I'm curious what you think:
Is being state coordinator and president of a local club a conflict of interest?

How so?

What actions might a State Coordinator take that being president of a local club might affect? The only ones that come to mind, wouldn't matter if he/she were president of a local club, or a member of a local club, or just a local player.

I believe State Coordinators get a spot to give away to World's, if that is correct, then they would be more inclined to give it to someone from the club that they are president.
In helping with sanctioning etc of tournaments, some TD's might receive more and faster help than those from other, let's say 'conflicting' clubs.
Certain events from those other clubs may not get the advertisement and publicity that they would otherwise receive if they were sponsored by the SC/President's club.

Usually it may not be that big of a deal, but the State Coordinator is in a position to pick and choose where he focuses his efforts, and as a president of a local club his efforts would obviously go towards that club before others.

Ah, I forgot, but I think it's the USDGC spot, not the Worlds, you're thinking of. Anyone can go to Worlds.

But still---if a SC is going to be biased, I doubt it matters whether he's president of the local club, or just active locally. There's not a lot of people fighting for SC jobs, and if you exclude people who are presidents of clubs or officers of clubs or run tournaments or just know more people in one area of the state than others, you'd be hard-pressed to fill the slots.

Admittedly, my state has had an excellent State Coordinator for as long as the position's existed, so I have a hard time imaging a bad SC.

I have served as both club president and PDGA State Coordinator at the same time. I was the only one who was on the ballot for either position. If there is no one else volunteering to hold the positions, what else can be done?


Local clubs and PDGA have been partnering for years to advance the sport with local volunteers doing the lion's share of the PDGA work. A lot of the work for each position is the same. Whether you are promoting disc golf for the club or the PDGA - you are still promoting disc golf.

I would be more concerned that the volunteer have the time and energy to serve both positions more than it being a potential conflict of interest.

Many states have set up guidelines for how the annual USDGC position is awarded. In states that haven't, it is the state coordinator's decision to award the spot to anyone they want for any reason.

No more so than a vendor, tournament organizer (TD), or regular playing Pro or Am. You can take this even further and draw the concusion that being from a particular city could create a conflict of interest when drawing up the schedule for the year.

People will come from different backgrounds and perspectives, all of which can have an influence on how they view things. The check and balance is that it is an elected position. Many may have (I would) viewed the local club involvement as a positive quaility when considering who to vote for.

Another reality as stated above is most often there isn't an excess of people looking to actively take on volunteer roles.

The only conflict of interest I can think of would be if the State Coordinator gave away the USDGC spot for his state to a fellow club member instead of awarding it per USDGC state representative qualification procedures (http://www.usdgc.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2011_USDGC_Qualifying.pdf). Or an associated corollary would be if the State Coordinator awarded the tournament bid which decided his/her USDGC state representative to his own club over an obviously better qualified tournament bid.

In Pennsylvania, the various state coordinators over the years have done a very good job of selecting the best tournament which had a) a history of running successful PDGA sanctioned tournaments b) a history of bringing in significant sponsorship to their tournaments c) a championship caliber course with upgraded teepads / tee signs / course amenties, etc. and d) if possible, a centralized location for players to travel to award the state's USDGC tournament bid.

Most disc golfers in the state are tuned into where/how their USDGC bid is awarded and Harold and Jonathan Poole are also very diligent to make sure that the USDGC bids are awarded in a fair manner, so I really doubt that this conflict of interest would ever surface.

The only conflict of interest I can think of would be if the State Coordinator gave away the USDGC spot for his state to a fellow club member instead of awarding it per USDGC state representative qualification procedures (http://www.usdgc.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2011_USDGC_Qualifying.pdf). Or an associated corollary would be if the State Coordinator awarded the tournament bid which decided his/her USDGC state representative to his own club over an obviously better qualified tournament bid.

If a State Co wanted to they can just award the spot to whoever they want, like themselves, or their favorite club member, which has happend numerous times in the past. There's no conflict of interest, its 100% up to their discretion. Their are no "precedures" for the state co spot, its more of a guideline than a hard and fast procedure.

