I believe… 

•  …that vaulting is the future of equestrian sport, and that vaulting is the ideal gateway into all horse sports.  Its cost effectiveness, team orientation, safety record and fun factor can help create equestrians for life.
• …that every barn and stable in America would have better riders if all beginning equestrians participated in an introductory vaulting course. 
• …that vaulting makes for safer equestrians, better balance, less injuries and more fun! 
• …that there is room for “everyone” thru vaulting:
  • males and females, age three to 73;
  • those who start off unathletic (need a leg up?) to the elite athlete;
  • “Horses 101” people to those who practically live at the barn;
  • those who want to vault “just for fun” and those who dream of competing at WEG. 
•  …that some of my very favorite people come from the vaulting community and that as a group we can make a huge difference, grow vaulting, and have a raucous good time as we’re doing it! 

 If you, too, believe in vaulting, how do you know if you’re right for an AVA board or executive board position?  (Nominations are open to all members until April 30!) After observing what works, and what doesn’t, here are my thoughts.

1. Passion… PLUS!   If you’re passionate about the sport, that’s a great start.  And passion isn’t enough.  The best board members are passionate, deliberate, focused and organized.  We need a combination of great ideas and roll-up-the-sleeves work.   If you’re willing to contribute great ideas AND lead a committee, a special initiative or an important strategic project for the organization, please consider running for the board!
2. Ability to “Switcheroo.”  To be an ideal board member, you must be able to take off your club/region/vaulter/parent/coach hat and replace it with your “what’s best for the organization as a whole” board hat.  The best board members are those who can, above all, govern the organization with the goals of the entire non-profit in mind first. 

(BTW, if your want to run for the board “so that the voice on my region gets heard,” that’s the specific duty of a Regional Supervisor, not a board member at large, or an executive board member.  Regional Supervisors are elected in odd calendar years, so if that’s your goal, you might want to consider running next year for a regional supervisor slot.)  If you can do the ole “switcheroo” and put on your board hat during your tenure, you might make a great candidate!

1. Being There.  All board members must attend all board meetings each year (two in person meetings—at the National Championships and at the Annual Convention—as well as at least one long board conference call), and are required by our bylaws to attend at least five of the six meetings during their two-year term.  At the executive board level, the requirements are the three board meetings a year, and approximately 10 EB conference calls during the course of the year.  And for the past two years, to start off the new terms with momentum, the EB has also started convene for an in-person brainstorming and strategy session around the September/October timeframe.
2. Really BEING There.   There’s a physical component to being a board member (butt in the seat during the board meetings), but the mental component is even more important.  Can you really BE there for the AVA in between board meetings as well?  Can you volunteer for and deliver results on committees you chair or special projects you accept?  A board or EB position doesn’t have to turn into a second full-time job (except for those of us who are committed to that) but the commitment to do what you volunteer to do, and get the expected result in the timeframe agreed upon, is a very important promise to be able to keep. 

How much time might it take?  Depending on the particular project/initiative/committee, board members might expect to spend a minimum of 40-50 hours annually (that’s about 3-4 hours a month) on national work, in addition to meetings.    But hey, it’s not really “work” if you’re making a difference and having fun at the same time, is it?!?

If you want to chat with me personally about a potential board or EB position, I promise to give you the “straight scoop” and keep it under my hat while you’re considering your options.  And if what I’ve said  makes you want to run for a position, go to http://www.americanvaulting.org/members/login/ to learn more!

Sheri Benjamin
AVA President
sbenjamin@americanvaulting.org
408-872-1562

I contend that that exact same type of imagination from the American vaulting community will mark real advances in our sport and will help markedly grow vaulting across the nation in the next five years.

We have approximately 215 days to go until the opening of the World Equestrian Games 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky.  How can we be continuing to use this once-in-a-lifetime event, on our own soil, to help drive explosive growth for our sport?

It takes a village.  Because while our elite-level vaulters are at the metaphorical top of the pyramid, we all must remember that a strong pyramid is built from a wide base, and in the AVA’s case that base is grass-roots vaulting—the beginners and the recreational individual and team vaulters who will keep American vaulting strong and continuously building over the years.

