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Way overdue situation in BC coming to a head...
Don't have facebook.What's happening?
Lori Roulston Mork
BCABBA-Time for a Change
This page is open to all those involved with and who care about the BC Bodybuilding Association.
We are asking for change. It is long overdue. We are asking for an election, and for a restructuring of our association to reflect how other provinces have evolved into how a non-profit organization FOR the members is supposed to be run-NOT as a private business, but FOR the members and their interests.
The following are just some of the reasons why we feel this is imperative. Please lend us your support:
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1. The current executive is comprised of two members who have NOT been elected, but appointed; one of whom was also appointed to her previous position. Thus, two-thirds of the current executive have not been selected by the members, and one of whom has NEVER been elected to either of her positions. The third has been involved for over a decade, yet is seemingly uninvolved in the sport, and does not appear to be interested in actually attending competitions anymore. For these facts alone, an election should be called. Executive positions are supposed to be elected by the people. This is called democracy.
2. Since Nov 2013 was the most recent opportunity for an election, and since the next election is not scheduled for nearly two years from now, this means that BCABBA members are to be represented for nearly two years by an executive comprised of two people not chosen by the members and a third who has no interest or passion for the sport. That is a long time to be represented by people not chosen by you.
3. A new head judge has been appointed-a person who, until recently, was actually prevented from judging by the former executive, contrary to the former head judge's wishes. This new head judge has, therefore, not been allowed to judge for the last three years, and thus has no experience with bikini, men's or women's physique divisions, or with competitions of more than 300 competitors, which seem to be the norm in this province now.
4. For the March show, a head judge was flown in from Ontario who, although did an admirable job and is not involved in any of the association's issues, has now been asked to officiate our remaining shows in BC. This will obviously prove costly, and will be paid for using the members' money. When asked about this, how this decision was made, and if any members were consulted as to the use of their funds, the person who asked this had his question removed and was subsequently blocked from Facebook. Again, the executive is simply not allowing members to have a voice or ask valid questions.
5. Contrary to what was agreed upon at the most recent AGM in November, a new panel of test judges was selected, without consulting the head judge at the time. Many of these test judges are trainers or are involved in coaching athletes on some level. In addition, preference seems to have been given to IFBB pro athletes, as if that status ensures a quality judge. All of this is contrary to what was agreed upon in front of members at attendance at the AGM.
6. Executive members are making decisions on byes and qualifications on an individual basis with no consistency or guidelines. Decisions recently have been discriminatory regarding some applicants based on their status in the minds of the three executive members. There needs to be a 'set in stone' system by which such decisions are made, so that personal bias on the part of executive members is not a factor.
In addition, rule changes are being made by the executive without consulting the members. For example, the new BCABBA website includes rule changes from the previous website regarding voting rights, without the approval or notification of the members.
Also, members who have emailed the executive asking for a copy of the constitution and financial information, which are within members' rights, have received e-mails from a BCABBA lawyer instead, asking them to cease and desist communication with the executive, and to contact the lawyer instead. This does not sound like an open non-profit organization designed to work on behalf of the members.
7. We have no tier system in terms of funding. For many years, athlete funding has been given, or not given, at the whim of the executive. Members who are deserving and who have put in appropriate volunteer time have been denied funding or given less because of a personal issue on the part of the executive. Again, a tier system must be set in stone and available for members to consult. In fact, one member in recent months received a funding cheque, yet after the executive had some personal issue, the cheque was mysteriously cancelled with a 'stop payment,' much to the shock of the volunteer.
8. The current BCABBA executive structure is woefully outdated. We have three executive members, and for over a decade, two of the three were a couple. Other provinces have now 5 exectuitve – or more –and positions such as 'directors' who have delegated responsibilities and who work FOR the members. We need not only an election, but a complete overhaul of the structure of the BCABBA-this is something to which the members would be able to contribute their ideas.
9. Non-profit organizations are, by law, supposed to provide at every AGM an account of the association's financials. This has not been disclosed for SEVERAL years. This is not to suggest any wrong doing per se, but it is simply that information that is owed the members is not being disclosed, and has not been, for many years.
10. The CBBF has been contacted, but the CBBF tends to stay out of such matters and lets the provinces handle things. This is why the members of the BCABBA must stand tall and stand united.
