Johnson exit opens door for reform

In most any crisis, there is opportunity to begin reform that will support an array of future strategies, not only a single, fleeting orthodoxy.

How can USA Rugby make the most of Scott Johnson's untimely departure? By looking within and applying some honest tests of responsibility and performance. Beyond 'governance' or strategic planning, how does the union conceive of its basic compact with the American rugby community?

The role of management and the national office, profit & loss, and the basis of the Eagle program are three good places to start. Here are some questions which ought to be addressed by the board of directors and congress.

Management

• Why does the board of a member-supported organization no longer meet in public, publish its minutes, or produce a public budget? What justifies bygone transparency?
• How then do dues-paying players and clubs know that they are being effectively represented by the board, which is essentially appointed, and the congress, which is elected by a very small number of officials?
• What activities can only the national office accomplish, and how are these featured in Boulder's operating priorities?
• What efforts are duplicative of local or territorial bodies, and what is unreasonable to expect of these bodies? What should be left to the commercial market?

P/L

• How is the budget (including cashflow) structured so that vital services would survive any downturn?
• Should the union achieve its stated goal of $20 million in yearly revenue, how will additional revenue equate to improved services and performance?
• Of the principal revenue categories (dues, grants, sponsorship, event revenue), what have been the source(s) of increase, and how will they be sustained?
• In this environment, how does USARFU plan to get to $20 million?

Eagles

• What is the target win rate for the Eagles in 2009? In 2011? If achieved, what is the projected commercial gain? What would be the cost per victory?
• How many domestic players who have risen through the All-Americans will be newly capped? via 7s? What will be the ratio of spending to new domestic caps?
• How does the projected ratio of Eagle expenditures / revenues in 2009 compare with 2008? with 2007? What does 2011 look like?
• Should USA Rugby return to a model whereby the Eagles are required to financially support themselves?

Comments

[tick tock]

Kurt,

Have you learned nothing? There is no time for these questions and zero time for "reform".

USAR is committed to the cover-up plan. They are well underway in sweeping under the rug how they've wasted millions of dollars in funding from the IRB while driving this union to its knees. You'll find everything you are allowed to know on NM personal blog.

The congress doesn't get the minutes of the board meetings, how can we expect the board or it's lacky Melville to answer serious questions?

This board and their executive are pulling off the most laughable performance this century, and other than GL nobody wants to ask questions. We can bitch, prod, post all we want, but until someone on the congress wakes up one morning with the guts to ask a few public questions we will remain in our current situation. If we'd had known the congress would desert us, we would never have agreed to this small handful of individuals controlling US rugby.

With this off my chest, I would like to address the question of how much does a test victory cost and what does it get us. It looks to currently cost us around $1,000,000 per test victory. Winning or losing these tests means little to the present or future of US rugby. We lost both tests to Japan and life goes on, much the same as before. Win the matches and nothing changes for the better or worse, we wake to the same issues.

Therefore the question must be, what could we do with this money to better our future? What if we convinced the IRB, that spending this IRB grant money on domestic rugby and building a strong domestic game would be the best way to build a national team capable of reaching the RWC quarters?

What if we were spending millions on high school and youth rugby, can anyone argue we wouldn't be further ahead? We have spent roughly $6m of IRB grants funds over the last three seasons and have zero to show for the expenses.

When will someone on the USAR congress wake up with some guts.

[mmm chocolate filled]

Don't get your bitties in an uproar. They have made it clear that the have plan was to sort it out as they went along. We agreed to those terms right?

Please gentlemen, just stfu. We supported the "brick by brick" policy.

They told us they were building pathways with those bricks. It turned out they were building layers of defenses that are now impenetrable.

Just keep paying taxes to them. They said we can eat cake this year.

[Hopeful]

As pointed out, this only seems hopeless because of Congress. The Board and staff are what they are, this is all fixable with three or four smart congress members. Lead and the rest will follow.

BTW, fixable means a new plan created for where we are today.

[Wave Surfer]

Kurt - Is there a published list of Congress members ?

I don't even know who to try and contact ? Should I be looking on myspace or facebook ?

When is the next board meeting, I assume it will take place in San Diego this weekend at our showpiece international event !

I live here in SD, so I am ready to crash the meeting dude !

[Rugby Mom]

The USA rugby website lists congress members, assuming its up to date.

[Been there]

This is NOT fixable by Congress members, anymore than it is fixable by the at-large rugby public.

The Congress is a limited organization. It only has the authority to approve/disapprove (a) CIPP increases and (b) by-law changes. However, both of these must be in parallel with agreement by the Board.

This is what you got when your former "old" Board reps voted 25-1 or whatever it was to accept the supposed rainmakers (and many of the old Board members are on the Congress or in other TU/LAU/Natl positions). Very few of the fools read the new by-laws or understood it.

This isn't to say we should admit defeat. However, what's the solution? It's not going to be with the Congress. If we weren't in a stranglehold due to CIPP being tied to liability insurance, all of us would say "f this".

What it will take is a campaign of overloading Melville, the NO, the Board, and the Congress with complaints until they can't take it any longer. Perhaps.

[been there too]

Not sure I agree.

True that Congress has no real power, but they do vote to seat this Board and they should be the first to speak up on their members behave.