Just so the extrapolation is clear, even if we Americans end up performing extremely well at the upcoming WEG, we will not be able to continue to do so at the next WEG, and the WEG after that, unless we continue to build our base of vaulters nationwide, and increase vaulting exponentially at the base level.

There are many, many AVA members who are using their considerable imagination to help us build vaulting in new areas across the country.  Like Region X, which, through the incredible chutzpah of Ariane Panahai (vaulting coach for the Noblesville, Indiana Spirit Equestrian Center) applied for and was accepted into the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago this past November.  Ariane sent in the application not because she thought she had the perfect parade horse, the most advanced vaulters, and a lot of money for such events, she did it because she simply believed that vaulting had to be seen by a lot more people in her region in order to create interest.

 Twenty-two vaulters, ages seven to 24, from walk to gold levels, from four separate clubs spanning Iowa, Indiana and Michigan, showed off their skills and showmanship on both the horse and barrel down Chicago’s famous State Street.  350,000 spectators cheered them on.  The group was bookended by big marching bands in front and back (ah, a “Perfect Storm”!), and performed in the cold drizzle, but spirits were high from start to finish as they showed their vaulting stuff to an appreciative and amazed crowd. 

The parade, broadcast nationally to approximately 75 million households, is one of the largest and oldest in the nation, and the television announcers were excited about the vaulting performance, remarking to each other that they were “amazed this wasn’t in the Olympics!” 

And just as amazing?  Well, how about the fact that the hard costs were about $625 (not including vaulter travel), and garnered almost 90 seconds of national TV coverage, newspaper coverage, and many, many hits to both the local clubs’ websites, and to a special club website that Ariane registered to the AVA specifically for the Chicago area.

It takes imagination and some chutzpah “to regard old problems from a new angle,” and Region X is a great example of doing that.  Here’s a great YouTube video that Annie Rouvillois, the VP of Region X, sent me.  It points out the power of SHOWING vaulting, and also points out that YouTube, and viral marketing, is the quickest way to get the word out!  The video was done by vaulting parent Dale Gaumer for Spirit Equestrian Center’s vaulting club, and even shows some of the great TV coverage, as well as lots of vaulters having LOTS of fun!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pADC1CEV5CU

How can you and your club publicize vaulting in your area?  What could you do to get vaulting noticed more often and by more people?  What are your own “new possibilities”?  Ariane, and all of Region X, I salute you for this publicity “home run,” and I encourage everyone to think out of the box on how to get our great sport noticed!

What’s worked for you?  Click on the “comments” section below to spread the word on what’s been successful for you and your club!

Sheri Benjamin

AVA President

sbenjamin@americanvaulting.org

If you’re a member of a vaulting club, do you know why Starbucks, and many other such neighborhood retail gathering places, are important to you?  Practically all Starbucks locations have some sort of neighborhood bulletin board where community organizations are encouraged to post upcoming events.

As I was staring at one last week, it occurred to me that a vaulting flier, with a fun photo of a beginning vaulter, or a daring photo of an advanced team, would certainly spice up the interest level of that board.  And (with the right planning), your vaulting club can have a flier up there two-to-three weeks out of every single month!

Are you publicizing your club and its special (and not even so-very-special) events on bulletins boards at your local Starbucks, coffee places, grocery stores, etc.?

Here are half a dozen types of “events” you can be publicizing at your local gathering places:

·         Special “try vaulting” sessions for different types of folks: a “for parents only” try vaulting day, or a “boys only” try vaulting day, or a  “for gymnasts and dancers only” try vaulting day or even a “if you’ve never, ever been on a live horse but want to try something fun” vaulting day.

·         Vaulting demonstrations by club members.

·         Fundraising vaulting performances.

·         Competitions.

·         Club Tryouts.  I see baseball tryouts, basketball tryouts, cheerleader tryouts on those boards.  Why not vaulting tryouts?  And even if you don’t have vaulting “tryouts” per se, why not position a day as “tryout” day anyway, and see what kind of interest you get?

·         Recreational vaulting classes for certain segments, that last for a specific period.  Like a “mom and tot” vaulting class that’s a six-week, mostly barrel class for two-to-four year olds and their parents.

