concern over the abuse they take on our forum. It was stated that the SN BoD has nothing to do with the forum other than posting as individuals and that we do not edit our forum for factual errors. It was also explained the SN BoD has very little to do with the running of specific events other than sanctioning and result recording.

There was hope all around for more and closer interaction between both staffs in the future.

thanks for attending, Josh

lol....wow...basically sounded like the PDGA was airing thier demands and concerns. Whole reaching out unity thing was a joke in the first place in my opinion.

Duke of Disc Golf A-Number 1
[daffyshirts.com]

Could someone who attended clarify/elaborate on Topic #4 above. Specifically:

"They were also specifically asked to disassociate completely from the SN due to this supposed drug use."

Who is "they?" Was it the PDGA staff? The PDGA Board? The PDGA as an organization? And who was doing the asking?

Was this various PDGA members voicing opinions in e-mails that the PDGA shouldn't associate with the SNs based on personal impressions of individual SN tournaments they had attended? Was it the result of a membership poll? Ot perhaps the PDGA Board instructing the staff to disassociate with the SN?

How was this topic presented? Also, the "amendment" as several SN'ers have been quick to point out does not do a bloody thing to address this issue. The amendment merely adds a provision to ban repeat offenders of PDGA rule 804.05 from SN tournaments IN ADDITION TO penalties/bans they may face from the PDGA.

Does the PDGA consider that it has successfully addressed this problem? Do they feel as if Section C of the aforementioned rule is sufficient unto itself to create a climate where all players observe ALL the rules at PDGA events, including the ones cited in Item A(4) of that rule?
If so, do they have some wisdom to share on how they accomplished the turnaround?

I do remember that when I lived in Virginia and played exclusively PDGA tournaments (mostly as part of the MADC series), the problem of illegal drug use was as bad as anything I have seen at Southern National tournaments. That was about 9-10 years ago. I would love to know how the PDGA addressed the problem so successfully that it now can now stand in judgment of a tournament series that is only 10-11 years old, birthed in the same era (with obviously the same values or lack thereof) that I was encountering on the East Coast.

Chris I was not in attendance but I can elaborate on Topic #4 from discussions I have had with people who were. The PDGA staff members stated that they had received several unsolicited emails from PDGA members asking the PDGA staff to "disassociate the PDGA from the SN." The PDGA staff explicitedly stated that the PDGA staff had no intentions of doing so but that the PDGA staff wanted the SN BoD to know about these sentiments and concerns by some PDGA members. The PDGA staff did NOT say who emailed them nor from what area of the country the emailers were from.

This topic was brought up by the PDGA staff not but the SN members in attendance. The PDGA staff felt it was important to notify the SN BoD of these specific sentiments so that we (SN populace and BoD) can take appropriate action.

The PDGA staff did acknowledge that the PDGA also has a problem with illegal substances but the PDGA staff felt that the situation was "a lot better then they were 2 years ago." Take what you will out of that statement.



Jeff H

Did anyone ask to see copies of these e-mails, If I was in a meeting that a topic such as that was brought up, I definitly would like to see it.

Even though I do not get to attend many tournaments any more, the one's that I have attended I have seen less and less of all substances. I have even noticed a decrease in the amount of alcahol that is consumed at tournaments.

Slow down guys. First of all the PDGA staff was not accussatory towards me or the SN at all. They were very polite and expressed a desire to help us with whatever was needed. Brian Graham even offered to assist us with the MS Parks situation if we needed outside help. They reviewed their suspension policy and gave helpful advice on implementation. Their concern wasn't that we were bringing them down, but rather how they could help to fix a universal disc golf issue.

As for the emails, I already knew that they were sent and who sent them. There was no point in asking them to break confidences. I just told them I thought that people were calling us out unfairly. Yes, we have issues at some tournaments. Most events in the SN are well run and incident free. They more than understood our situation, as they have had the same problems in the past.

Keep in mind, they took a big step and reached out to us by trying to start a consistent dialog. Both organizations have have more commonalities than differences!

Josh

I can almost guess where some of the emails came from. But I guess we'll never know. Not that I really care, but they shouldn't hide. Be honest and let everyone know how you feel! rWc

uhhh, North Alabama?

