Monthly e-Newsletter June  2019
NASSPDA


From the President
 
So, it was again election time for NASSPDA's Board, which is now always taking place shortly after April Follies, the largest NASSPDA sanctioned event of the year. That, as we learned over the years, guarantees us more consistently the largest number of eligible voters. And, as it turns out, we had 51% of our membership participate this year, which is the highest number of participation since 2009. A huge heartfelt "thank you" to those members! Making your voice heard is what this is all about.
 
Each elected Director of the Board serves a term of two years and may be reelected for as many terms that person wishes to stay on. Additionally, to guarantee continuity as much as possible, the goal had been to have overlapping terms by half of the Board. But due to past serving members having resigned prior to the end of their term and/or a lack of candidates (at one point we operated for a year with eight members), things shifted and we ended up with only three positions on the Board opening up for this year's election, whereupon six are currently in mid-term.
 
Our long-serving former President of NASSPDA, Barbara Zoloth, decided that it was time for her to resign. We all are very much indebted to her for years of dedication and hours of hard work helping our community to grow and find our way in an ever changing landscape. Her unwavering leadership deserves our long-lasting gratitude. Thank you so very much, Barbara!
 
Waltzing
Collegiate same-sex couple
A dedicated member of our community, Luis Grijalva, had already last year expressed his desire to serve on the Board and stood for election. And this year your vote resulted indeed in his election to the Board of Directors along with the reelection of Erik Jaeger, who is serving in the officer's position of Secretary, and myself, who tries continuously to fill the shoes of Barbara as President of NASSPDA. Thank you, Luis, for taking this step! We are looking forward to a very fruitful cooperation!
 
This year's challenges for the Board have recently crystalized to be foremost the discussion about changing the organization's name and expand its mission to be more inclusive of all forms of configurations of a couple, not just focusing on same-sex, and the diminishing number of our sanctioned events, though growing number of opportunities at non-sanctioned events, in particular those sanctioned by USA Dance, the association of amateurs in the USA (which though also has professionals as members now). As a matter of fact, USA Dance has made a motion at the AGM of the WDSF (World DanceSport Federation) to change the definition of a couple in the rules of the WDSF, which is the umbrella organization of all amateur associations around the world. It is suggested to change WDSF's  Rule D.2(Couples), 2.1 Definition of a Couple 2.1.1 "A couple consists of a male and female partner." to "A couple consists of two athletes dancing in partnership." This motion was tabled until next year's AGM.
Two weeks ago, the very first 'Gateway Dancesport Festival' organized by former Board member Daphna Locker, took place in Newark, NJ over the Memorial Day weekend, which labelled itself as the first 'gender-neutral' competition, accepting any configuration of any couple in all offered events and not separated into different categories. A few 'non-traditional couple' did in fact participate and the event felt overall very supportive and welcoming. Next year's event is slated for April 11, 2020, and will take place in upper Manhattan, NY, at a historical hotel of Harlem, which will make it more accessible and should attract higher numbers of participation. This event isn't sanctioned by NASSPDA, because it doesn't adhere in its structure of the event to NASSPDA's Competition Rules, similar to USA Dance events that welcome 'non-traditional couples.'
This opening up of mainstream events to our community changes the landscape of opportunities for us and is most welcome. But it also challenges the very existence of NASSPDA and its own understanding, which is why the Board of Directors had decided to renew the discussion about its name, mission and general position in this context. Some feel that exclusive events, which are though inclusive, are still warranted, whereupon others have expressed that all-inclusive events in mainstream are ultimately the preference. Since we started this discussion, it has also now become clear that this is a conversation that goes beyond our borders and brings into focus NASSPDA's position globally as well.
NASSPDA's Board of Directors is still collecting opinions via survey and individual conversations, in order to get a better understanding of what the majority of our constituency feels is the right direction for NASSPDA, and agreed to achieve a consensus around the end of this year as to what should be our next steps. You are all welcome and encouraged to chime in on this subject, either via one of our surveys online ( https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/Ge6ccWA1052UzejxNL ) or at an event, on our Facebook page, via directly emailing us ( board@nasspda.org ) and/or talking to one of us in person.
Please check out our calendar of events for upcoming opportunities! We are in particular looking forward seeing all of you at the upcoming USA Championships at the New England Open on September 21, 2019, in Needham, MA ( http://www.bostonopendancesport.com/new-england-open.html) .


HAPPY DANCING!

Benjamin Soencksen



Board of Directors Election
Election Committee

NASSPDA Board's election have just passed and results are out. Congratulations for Re-election to our Secretary Erik Jaeger and our President Benjamin Soencksen and special welcome to the Board to Luis Grijalva! 