If several Congress members would band together and ask public question of this Board and National Office it would be better than typing on this f-cking blog. By asking public questions the Board is called-out into the open to respond. This is what's needed.

No one is saying these Board members are bad people, but they have done a bad job. They are now ducking for cover thinking we will all forget about their performance.

This Board and Melville need to engaged with the membership. Their ideas haven't worked and won't work. They are wasting our future.

[good, bad, fugly]

If someone is doing a bad job, is criticized yet continues to do a bad job without considering change is lazy, naive, or a bad person.

The guy continues to do a bad job and refuses change because he has an agenda is the type of guy I just can't be around.

[Kris]

Where are the numbers someone talked about earlier about the amount spent by the board on meeting etc?

[Advocating for Change Through Direct Communication]

I have it on good authority that the USA Rugby Board, as a whole, has not received a single e-mail/comment directly from the public relating to the content in this or any blog posted by Gainline, nor any of the content in the comments. All of the directors' contact information is posted to the USA Rugby website (go to usarugby.org, "About USA Rugby", "Board of Directors" -- it's the same place you can also get 100% of the Congress members' e-mail addresses, by simply hitting "The Congress"). Given that the board is meeting this weekend in San Diego, perhaps someone out there should try directly communicating their concerns by e-mailing them directly? Or, try going through your congress member if you don't want to try that? It is, after all, their job to represent you, and if they don't know your concerns, they cannot do their jobs (not intending to sound condescending—although it sounds that way).

Who knows, it might work. The bottom line is that no one will know until someone tries to communicate directly, rather than through forums such as this.

[Reggie Lewis]

If you have a problem with the current USAR organization, instead of typing in this pathetic excuse for a blog, send the same email to your congress members. If, and only if, there is a groundswell from membership calling for a vote of no confidence in the Board, will Congress step up to the plate. So tell your friends, tell your teammates - email congress and let them know that we won't put up with this anymore.

Uh oh, guess I'm a hypocrite for typing in this pathetic blog instead of emailing my congress members. Dammit.

[IRB...SOS]

Don't be foolish. The Board reads this blog and all other US rugby media.

They know well and good they have talked a big game and failed to deliver. They now realize that having an accent and talking down to Americans hasn't worked.

Not only do members of the congress keep up with this and other media, they post here and provide inside information.

The next step isn't for 10 or 100 letters to be submitted, it's for the Congress as a whole to take back our rugby union with this vote of no confidence mentioned.

The other thing for us to do, is keep the pressure on these jokers. The IRB keeps its eyes on this blog as well. They realize the lawsuits are piling up, the Eagles ranking is in free fall and that they are the only financial backers USAR has. This mess has gotten worse under IRB and foreign leadership.

The Board would love for us to be divided as individuals in a letter writing campaign, as would the do nothing congress.

I see Ed from Rugby Mag has entered the fight, lets hope Alex Goff follows, along with Lowe from ARN. If anything the media is a key player in this fight. They have by and large stood by and let this happen without examination or comment. This has to change.

I think if you see Melville or Roberts in San Diego you ought to tell them what a shit job they are doing. Roberts is in this for ego, he'd need to be lying to his kiwi pals to be getting any ego strokes out of this. Melville is looking for a job, we can only hope he's successful.

The jokers will next hire a high profile Eagles coach and go right back to spending millions of dollars chasing a meaningless Eagles victory. Beat Canada and go to the RWC, win a game at RWC, who gives a rip. We can know longer afford to spend millions running in place. We need executive leadership to create a plan for our growth, quality and our ascension through world rugby.

[Anon]

What? So USAR is supposed to listen to one guys blog and a bunch of histrionic anonymous posters on the internet?

If you want to effect change (rather than posting because you like to vent), then you've got to advocate directly via letter and e-mail and phone calls, under your own name. Preferably with the explicit support of a constituent organization like a LAU or club.

If I were in the USAR I would read this blog's comments then wipe my virtual ass with them. If you think anyone with power is going to listen to someone telling them they're doing a "shit job" and "ego-stroking," _anonymously_, you're out of your mind. Grow a pair and sign your own name.

[Advocating for Change Through Direct Communication]

Kurt isn't the Congress, nor is he the Board. He is not sending his comments to the Board, or the Congress, so it's safe to assume he is not sending your comments either. Rather than taking the safe route and only preaching to the choir/Gainline blog, why not also write your Congress or the Director's directly? Just in case they don't read this blog.

[Anon also]

USAR would then attack the messenger not the message. They would make it about what this, or that person, wants.

They know they're doing a shit job, even if we don't tell them. They are failing, some are failing while making $275,000 per year.

I wonder what the board meeting in San Diego is costing the membership? Are they bringing their clubs?

[Anon]

Way to be defeatist. But isn't this about what this person or that person wants? What you think is best? If enough constituents express that opinion, there's little USAR can do to ignore it.

[oops I crapped my pants]

People post here because they know they are anonymous. The posts are also entertaining and thought provoking - you can't get that with Nige's kaleidoscope of rugby unreality or at K-Fraud's scratch and snuff.

Anonymity uncovers things like the mafia, serial killers, pyramid schemes, and who ate the last cookie.