Joe started by reporting that long time committee chairman Torbjorn Yggeseth of Norway (fifth in the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley) stepped down and was replaced by Jouko Tormanen of Finland (1980 Olympic Gold medallist) who stated that he holds a "traditional" view of the sport. We should infer by that that Tormanen will not support radical changes to judging or scorning.

Beginning before the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, the FIS has been concerned about the health affects on jumpers of the fact that very light jumpers are more successful. The present rule relating maximum ski length to body height will be replaced by a rule using body mass index (BMI). No new rules have been adopted regarding jumping suits, but there are new rules governing underwear.

Only minor changes were made to judging rules. Joe hopes that a three level ski hill homologation system will be developed which will permit hosts whose jumps do not satisfy the requirements for World Cup, World Championships or Olympics to host lower level international competitions. This might impact sites like Brattleboro or Salisbury. A new rule prohibits scheduling two Continental Cup competitions on the same day, even though they may be on opposite sides of the globe.

Women's Jumping is expected to develop step by step, not in giant leaps. An attempt to raise the maximum age for women in the World Junior Championships from 17 to 20 failed. Some people hope to get a women's event into the World Championships in 2007 but others see this as an overly optimistic target date. However, there will be Women's Continental Cup events in Europe in the 2005 season.

The USSA is again considering how to spend it money on World Cup events, and Joe suggests that we may see World Cup jumps in the U.S. every other year.

In Nordic Combined, Joe noted that Todd Lodwick won the summer Grand Prix series in spite of being disqualified in one of the events (therefore losing about $4000) because his roller blades lacked a brake. The FIS is considering a new handicap system to replace the Gundersen system in Nordic Combined sprints. Instead of using a time handicap, the new system would ask lower ranking jumpers to ski farther.

The Committee has published a new rule book and Joe will ask the USSA office to stock copies, which will not be free. The new rules are also accessible on the FIS web site.

Joe closed by reminding everyone that Lake Placid would host a Nordic Officials Clinic for both Judges and TD's Nov 5-6.

Moved (Baker, Dodds) to accept the minutes of the spring meeting. Passed.

A current financial report was distributed by Doug Hoffman, who briefly discussed the high points.
Moved (Warner, Stone) to accept the financial report. Passed.
Marianne Fairall presented a proposed budget for the coming Nov 2004-Oct 2005 period, offering brief comments. She had prepared sheets clearly comparing our income and expenses over the last three seasons to aid in designing the new budget.
Dan Warner reiterated his strong belief that we need to be moving to a more professional structure. In the ensuing discussion, it appeared that we might aspire to have paid persons (full time or part time) in the three areas of fundraising, administration and coaching. The usual questions were posed. Dan and Marianne will work on this and invite others to join the effort. Art Tokle ended the discussion, stating that topic will be considered again at the spring meeting.

Item (c) on the agenda under "Treasurers Report" asked if we could use the J.O. account and its debit card to facilitate the purchase of airplane tickets and other travel related items. A motion (Farnham, Carter) was made to permit this but was withdrawn after Doug Hoffman pointed out the dangers in putting substantial sums in such an account in case the card is lost or stolen. Hoffman advised extreme caution and suggested trying it out for a short but definite period such as six months.
Moved (Hoffman, Dodds) to permit for about six months, until the spring meeting, the use of the J.O. account and its debit card for reserving and paying for airline tickets, motel accommodations and rental cars for other trips in addition to the J.O. trip. Passed.

Hoffman also pointed out two other things:

• J.O. account information should be submitted to the treasurer for accounting.
• When our total cash flow exceed $25,000 in a year, we will be required to submit a tax report, even though we are a tax exempt organization. It appears that this may happen soon.

The question of a new replacement for the discontinued head tax was discussed but further discussion and possible action was postponed to the next spring meeting.

Geoff Howe reported on the state of the improvements to the 48 meter Gunstock, NH hill in preparation for hosting the 2006 Junior Olympic (J.O.) competition. Major revisions have been undertaken, changing every part of the hill except the outrun. The landing will be raised by adding many truckloads of fill. This will push the landing forward, farther away from the takeoff. The inrun will be dug out as much as three feet in some places, and the small trestle will be completely reconstructed. At meeting time, Geoff reported that some of the digging had been done in the inrun and that the trestle was down and new poles would be set soon to start construction of the new trestle. The landing will probably not be filled completely this season and Geoff plans to make up the difference with snow. This will give the advantage of testing the profile before the landing curve is "set in stone" (more properly, "in dirt"). Geoff has a good concept of how the project will go and has made many arrangements for services and materials. The new hill will have a K-distance around 55 meters, a good size for J.O. competition.

Junior Subcommittee Report - Jim Carter reported that the subcommittee has identified twelve competitors who are likely to qualify and travel to the upcoming Junior Olympic events in Steamboat Springs, CO. Letters of Intent and copies of the new Travel Code of Conduct will be provided to these individuals and made available to others.

Carter also pointed out that we need some new people to begin training to take over some of the J.O. responsibilities that he and Marianne have been carrying for the last several years. Tim Norris, Tom Dodds and Jay Daniels were mentioned as appropriate candidates. In particular, Jim Carter will not go the the 2005 J.O.

Joe Freire told the committee that he hopes to hold a trail race (foot race through the woods) as a fundraiser for our group. He will report more at the next meeting.

Larry Stone brought a request from his NYSEF boss that our organization increase the direct cash contribution that we make in support of Larry and Matt's NYSEF positions. Long and spirited discussion followed, but new ideas were not heard.
Moved (Baker, Dodds) to send NYSEF the amount of three thousand dollars ($3000) in support of the coaching positions presently held by Larry Stone and Matt Cook. Passed.

Don West briefly described the sad state of our present (free) web hosting and asked whether we should purchase a URL and commercial web hosting. He estimated the cost at less than $15 for the URL and $9-12 per month for web hosting.
Moved (Stone, Howe) to go ahead and get a URL and commercial web hosting. Passed.

Communications from clubs:
ORDA and Brattleboro could both use help in hill preparation and maintenance for three events:

• the Nordic Combined World Cup B competitions in December in Lake Placid,
• the Harris meet and Women's National Championships in January in Brattleboro
• the North American Junior Championships a few days later in Lake Placid.

Gunstock Nordic Assn: Geoff Howe mentioned that GNA is selling dedications of rooms in their new base lodge for $5000 each.

The spring meeting will be at Storrs Hill, Lebanon NH, on Saturday, April 9, 2004 at 9 am.

Moved (Barker, Howe) to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:58 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Don West.