In all instances, make sure your flier includes these things:

·         A terrific vaulting photo.  Make sure the vaulting photo reflects the announcement.  For example, if you’re doing a fundraising performance, put your most advanced vaulters in the photo.  And if you’re doing a “mommy and me” class, show a mom and tot on the barrel or a walking horse.

·         Your club’s information.  This is a good time to make sure your website is up to date (better a simple and up-to-date website, rather than a fancy one that no one in your club knows how to update).  Include your club’s website, phone number with a contact, and perhaps the AVA website URL as well.

·         The fact that your club is a non-profit.  Hopefully, each and every AVA vaulting club that does not have its own non-profit status is availing itself of the AVA’s “subordinate club” non-profit benefit.  And make sure you keep your non-profit status up-to-date with the AVA!

·         Information on what to wear, if non-vaulters will be getting on the horse.  If the kid is coming from baseball practice, best not to wear his spikes!

·         Information on the basics of vaulting: that it’s safe, and it’s fun.  That should cover it!

Think about it: if you have some sort of “event” each month, one of your club fliers would stay posted up in the neighborhood Starbucks, etc. for two to three weeks out of each and every month.  Make sure they all look different, so no one thinks it’s the “old flier” up there.  And while you’re at it, see if neighborhood barns and tack shops will let you post these same fliers.  Look for opportunities to publicize your vaulting club’s events in the highest traffic places around your town, and watch your vaulting club grow!

How many of you vaulters, vaulting parents and vaulting alumni spend time on the internet these days?  If you do a Google search for “vaulting”, the American Vaulting Association’s site is at the top of the list!

Four of the first five listings for “vaulting” are equestrian vaulting sites.  (Note to AVA marketing: gotta get Webster’s online dictionary to recognize the word as a very for our sport!)  The YouTube video of Megan Benjamin’s 2006 World Championship Freestyle performance in Aachen, Germany (posted three years ago by a very forward thinking former vaulter, Briana Olsen, WAY before most of us even knew what YouTube was!) has garnered more than 103,000 viewers thus far.  And there are more than 1,100 YouTube videos listed when you search under “equestrian vaulting.”

So…what, we want more?  Yes!  And here’s what you can do to spread the word THIS WEEK about vaulting:

• Get your AVA vaulting decal out of your registration packet (yes, the one you got several months ago), and make it “work” for us—put in on the rear or side windows of your car or truck!  Can’t find or don’t have the new, cool AVA car decal?  They’re available from the National Office by clicking on the “AVA Store” button on the website—just $8 for 8!  Get “slap happy” and make sure these decals are placed on at least one car per vaulter at your club (and get the grandparents to put one on their car as well!).    Really, go find it now, get out some Windex, make a clean spot on your dirty car window, and get this sticker ON.  (And remember “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” so do it now.)
• Register on any of the popular equestrian community websites (and definitely on the USEF’s new ClubEquestrian.com) to spread the word about vaulting.  Post interesting and fun photos of vaulting, or you taking care of your horses, etc.    Get that community more interested in vaulting.  Tell them how much fun you’re having in our sport!
• Upload a YouTube video of someone vaulting.  Make sure you’re helping the AVA put its best foot forward here, with a routine that looks fun and is safe (no matter what the level), and a horse that is workin’ it and happy at the same time.  Be sure to use the key words that will get us most noticed: vaulting, equestrian vaulting, horse vaulting, horses, gymnastics, dance.
• Make it a game: how many new people can you introduce to vaulting in a single week?  My own record is 23 in a seven-day period.  Anytime someone tells me they have school-age children I ask the leading “Hey, do they like horses?” “How about dance or gymnastics?”  “How about just plain fun?”    Or if a parent is complaining about how bored their children will be this summer, I recommend that they come up to our local arenas to watch either the Mt. Eden or Woodside kids practice.

How much vaulting evangelism could you do in a single week?  I want to hear your stories and your successes!  You’ll hear from me much more often thru this Vaultopia! blog.  And I want to hear from you too!

Sheri Benjamin
AVA President (and Dedicated Vaulting Evangelist!)