If you lived in a state where the tournament schedule was really crowded, and you were managing the state schedule, you'd have a conflict of interest. But you'd come up with some objective rules and bend over backwards to be fair.

There's no conflict with the USDGC invite. That goes to whoever you want it to for whatever reason you choose. You don't have to justify your reasons to Jason Poole or anyone. Hard for there to be a conflict between that and your interests as club president. You can send yourself if you want to.

Or, what Jerry said. :D

My take, and its my State and my local club. And my opinion.

The SC position and club president positions are both elected positions. Its been awhile since these elections have even been close.

The State is booming as far as disc golf growth. 2 A tiers and tourneys all season long at some amazing courses. Well attended events including touring pros. Multiple World Champions with multiple titles live and play here multiple times and have for multiple years. The local club has nearly 400 members. In a couple of years the club will pass the $100,000 mark for money raised at the Ice Bowl over the last decade (a very large portion raised by the OP Mike - thanks Mike and others).

The USDGC spot is usually given away in an advertised way, often the lowest scoring non-qualified Coloradan at the June A tier.

So if there is a conflict of interest I think many places would love to have it. I just don't see it though. And based on the votes in the elections, not many others do either.

Just my opinion.

Sorry guys, but my experience has been different. When I was PA State Coordinator two years ago, the USDGC tournament organizers were very explicit in that the state rep should be chosen from either a yearlong series or a specific tournament (which was sufficiently large & diverse enough to be worthy) to choose each state's USDGC representative.

There are USDGC state representative qualification procedures which have been posted every year for at least the last five years which specified this. Though the process is listed as "encouraged but not required" it was made very obvious by the USDGC tournament organizers that these procedures should be followed. Unless you live in a state like New Hampshire where there are literally just seven PDGA members total, the PDGA State Coordinator can't just send himself or a club member. That may have flown in the past, but those days are long gone, and I think doing so today would be seen as a conflict of interest and shot down by the USDGC tournament organizers.

I am the President of DISContinuum Disc Golf Club and Illinois State Coordinator. I don't think there is a conflict of interest but I make sure to CYA. I send out a general e-mail every year asking for dates. If there are conflicts I follow the guidelines in place for fair opportunity on dates. No one can point the finger that I favor events that i'm involved with or running myself. If i'm running a new solo event i've waited until everyone has submitted their dates until I chose one.

As far as the USDGC spot i've held a fair competition at an event. I have the same opportunity to win it as any other player. This year it's a little different with the USDGC format. I've had very few people express interest about playing.

I'm not sure how there would be a conflict any other way. I do this for free and the love of the game. Every state coordinator I have meet have been similar.

Thanks for the input. I agree, they are both volunteer positions and I am grateful we have such a dedicated group of volunteers in my disc golf community.

I don't feel that there is any biasness towards events or other clubs. And, yes, the USDGC spot is always advertised and fair. It's just that a handful of us were talking about several topics recently and the conflict of interest came up so I thought I would put it out there to see an 'outsiders' position on it.

Sorry guys, but my experience has been different. When I was PA State Coordinator two years ago, the USDGC tournament organizers were very explicit in that the state rep should be chosen from either a yearlong series or a specific tournament (which was sufficiently large & diverse enough to be worthy) to choose each state's USDGC representative.

There are USDGC state representative qualification procedures which have been posted every year for at least the last five years which specified this. Though the process is listed as "encouraged but not required" it was made very obvious by the USDGC tournament organizers that these procedures should be followed. Unless you live in a state like New Hampshire where there are literally just seven PDGA members total, the PDGA State Coordinator can't just send himself or a club member. That may have flown in the past, but those days are long gone, and I think doing so today would be seen as a conflict of interest and shot down by the USDGC tournament organizers.

Jeff your link didn't work for me and I couldn't find the info on users website but I did look at the entrants from last year and saw at least 8 golfers with ratings under 910 so I'm not sure why you think the qualifications have been tightened up.

