Meeting Minutes - Western Canada Weight Pulling

In Attendance:
Sean Hammell
Patrick Morrison
Stefani VanRyswyk
Ashley Hotel
Sonja Crowder
Agenda Items:
Western Canada Weight Pull Club General Meeting
Oct 17, 2012 – 7pm
Fiddler’s Courtyard – 723 Edmonton Trail NE Calgary, AB
1) Practice – How can we improve practice?
Problem:
It was identified that an issue with practice is the amount of downtime
experienced by people during the practice, and the length of practices.
Solution A:
Run 2 carpet systems simultaneously, one using the cart (for more
experienced dogs – defined as having a starting weight of over 560 lbs)
and one using a sled (for less experienced dogs – defined as having a start
weight of less than 560 lbs). Currently we do not have a second carpet to
use; this solution will be re-evaluated if a second carpet can be obtained.
A call for a second carpet was made at practice, and will be re-iterated on
the facebook group.
Solution B:
Stagger the start time of practices between less experienced and more
experienced dogs. All were in agreement with this solution, and it was
determined to start more experience dogs (start weight >560 lbs) at 6:00
pm, and then less experienced dogs (start weight

or parking lots of pubs such as Ranchman’s, Dobson’s, etc.. weather
permitting.
3) The Future of the Club
The club has been growing from year to year, but currently we only run
competitions from Sept – March under the IWPA organization. There is
an opportunity to run more pulls more often, whether they be fun pulls or
through another organization. Some members have expressed interest in
running pulls under the APA organization, and all in attendance agreed to
move forward with the steps required to run APA pulls in the Calgary
area, and until that is possible, to run fun pulls in the IWPA off-season.
Sean volunteered to take the steps to become certified as an APA judge,
which will require apprentice judging of a certain amount of classes under
a senior judge and writing all required examinations. It is believed that the
APA supports Sean becoming a judge, and senior judge Craig Huitson is
willing to mentor Sean, although the apprenticeship will likely be done in
pulls in the Pacific NorthWest under senior judges there.
4) Making the Future Happen – Fundraising
The Western Canadian Weight Pull Club has high aspirations regarding
growing our club in both memberships, number of pulls offered, and
number of organizations available to pull under. In the past this club has
been solely funded by Sean Hammell, but is now in a “breakeven”
financial status, where current equipment and operations is all funded by
the operations of the club. However, to obtain the growth hoped for in this
club, extra funds are required to cover such things as new equipment
(specifically a track systems costing between $2500-$2700 to purchase at
a discount, as well as more/new carpet, better barriers, new practice
harnesses, more weight, and other required expenses.
Solution A - Memberships:
It was discussed and agreed that the club should require each person
coming to practice pay for the use of the equipment, expertise and time of
the club. A “tiered” system was developed and agreed upon as such:
Free - First 3 times for brand new participants
$5/time – drop-ins (per family costs, regardless of the amount of dogs
$100/year – single dog membership
$150/year – multiple dog membership
Memberships cards will be developed and given out, and any extra
discounts that can be negotiated by the club will be passed on to the
members. Some suggestions were discounts on dog food, harness
purchase, doggie daycare, and poop removal. Sean will contact our
normal sponsors to inquire about possible group discounts, and each
member agreed to contact their regular suppliers for any possibility of
group discounts.
Solution B – Grants:

Sonja brought to the table a volunteer grant program that her employer
FortisAlberta offers. There are $500 grants available for 35 hours/year of
volunteering time. Sonja is going to apply for these grants in hopes we
may be able to earn some money for her time spent volunteering at
practice and pulls.
Solution C – Raffles:
A great fundraiser in the past for many groups has been a big ticket item
raffle. It was decided the club would attempt to obtain three big ticket
items and either raffle them off separately, or together as a first, second,
third prize situation. Sean and Patrick will investigate the possibility of
obtaining a big screen TV for donation or at cost, and Sean will look at
obtaining a Texas Mickey as well as a wine basket for the other prizes.
Tickets would be one for $10 or three for $20. The raffle would be drawn
at our final pull in March, and each member involved with the club would
be expected to take a book of tickets and do their best to sell them, and
return the stubs and money to the club.
Solution D – Time and Talent Raffle:
Whitney Weston wrote in that a good fundraiser would be a time raffle
where you donated X amount of your time, and then sold raffle tickets on
this time.
All three solutions will be attempted in an effort to gain money for the
club to buy new equipment and possibly have cash prizes for our pulls.
5) Growing the Club – Advertising:
Problem:
It sometimes seems as if there is not enough awareness of the sport of
weight pulling, or that the club exists.
Solution A – Posters/Decals:
All members agreed that they would take some posters and put them up at
the dog spots where they normally frequent. Sean will provide the posters
and some plastic sheathing for any to be put outdoors at dog parks, etc.
Sonja will develop a logo with the brand image as well as the club name
which could be sold and/or given out to members. Upon approval of the
decals Sean will contact some people regarding pricing to produce the
decals.
Solution B – Building Interest:
Previously some of the pitbull specific weight pull groups were asking
their fosters and new adoptive homes to attend weight pulling as a positive
outlet for a dog’s energy. Sean will check to ensure they are still doing
this, and if not, why they are not. All members agreed to spread the word
as best they can to other dog owners about the sport and invite them to
practice.