| USPSA E-news - November 2009 |
 |
 |
 |
In This Issue
USPSA ContactsPresident Vice President Deputy Vice President East Region Director West Region Director Treasurer Secretary Head Coach, Team USA Webmaster
A Message from the President!
Dear Members, We are in our fourth season. It wasn't very long ago we were a small group of well intentioned and interested individuals with a grand idea and while we haven't reached the ultimate goal of reaching every power wheelchair users in the United States, we have made great strides. As we move down this path to reach our ultimate goal there are many firsts that we as an organization and you as members experience. Just a couple of weeks ago, we held our first FIPFA sanctioned International event between the top four US clubs and the top Canadian clubs. This was a great event and a great experience for all participants. I am excited about the progress and the development of our neighbors, in Canada, just north. I look to the day when we have several countries represented in our America Zone competing for the America's Champions Cup. A great thank you goes out to the Fernando Foundation for hosting this event. I wish the players good luck in the selection camp process. I don't envy the coaching staff of our next nationals team, as I know the talent of all players has greatly improved and it will be a very difficult process to select twelve of the twenty who will be trying out that weekend. Best wished to Chris Finn, head coach and assistant coach, Mike Hayes and their staff on a successful bid to keep the cup! I would like to welcome Lois Vega as our new treasure. She comes to us from the Society of CPA Executives from California. She has many talents but specifically has experience in non-profit accounting and has been a partner in an accounting firm as well. We welcome her contributions to our organization. This years qualifications for the national tournament will be very similar to last year. Thank you to all host cities for bidding on the regional and national tournaments. The national tournament will once again be held in Indianapolis. (Please see tournament schedule highlighted in this newsletter) We are currently anticipating on bidding on hosting the 2011 World Cup here in the US. Bids are due by November 16, 2009. Preliminary work has been done to address the two division system, as was discussed at the annual meeting in June. This eventual new approach will address the integrity of competition for all. The premise behind this action is the two-division system doesn't work for the number of teams we have. Many teams in the bottom of either division competitively don't have a fair chance competing against the teams at the top of the division. Our goal is to avoid losing players and teams as a result of the inequality in the level of competition. Our goal is to close the gap in the level of competition so teams can compete against teams of equal skill and competitiveness and we would remove the unwritten restriction from playing any team. Power soccer continues to grow across the US, we have received inquiries from several states interested in starting a program, some of those are Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and outside the US, Mexico. We are reaching not only our target goal of growing within the US but also throughout our continent. The hits on our website show strength throughout the world with countries such as Turkey, Brazil, Peru, Australia, and Columbia all searching for information on power soccer. It is exciting to see the growth and interest. Not only that, but our friends with soccer clubs are looking to see what the US is doing, Japan, Portugal and France have the most hits, with over 300 hits in just the last month. We had over 19,111 visits from 135 countries or territories since March of this year. That is pretty impressive! Thank you to Jenny Mitchell for updating our site to make it more user and visitor friendly. It was a great accomplishment to this new season! In closing, as all of you are aware, resources are limited to our registration fees. Your opportunity to personally support your organization will once again be available through the end of year funding drive. This will come direct to your mailbox, consider the USPSA as your charitable organization. Thank you, Dominic Russo President
America's Champions Cup A Great Success
The Inaugural Americas Cup which was just held in Duluth, GA wrapped up on a high note for the US. With eight teams competing, the top four from the US and the top four clubs from Canada, it was a total shut out. It was clear from the beginning that Canada was no match for the highly skilled US teams. However, the main objective of this tournament was not the games themselves, but to build the Americas Zone and its program. xAble.com captured a variety of games that is available to view on their website: Congratulations to Atlanta Synergy, all the participants and to Fernando Foundation for kicking off this tradition! 1ST PLACE- Atlanta Synergy
America's Champions Cup 2010
October 26, 2009 Jonathan Newman, America Zone President announces plan for the second Americas Champions Cup to be help in September or October of 2010. Bid documents will be made available late December-early January and will be due the end of n. This tournament will consist of the top four teams from the US and Canada. The US teams will be selected again on their results at the National Tournament, June 2010. All interested host cities are encouraged to apply.
Whistle Stop
Re: Referee Registration Hello Coaches, Managers, Administrators, League, and Tournament Directors: The 2009-10 season has begun and matches are coming up. With that being said, it is important to be sure your referees are trained and registered with the USPSA. Registration is free and easy to do. Go to the USPSA website and click on referee registration; answer a few items and you're done, it's that easy and it's required. If a referee is not registered with the USPSA, the match will not be certified for standings and results. As each athlete, coach, manager, and team needs to register, it's important that our referees are registered for insurance purposes, proper training, and for selection to the regional and national tournaments. After each match, day, or tournament the electronic score sheet is to be sent to the USPSA secretary for verification that all areas meet the guidelines set forth by the USPSA and one area is the verification of the name of the referee overseeing the match. If this does not meet the requirement the game is void. Please contact all of your local USPSA referees and encourage them to register as soon as possible to be sure that all of your matches count! Thank you and best of luck for the upcoming season. Tracy Mayer
Registration Facts!To date: we have 52 registered teams!