Sorry guys, but my experience has been different. When I was PA State Coordinator two years ago, the USDGC tournament organizers were very explicit in that the state rep should be chosen from either a yearlong series or a specific tournament (which was sufficiently large & diverse enough to be worthy) to choose each state's USDGC representative.

There are USDGC state representative qualification procedures which have been posted every year for at least the last five years which specified this. Though the process is listed as "encouraged but not required" it was made very obvious by the USDGC tournament organizers that these procedures should be followed. Unless you live in a state like New Hampshire where there are literally just seven PDGA members total, the PDGA State Coordinator can't just send himself or a club member. That may have flown in the past, but those days are long gone, and I think doing so today would be seen as a conflict of interest and shot down by the USDGC tournament organizers.
Jeff, until it says "REQUIRED", it isn't required. Period.
Each State Coordinator is encouraged to select the best (large and diverse field) tournament for the people of their respective state. Results from the event can be run through the performance-based calculations provided by Disc Golf United. This enables a player to be chosen using the same format they will experience at the 2011 USDGC. Using this process is encouraged, however it is not required.
There has never been an explicit instruction from the USDGC staff to select the state representative in any specific way (while not the coordinator for the whole period, I've been directly involved with the selection process in Maine since 2002, so I speak from experience). Suggestions and recommendations have been documented more recently as you've said, but they aren't requirements. What everyone else has said about coordinators sending themselves or a friend or giving the spot to the first person who asks for it with no competition is all quite true, even as recently as last year.

Honestly, what recourse does the USDGC staff have if a coordinator doesn't follow their recommendations? Bar their selected representative from playing? I don't think so. They haven't yet. I can't imagine they will until they change the wording to say it's a requirement to do it their way.

Josh,

FYI, the State Coordinators have a Yahoo Group for communications between themselves and the PDGA, and as recently as two years ago, the USDGC organizers made posts on this group requesting all PDGA State Coordinators to contact them with how their USDGC spot is awarded and greatly stressing that it should be awarded through the published procedures.

Maybe things work have worked differently in Maine. But I can assure you, that after holding a Pennsylvania State Championships tournament every year since 2001 - a decades worth - to award the USDGC spot, if our state representative just decided to send himself or a club member, there'd be a serious doodie-storm from golfers in our state (and likely the USDGC organizers) over the conflict of interest. And this would almost surely apply to every other state where the procedures have been followed religiously for quite some time now.

You can continue to argue semantics all you want. But I've made my point and am done with this.

Josh,

FYI, the State Coordinators have a Yahoo Group for communications between themselves and the PDGA, and as recently as two years ago, the USDGC organizers made posts on this group requesting all PDGA State Coordinators to contact them with how their USDGC spot is awarded and greatly stressing that it should be awarded through the published procedures.

Maybe things work have worked differently in Maine. But I can assure you, that after holding a Pennsylvania State Championships tournament every year since 2001 - a decades worth - to award the USDGC spot, if our state representative just decided to send himself or a club member, there'd be a serious doodie-storm from golfers in our state (and likely the USDGC organizers) over the conflict of interest. And this would almost surely apply to every other state where the procedures have been followed religiously for quite some time now.

You can continue to argue semantics all you want. But I've made my point and am done with this.
Jeff,

I'm a state coordinator. I'm well aware of the yahoo group and the postings the USDGC folks made on there. I also agree that if there's been an established manner in which the spot is awarded in a particular state, a change, especially one that eliminates competition, is likely to spark an outcry from the players in the state. I don't think anyone would deny that. (that is in fact, the original point of the thread, is it not?)

The point to which you are arguing that I and others disagree is where you say that there are "requirements" when it comes to selecting the representative. That's patently untrue. You can shrug it off as merely semantics, but it is what it is. There is currently nothing preventing a state coordinator from deciding to take the spot him/herself without competition or discussion. That there might be a doodie-storm after the fact is irrelevant. The only recourse at the moment is to vote the guy out in the next election or for the USDGC to change their stated policy from "encouraged" to "required".