3rd OF DECEMBER 2017 BOARD MEETING

Attending:
Carla Sue Hanson      (12/12)
Alexandru Russu        (12/12)
Jean-Pol Francois       ( 8/12)
Antero Joki                ( 6/12)
Uros Kojic                 (10/12)
Vedran Milat              ( 8/12)
Alexandru Ursu-Vlagea (IT Officer)
Dennys Rylov (Media Officer)

Sport Officer report from Uros Kojic: Stavros has said that he would be willing to host the Team World Championship but there would be mandatory requirements for accommodations and number of competitors in order to meet the costs . The Board determined the need to poll the competitors and Assembly to determine the level of interest in the Team event in its present form and with these requirements. Financial commitment and effort to the event will be based on whether members want to have a Team Championship in 2018.
Uros reported that planning for the Pool World Championship is progressing and the dates will be the last week of June thru first of July. He also said he is seeking proposals for live- streaming of the event. Antero will ask Kaj Tovola who did the Turku broadcast. We will also seek other proposals.
Uros will send the request for organizers to make proposals for the 2019 Depth World Championships soon to allow time for advance planning.

Treasurer Report Vedran Milat: Vedran reported that the financial status continues to be stable. The financial report is now approved and he will complete filing the required paperwork with the attorney in Switzerland regarding our non-taxable VAT status.
In regards to the projected budget for 2018; He suggested that, due to accumulated profit from previous years, we can prepare budget for 2018 where planned expenditures will exceed forecasted income (thus utilizing profits of previous years to cover the difference). However, he advises that AIDA should not continue with this practice to 2019 without detailed overview on the return of this investment of reserves in 2018. He also suggested that we dedicate more funds to supporting World Championships, play a larger role in the organization of WCs, hold educational meetings, and provide monies to lower the cost for entry fees of competitors and/or provide prize money .

Education Report Jean –Pol Francois: JP reported that the current projects with AIDA 4 and Instructor Course are continuing. He would like a budget for a video project manager and a graphic designer to enhance the education materials. We also need to pay for professional translations in the most used languages (possibly Chinese, Korean, Russian, French, Spanish, German ) in order to ensure consistency in teaching. Statistics need to be accumulated to determine the most important languages at this time.
JP noted the need to hire a secretary for the education department to answer the numerous questions that are posed and update student and instructor statuses. JP will work with new education officer, Brian Crossland, to transition him to the role. He also suggested we keep with the current EOS and ask Simo Kurra to help with support.
JP had no candidates to present for promotion to Instructor Trainer at this meeting.

Technical Office – Antero Joki – Antero attended the EUF meeting and also said that he will continue to support and help A.I.D.A as he leaves and the new tech team ,lead by officer Pim Vermuelen, proceeds with the technical projects.

Judge Office: Christian was not able to attend the meeting this time but Alexandru made a research for judges ready to be promoted (in the actual on line system) and proposed for vote the following judges: Robert King, Marco Melileo, Jakob Galbavy, Isabelle Lara, and Annabelle Edwards. The promotions were voted and approved.
More possible promotions have been identified by Christian but the system must be updated to allow separate promotions for pool and depth divisions to be shown on the official webpage. Christian started to work on a project to bring the IT functionalities in line with the needs of the JR Office.

Carla noted that Singapore is applying to upgrade to full membership status and has reached all the qualifications. Also, that Belarus is applying for Observer status. She stated that both nationals were notified that submitted applications will be reviewed by the new secretary in January and presented for a recommendation to the Assembly.

We would like to thank Jean-Pol Francois and Antero Joki for their years of service to Aida and wish them success in their new endeavors. They both agreed that they will continue to assist A.I.D.A. and freediving around the globe. We look forward to seeing them at future events.
Happy New Year and safe diving in 2018

The A.I.D.A. Board

General 

- Each Board member will CC: board@aidainternational.org in all A.I.D.A. related communication to increase awareness, cohesion and collaboration inside the Board.

- The 2018 Board Meetings will take place the first Sunday of every month at 5pm UTC/GMT.

- To access all previous Board meeting reports, please check the News section of our website: https://www.aidainternational.org/Home/News