C'mon....PDGA events have every bit of the same issues....what a bunch of crap!!


Wow! is right........GEESH....

Griff

Quote
Russ3523
I can almost guess where some of the emails came from. But I guess we'll never know. Not that I really care, but they shouldn't hide. Be honest and let everyone know how you feel! rWc

and the one sending them cannot even keep his own kid from doing it. Clean up your own house before you go messing with someone elses! I am sure there must be an event you can quit/fake injury......HoShamer!


Josh, thanks for the info. I will second that pDGA events are no different then an SN event. Hello pDGA, did you forget about someone getting arrested at the USDGC????

Can't believe I missed this laugh riot of a thread. The pDGA is such a bunch of hypocrites it's not even funny.

Let's translate the pDGA-speak for kicks.



Topic #1: Divison restructuring was discussed. It was stated that these changes were the work of the PDGA BoD and not the staff members. They agreed that the SN was negatively affected by the these changes due to confusion but the PDGA thinks that the confusion caused by the new divisions and new names will die down soon.




translation: yes we realize that the SN and actually, the entire disc golf world was negatively affected by our stupidity. But it's not our fault that we like to screw everything up every other year and tinker with rules and stuff until no one knows what's what from one year to the next. If the pDGA didn't do anything though, we couldn't justify taking so much of every disc golfer's money!




Topic #2: The PDGA membership requirement of PDGA A-Tier's was discussed and it was again stated that this particular rule would not be waived for any SN championships event.




translation: Even though we do waive membership requirements for other pDGA events, we'll never do it for the SNPC, just out of spite. To us, the pDGA, Unity is a one-way street where the SN does what we say or else.



Topic #3: Jim Orum in the HOF: The PDGA staff stated all HOF nominations and voting is done completely by current HOF members. They did point us to a process by which players may petition to get a person on the nominated list. The SN BoD is already investigating this process.




translation: while Jim O has done more for disc golf than at least 75% of the no-names in the Hall of Fame, he does not pat himself on the back enough to qualify for admission. Only when Jim O can pat himself on the back as well as Tom Monroe, Lavonne Wolfe, Rothstein, Guru, and Stork and Peter Shive can Jim O be considered.




Topic #4: The PDGA staff have received multiple emails concerning overt and rampant drug use in the SN. They were also specifically asked to disassociate completely from the SN due to this supposed drug use. Once advised of the SN BoD's efforts to pass new amendments to the SN Handbook they felt like it was a definite step in the correct direction.




translation: We, the pDGA, are the biggest bunch of hypocrites you will ever meet. There is rampant drug use all over the country, not just the south. You go play a pDGA tournament in California and they will bowl you over with the aromatic kind bud that grows in every fertile valley out there. At least one of our current paid employees has smoked plenty in his day. And you can't sue someone for libel if they are stating facts. OK, Bluff, we can sue, but we can't win though, but we have a higher-priced lawyer than you and we'll drain your bank account dry if you tell the truth about our staff.




Topic #5: The PDGA expressed concern over the abuse they take on our forum. It was stated that the SN BoD has nothing to do with the forum other than posting as individuals and that we do not edit our forum for factual errors. It was also explained the SN BoD has very little to do with the running of specific events other than sanctioning and result recording.




translation: We need to hide the truth about our complete cowardice and avarice from as many disc golfers as possible, like on the pDGA's forum where we crush freedom of speech because it's very inconvenient for us to perpetrate fraud when people are watching us! You don't deserve to know how we spend the pDGA's money, even if you join our incompetent, greedy, poorly-run organization! We even ruined Brian Graham's reputation. People admired him before he started working for the pDGA but now, he's just paid to be the mouthpiece for the crooks running the show. In other words, Graham gets paid to explain why the pDGA is so corrupt. and he has a lot to say.




There was hope all around for more and closer interaction between both staffs in the future.




translation: Hope!!! Stupid Americans are eating that word up these days. We'll be just like Obama and talk about "hope" and "change" when in reality, it doesn't matter who's in charge, your taxes/pDGA fees will go up. But sell the stupid Americans on hope and they'll never know what hit them until it's too late!

ouchee!

Griff