11. For a decade, the former executive appeared to have made many decisions based on their personal feelings and not necessarily on the best interests of the members. The new executive seems to be continuing that trend. This is just not right.
The members deserve a voice. The members deserve an election. The members deserve to choose whom they want to represent their association. We humbly ask for your support.
posted yesterday on the above facebook page by IfbbproDarren Toma
16 hrs
First I want to say- everything I say here is of my own views and statements NOT an attack on anyone
I have been watching all of this take place like everyone else that is reading all the stuff being said here and some other fb accounts and I find it very one sided with the strong views of a select few people. I will simply state some facts that I feel that are very important from what I have been reading. I will not TAG anyone on my views and involve you- it is YOUR personal choice to read and get involved if you wish
I have been around this federation for 26 long YEARS both as a competitor for many years and as a judge for a couple. I also have trained 100s of people who have competed in the BCABBA over the years and continue to train many clients from beginners to national level athletes from BC and IFBB pros helping them achieve their goals.
Trust me I have seen it all over the years from every aspect and angle in the BCABBA over the last 2 ½ decades and I could probably write a novel.
I ALSO WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR that I have no interest in running for any position within the BCABBA
I do have the best interest in mind for all the members of this federation who are competing and involved and would like to speak on a few things
First and foremost there is always more than one side of a any story and these are mine.
There are so many points I would have to bring up on here to cover everything being said on FB that I would be typing for days-so I am just going to point out a couple details and get to the point-
In this case-
The Past Can Not Be Forgotten –How can we forget how we got to this point-I was not at the last meeting after the SWC but my wife Lara Toma was the one who spoke up and put the issue on the table that there was more than one judge with many clients in classes judging. She made some very valid points because no one else would because of fear of being cut down. So there were various people who did some investigating and it was very obvious that there were cases were more then one judge had clients up in the same class at one time. Some of them didn’t stop judging while there clients were up--In any case if there is more than one judge left out to score a class then there is not enough judges to properly score the class fairly- SO how can we dismiss what happened at the last meeting after the SWC. There were many concerns about all these judging issues that were already happening in the BCABBA. All of these issues that were being addressed at that time and have FINALLY NOW been put in place.
****Some important points leading up to now from after the 2013 SWC meeting
On Feb 7th Head judge Chris Parker stepped down only 3 ½ weeks before the first show of the season and Lori Mork (The head judges assistant) also stepped down shortly after the SWC and a couple other judges also did-thus leaving the BCABBA with a shortage of qualified judges.
The BCABBA EXECUTIVES had to act very fast to get a proper qualified judging panel together in a few weeks
Note ---The head judge does not actually judge the classes he or she has the important role of making the important top 5 callouts and moves athletes around for comparisons with the help of the assistant- The Head Judge does NOT judge the classes on the score sheets only the 5 judges judging
_The BCABBA EXECUTIVES had no choice but to bring in a qualified head judge given the situation that they didn’t have a qualified head judge in our province and took the proper actions as far as I am concerned and did a great job./
-The executives brought in a head judge from another province who is defiantly qualified with years of extensive experience within the IFBB the CBBF and OPA (Ontario federation) to ensure that the show was ran properly and she did a SUPER amazing job
-They also got in qualified judges in to judge the show on the very short notice not an easy task
At the Krack Classic some of the judging tactics that are being used in Ontario and other provinces were finally implemented to ensure fair unbiased judging and a POSITIVE CHANGE..
One of the new rules was if a judge had a client in the show that they must remove them self from the judging table while their client was on the stage. Of all 5 qualified judges there was only ONE judge who had clients in the show and he had absolutely no problem with removing himself from the judging table while the clients were on stage and did so in a professional manner
Another rule that was implemented under the new executive was that the final score sheets were to be collected by the executives immediately after the show. This is something else that has never happened in the past before this show another step in the RIGHT DIRECTION
-I feel comfortable saying these rules and others will continue to be enforced as the BCABBA moves forward to put in place rules to ensure that the competitors get judged fairly and unbiased from now on.
- The test judges that were selected were also excellent choices- at the Krack Classic the ifbb pros that were asked to TEST JUDGE have lots of years’ experience in the industry and I would rather see experienced people in the know test judging rather than someone who has zero experience in the industry.