2010 Tournament Sites Selected
DIVISION 1 REGIONAL TOURNAMENT DIVISION ll REGIONAL TOURNAMENT NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
FIPFA Discussed Flipping ChairsAt the recent FIPFA Congress held in Atlanta Georgia the equipment commission has taken on the issue of adding side protection as a possible requirement consideration and in addition to the Laws. The issue was brought forward by the representative from Portugal in an attempt to prevent balls from being wedge between the front caster and the rear wheel, which can cause potential flipping of the wheelchair. More information on this will become available as the technical commission reviews and evaluated the recommendations. Action can come in the form from changing the law or a direct recommendation to all teams. Stay tuned.
Upcoming Clinics
Jerry Frick and Karen Russo are planning a tour of Texas for the 2010 summer. There has been multiple requests coming from the great state and it's time to start soccer in Texas! If you know of someone in Texas that would be interested in starting a program, please contact Jerry Frick. More information to follow!
Training DVDThe USPSA will be filming portions of Team USA Selection Camp to be featured in the training DVD scheduled for release late winter/early spring. Thank you to Blake Brenneman for taking on this project! His skills and artistry behind the lens and in the editing booth will lend itself to a superior project.
Power Soccer Shop Lives On!!
It is our pleasure to announce new ownership of Power Soccer Shop: Grant is a Power Soccer player for the "Courage Blizzards" #62; Brian & Ruth are owners of a manufacturing business in Zimmerman named NEMI. We felt a natural "fit" purchasing this business with Grant's soccer interest & our manufacturing experience. We are excited for this opportunity to continue with the excellent products & customer service provided by Elio & Jessi Navarro, creators of Power Soccer Shop. The Navarro's have been very gracious & eager to turn their business over to another Power Soccer family. It is our intention to enhance this business with new offerings and choices for the many Power Soccer teams! With the explosive growth of the power soccer game, the upcoming 2010 tournaments and Team USA development, and the international play of the 2011 World Cup, we are anticipating great excitement and enthusiasm within the global Power Soccer community. We welcome your questions & comments as we move forward this season. Please watch the web site for continuous favorites & new 2010 soccer offerings available shortly!
How would you like to be the face of our official World Cup bid to FIFA?We're looking for one passionate soccer fan to feature on the opening pages of the official Bid Book we submit to FIFA. All you have to do is write to FIFA telling why the Game is in you -- and your country. Then, when the FIFA Executive Members open up our book, one of the first things they'll see could be your words and your picture!* Click here for a chance to get in the running for this incredible honor and submit your letter now: http://www.gousabid.com/bidbook We're doing this because fans like you form the foundation of soccer in this country. When FIFA thinks about soccer in the U.S., we want them to think of people like Staci from Pennsylvania, who told us a few days ago why the Game is in her: In 1990, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gabon, Africa, I had my first taste of World Cup fever. In my small village every man, woman and child crammed into what ever room had a TV. I will never forget the sound of the cheers when Cameroon beat the mighty Argentina! That sealed my fate as a soccer fan. When the World Cup came to the states in 1994, I signed up to volunteer. I fell in love with another volunteer and we married 3 years later. Our first night as a married couple was spent cheering on the MetroStars. Now we have two young sons who play soccer and are looking forward to our own MLS team in Philadelphia. I think it would be awesome to volunteer as a family, 24 years after it all started at the World Cup motor pool in DC. Or there's Marc from Texas, an Army soldier who told this story about an operation his unit conducted at a Baghdad soccer park during Operation Iraqi Freedom: After about an hour of searching through living areas and accounting for everyone in the area, I found myself waiting to wrap things up. An Iraqi kid, maybe 10 years old, was holding a Soccer ball in the area we made everyone go to. I motioned for him to toss me the ball (my Arabic isn't very good), and he immediately understood that I wanted to see his Soccer ball. He tossed it and (while wearing about 75 pounds of Army gear), I "caught" the ball with a thigh and immediately juggled the ball 10-12 times before the weight of my gear, or lack of skill:)...let the ball fall to the ground. The eyes of almost every person there lit up...I guess they didn't expect an American Army Soldier to be able to juggle a ball! We passed the ball around and I made friends that day...although I will probably never see them again, we were bonded by the beautiful game. We couldn't communicate with words...but the game was all we needed to see each other as equals...as players, as friends. As you can see, the power of soccer is very real -- and the Game really is in all of us. Join Staci and Marc -- write your letter today, and get your chance to be featured in the official USA Bid Book to FIFA: http://www.gousabid.com/bidbook Thanks again for your support. I can't wait to receive your submissions. -- David David Downs *see official rules for eligibility rules: http://www.gousabid.com/pages/face-of-the-bid
USPSA APPAREL & TEAM USA CHAMPIONSHIP SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE FOR SALE ONLINE!
Our new League Store will be offering new items in the future. Check back often to see what is new!Team USA Shirt MasterCard and Visa now conveniently accepted in a safe and secure website. T-shirts: $10.00 |
Purchase your USPSA t-shirts, ball caps and 2007 Team USA Championship T-shirts on now on line for your convenience!