Board Member Elections

 Election of Officers:
* President, Benjamin Soencksen
* Vice-President, Debbie Esparza
* Treasurer, Lee Fox
* Secretary, Erik Jaeger
The Committees Chairs and members:
* Financial Committee: Lee Fox (Chair), Kalin Mitov
* Membership Committee: Lee Fox (Chair), Horace Luong, Erik Jaeger, Luis Grijalva
* Scholarship Committee: Benjamin Soencksen (Chair), Lee Fox, Debbie Esparza [as set by policy]
* Promotion Committee: Kalin Mitov (Chair), Members: Eddie Alba,  Erik Jaeger, Simone Assboeck and Horace Luong (Webmaster)
* Competition Committee: Eddie Alba (Co-Chair), Lee Fox (Co-Chair), Benjamin Soencksen, Citabria Ozzuna, Meredith Stead and Luis Grijalva

Also, members of  NASSPDA are welcome to join any of these committees, if  interested and wiling to serve in that capacity. Please, send us an email and let us know.





Announcements 

NASSPDA Scholarship Program

NASSPDA's scholarship program has been expanded since 2018 to include all its sanctioned competitions.  Anyone planning to compete at a 2019 NASSPDA sanctioned competition may now apply for financial aid. 

Out of the 5 (five!) Scholarships available to be awarded for the year of 2019 (in the amount of $400 each plus dues for one year of membership) there are still two scholarships left for NASSPDA's upcoming 2019 USA Championships participants at New England Open in Boston - Needham on Saturday, September 21st. 
Please  apply by August 21st, 2019 if you are planning to participate in this particular event at NASSPDA's website  here


Argentine Tango


NASSPDA Survey

The NASSPDA Board has heard from some community members that a name change is necessary to expand its mission and become more inclusive. In particular, the "same sex" in the name may not be welcoming to the non-binary community. The Board would like to engage the community (NASSPDA members and non-members) for feedback and direction on the potential name change and expansion of mission.

Thank you in advance as we value and appreciate your opinions that will help steer our organization.  Please  click on this link.



NASSPDA Membership Directory

Have you checked out the NASSPDA  Membership Directory?  This is a resource to allow NASSPDA members to connect with others in the community.  Please contact Horace Luong ( hluong@nasspda.org) if you'd like to be added to  the directory (this is available to NASSPDA members only).





Competition Calendar
Competition Committee



Visit the website for Tentative Schedule, Events and Registration:



Membership Information
Membership Committee

Join NASSPDA TODAY!  Payments will now be taken by credit card instead of through PayPal. The new system has special encryption to keep your data safer than before. The new site URL is the same as before: nasspda.org.

If you have problems, or want to help us improve the website (parts are still under construction) please write to Horace Luong, our website administrator, at  hluong@nasspda.org .



Outreach and Media
Promotions Committee

 

ACTIVITY GRANT FUNDING PROGRAM

NASSPDA would like to encourage its members and our community at large to engage in various fun activities that promote same-sex dancing. We recognize that many of our members may have a creative idea and NASSPDA would like to contribute in a small financial way.
Up to 4 grants of $250 each will be awarded per calendar year on a first-come first-served basis to applicants who can demonstrate that the proposed activity will advance NASSPDA's mission of promoting and expanding social and competitive same-sex partner dancing. 

The proposed event should also be in alignment with NASSPDA's following goals:
* Support functions and venues for social same-sex partner dancing.
* Provide a resource for same-sex partner dancers.
* Aim to raise the level of same-sex partner dancing
* Encourage the inclusion of dancers from diverse backgrounds with regard to race, ethnicity, gender, age, [dis]ability, gender identity and/or expression.
 
Some ideas for events and organizers to receive grant support:
  • Same-sex dance classes
  • A social dance mixer with actively inviting and encouraging same-sex dancing or "alternative lead and follow"
  • An excursion to a local competition, introducing dancers to the concept
  • A welcome party before one of NASSPDA's sanctioned competition
  • Setting up a booth at a local street fair promoting same-sex dancing
  • A neighborhood or community event promoting partner dancing and the inclusion of same-sex dancing
  • Involving studios to promote same-sex dancing
    •
  • An event in conjunction with a city's Pride activities
    •
These are just a few suggestions. To apply for financial support from NASSPDA's  $250 Grant Program, please visit our website at  NASSPDA.org , click on  the  ' Scholarships and Grants ' bar and then 'Grants" to read more for more information. You can also email us at  promotions@NASSPDA.org  with any questions.