-only one of the pro test judges trains people on a regular basis and after test judging they have decided, as far as I know, not to move forward and judge any shows in the future- The other ifbb pros that were TEST JUDGING DO NOT train teams and TEAMS of clients for shows-
-there is a shortage of judges and the bcabba is doing everything to get this fixed since the new rules for trainers not to judge have been enforced
unlike before this last show when pretty much every judge on the panel was a trainer with their own TEAMS at recent shows and this was causing problems-hence why the changes are being made
-Also the person that was selected by the executives to take over the head judging role in our province is more than qualified to do so and take on the position-she has been involved in this federation for many many years as a JUDGE and is being groomed by the head judge that was brought in to ensure that everything is done properly and in a professional manner.
The new appointed head judge who I have known for over 15 years in my mind and in my opinion is perfect for the job.
Another issue that seems to be getting thrown around is the financials-
For over a decade or ever for that matter no one seems to have cared about asking for them ever and now all of the sudden it’s a big deal- I can understand to ask about this as there are hundreds of members paying into the federation and money being used to run the federation and it’s a very big task.
So when asking for this - I would imagine there is a process to get everything taken care of and that’s why there is a time frame to do so for the BCABBA that was already stated by someone I believe it was 21-60 days
-Constantly harassing them with threats is not the approach that I would take.
Going on FB and painting a picture trying to make it sound as if the BCABBA executives must be hiding something has absolutely zero merit and is simply speculation in this matter and to me a low ball tactic to try to make them look bad. Given the time and proper procedure all the financials I am sure will be produced
You people are asking for change and CHANGE HAS HAPPENED the new executive has done nothing but put out fires in the short 6 weeks that they have been in their positions.
I think it’s important to point out that these people are volunteers that give their time for the members and the love of the sport and have the best interest of all current members in mind.
I believe that in the short period of time the people have been in charge are already doing a great job to work towards cleaning up this federation on issues from the PAST to make things as fair as possible in the FUTURE for all the members involved.
There is so much more I could say or bring up but this is enough for me now. If there is a meeting I will be there to share my views and be a part of any decisions being made.
Thank-you
Darren Toma
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In 2013 there were 2 elected persons on the exec and one appointed being you...one stepped down, then you being appointed, were again appointed to president without any membership consultation or the executive advising the membership that the position was being vacated...and then another person was appointed into vice president...so now there are 2 appointed positions, one being the president who was never elected to any position...ever...so ensure you relate all the facts when you rant....
So if you are confident in your position, call an election like the membership want and run....see what happens then...if you win great for you as that is what the majority wants...if you don't, then just the opposite...
So many rules / bylaws have been violated nobody knows what is even valid anymore...and don't send me any email letter hiding behind a lawyer that was hired with association money to protect the executive from disclosing financials...maybe explain that on here if you need an audience...why are members getting legal responses from a lawyer hired with association funds when they asked for financials...the floor is yours President....let's have it!
I see the President has been on here this morning for her daily posting... she obviously declined to comment further on this thread requesting some answers and has not responded to the written correspondence to her attention.
The members of the BCABBA are waiting for you to do the right thing....remember there "there is doing things right...and doing the right thing"....so far, neither done.
I am going to speak for the group "BCABBA - TIME FOR CHANGE" ..... disclose the facts that should be readily available (financial reports are due every Nov at the AGM...there hasn't been one in 6 years produced) and if they were in order, it would be as simple as attach, send and issue over and because of your reluctance and delaying tactics, people are starting to make allegations that were not part of this originally like perhaps there is real bad news on that front so anyone can read between those lines....and the recent rule changes with respect to voting eligibility etc have not been done as per the constitution so are invalid. Soon you will have it chipped down to only personal friends that you have trained can vote...please!!!
I am not going to go on your Q and A thread with this as there should be no need and you do some good things on there....do the right thing....call a general meeting and produce the required docs and be prepared to be questioned on them...bring your BCABBA lawyer if you think necessary....and let's have an election.....OR....STEP DOWN and run for an elected position....this is a situation that the executive created entirely on their own and now you are the President so fix it please.
Thanks....
Hi everyone. I wasn't aware of the whole situation and what happened in the BCABBA. I think this whole situation is best dealt with in person using the right venues. Fighting here will only feed the fire. I will close the thread out of respect for everyone here involved.