Thank you for submitting your questions to IDF! We (the IDF board) appreciate your participation and understand that there is much information to cover for IDF members. We’re going to touch on some of the questions below, and many others will be answered during the Annual General Meeting - which we highly encourage you to attend!
Member Inquiries can be found below in bold, with the IDF's answers following. The questionnaire is still open for another 24 hours, so send in your last-minute questions to be addressed at the Annual General Meeting.
Member Inquiries:
“Is the 2020 season going to be canceled?”
We hope not! The IDF is working very closely with event organizers in hopes of hosting a few races this year. However, the racers’ safety will always come first. Please tune into the AGM to find out what the IDF and event organizers are planning for 2020.
“If you decide to cancel the world tour, will you refund yearly subscriptions and refund fee's charged to events?”
The IDF never sees any of your registration fees because those funds go straight to event organizers. If the IDF was to refund one member’s registration, then it would have to use five member’s dues to do so. This is simply not something the IDF can do. However, the IDF has refunded all sanctioning fees to events where sanctioning was removed due to COVID-19. As for a refund on member dues, please attend the AGM to hear more.
“Can we please BAN Lunch Breaks at ALL World Cups? We ain’t there to have a “nice lunch” we’re there to race.”
Lunch breaks are a time for volunteers to take a small break and shift change, which is necessary for the logistics of our events and the safety of our racers. Although we can not ban lunch breaks, many of the event organizers will try to make this a fun, cultural experience for you by offering food specific to their regions.
To the many questions related to pro/am classes:
The IDF understands that there needs to be a pro series for top racers where they can make a living through podium purses and sponsorship deals. The IDF also understands that there needs to be an amateur, grassroots, FUBU series where racers of all skill levels can gain experience with their peers. Please tune into the AGM to see how the IDF is planning to accomplish this within a few year's time.
“Will there be money for Open Class Wins next year?”
For 2020, the IDF added a clause to all World Cup contracts that required a percentage of profits to go to the event's podium. For 2021, we are planning to raise those podium prizes - but NOT on the event organizers dime. Tune into the AGM to find out who’s supplying your 2021 World Cup podium purses and how much cash you are likely to see on each 2021 WC podium.
“Can we please raise IDF membership fees to at least $100 per year so that we can actually have nice things and to get matters taken care of when finances are needed?”
Not all international racers operate on USD or similar currencies. The IDF believes skateboarding should be for everyone, and therefore as affordable as possible. However, the IDF always welcomes donations AND is working on big things for the future to help with the finances of the IDF, event organizers, AND racers - tune into the AGM to find out!
“Also, can we have the IDF membership be non automated, that way if anyone wants to be a part of this thing they have to be accountable for their membership and races fees.”
Memberships, in general, are automated. However, the IDF offers two ways to stop your yearly subscription depending on when you joined the IDF. You can find directions to both options on the IDF site here.
“Open your bloody regos earlier so EO’s can get money for their event. (I know it not that simple but plz) early bird prices and a significant jump for late rego.”
You are correct; it is needed but not that simple. First, there is a list of things Event Organizers need to provide IDF before opening registration. Second, there were a few website hiccups as well (we’ve since worked through them). With that said, the IDF and event organizers are making it a point to work together and open registrations earlier. The IDF was able to open both Kozkaov 2020 and Volpaia 2020 in March - four months before the events! Because of the information event organizers need to obtain, opening registration 4-5 months before an event is really the best that IDF can do.
In response to all questions related to event dates:
The IDF does not have full control over the event dates in the year schedule. event organizers need to work in the parameters of the local governments and event sites; sometimes, this leaves event organizers and the IDF with few choices. However, the current board is already working on the 2021 schedule with the intention of making it the most easily traveled tour yet. Expect to see a different layout for the 2021 tour!
“When are 2019 champion's gonna get compensated and awarded?”
It’s most likely happening while you’re reading this. All medals have been shipped, and there are prizes for the Open Skate and Open Street Luge World Champions that are being dispersed. However, the IDF would like to apologize as unfortunate circumstances did not allow us to publicly congratulate the 2019 champions in a timely manner. The IDF will be using this COVID-19 downtime to focus on the 2019 champions and 2020/21 events. As an extra bonus, the IDF has something special planned in 2021 for our 2019 champions - tune into the AGM to find out!
“Why did you never publish the videos of the semifinals and finals of the two Colombian races in 2019? La Leonera and La Virgen. Thanks”
La Virgen videos were posted on Facebook last November - you can find them by going through IDF’s “videos” on Facebook. However, we had an issue with corrupted La Leonera files, which is why only the Semi-Final A was posted in the correct order. Recently, James Gillcrist joined the IDF media team and was able to decipher our corrupted file issues. Since then, James is working with us to edit and release that footage. The IDF has also taken steps to ensure that this problem does not occur again. In fact, we now have a contract with James so that he can get ALL POV race footage out in a timely manner and consistent format after each event. We also purchased more Go Pros so that we can film 6-person heats AND more categories! Lastly, we are working on a plan for youtube, so that all of our POV edits can be viewed there.
“Who the hell proof reads these articles and why are some people allowed to post and others simply aren’t?”
All articles are shared with the entire board for a 48-hour review before posting, and no board member is banned from posting or writing articles/social media. In fact, this article was compiled by two different board members. Also, most of our articles go through a grammar app before posting. With that said, we do apologize that our articles have not met your expectations. The IDF is always looking for volunteers; If you would like to offer your writing or editing services, then please sign in to your IDF account and complete the online volunteer form or tune into the AGM meeting to hear more about the IDF volunteer opportunities.
‘Why are people allowed to have meetings and make decisions when not everyone is present?”
With the board members spread across the world, finding times that everyone can be present is tricky. The board meetings are often set weeks in advance, with an agenda for discussion being distributed before the meeting. If there are contentious issues, then the board will be required to vote and achieve a quorum. More details regarding this process are available in the IDF constitution.
To all questions related to the board members’ responsibilities and work:
Being a board member entails many responsibilities, and the majority of the work that the IDF board members carry out will not be visible to our members. A selection of these duties and responsibilities are: responding to member queries, dealing with website issues, working with Event Organizers, creating contracts and legal protections for IDF, assisting potential Event Organizers with planning a future race, writing letters to government organizations, searching for potential sponsors, and accounting. A complete board has also allowed IDF to explore other opportunities, as you'll see in the IDF AGM.
To all questions related to voting for board members:
A full board (and a team of workers!) is needed to properly run the IDF to its full potential. ONLY eight people ran for the 7-member board in 2019. Yes, that is a problem. To solve the problem, the position of an IDF board member needs to be more appealing. As members, you can help with this by spreading positivity, encouragement, and offering your help to the current board.
Thank you again for your questions, and we look forward to seeing your presence at the Annual General Meeting! Sincerely, The 2019-2020 IDF Board Members.
