BARI - captains log, stardate: day1

try: http://cmasbari2007.org/content/news/36/

well, it's in italian [which i can't speak, let alone read or write] but i can figure out that uwh is mentioned, but final results have not been posted.

i can't say i remember uwh worlds websites ever being speedily updated in real time in the past either.

for a competition run for uwh people that wasn't run [in the main] BY uwh people perhaps it's not such a bad first time effort.

food for thought: if the uwh commission had been involved, would the quality of the tournament [for the players/teams who went, ignoring the absence of many of us] have been markedly better?
i am certain it would have been. is it /was it right for the larger uwh community to snub this event and deny those that did attend the best possible uwh experience? did we harm or help our cause by doing so?

i'd like to hear from folks who attended from slov, belg, turk, esp, ita & fra when they finally get home from the party.

probably this warrants a whole new thread.

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http://snorkelbattlesafari.blogspot.com/

i'd agree it certainly warrants a whole new thread. i'm just waiting for others to start the ball rolling with their views.

in general it seems to be some of the countries who attended here are still planning to attend durban, some need permission from their federations which they might have to wait for and which lets face it might not come in a couple of situations.

in general the theme i have heard a couple times is "durban, then we'll see" ...people are already planning for that tourney as it was framed in a reasonable and "normal" timeframe and was realistic (apart from the euro countries, like slovenia who 2 weeks from the comp in bari were still mulling over whether or not they would attend)

problem being that cmas is saying, you go to durban, we ban your federation from all cmas sports the following year. i have raised this problem in conversation with a couple of cmas sorts but i'm not sure there will be any change in that policy BUT i am 100% certain that holding an underwater hockey comp thats called something else ie aqua challenge is NOT going to fool anyone at cmas and i personally think if they are going to ban any federation they will still do it.

if they have to massage their rules to achieve that end its not a big deal for them, they've done it before to suit themselves.

there is an attitude that the smaller developing countries like slovenia, italy, spain, belgium etc are all that cmas needs for hockey... 5 years down the track and the standard will be as high as it was in sheffield from those countries as they continue to grow, also assuming growth in other countries helped by exposure in these games like sweden, finland, russia, ukraine etc who already have strong uwr player bases.

the theory is.... a theory, in theory. some people expect nothing to be organised after durban and the countries that went to have to wait for a year and then come crawling back to cmas later.

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it's more polite on the grating than on the subs bench

Hey guys, just to be short.

About UWH.
France is still the best
Turkey is coming on very hard
Slovenia lack of fisical condition
Spania very solid young team
Italy very committed
Belgium keep your head up!

Referees droping bombshells (as benny would say), destroying games, making unreasonable decision.
Some games would end different, but all of a sudden, 2 guys on the pen. chair, other team scoring. referees werent on the bootom, watching the bin, they didnt spot fouls, grabing arround nech, holding fins,....

disaster.

about other sports:
Not much to say.
UwR , whats the point ?
finswimmers, lots of lovely girls, monofin is pretty fast stuff, but bifin normal
orientiring , still got no idea, why?
dynamic apnoa, interesting to watch.

We had some meals in hotel, where everyone was staying (we rented a house some km away) and i must say, the food was also disaster (maybe i have high criteria) , sometimes tha salt, was the only thing you could taste, except, when the fresh bazil was added and the fresh fruit was good also.

Alll the best
M

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kurac pička govno sisa RASMC
http://www.phljubljana.si/pictures/razno/uwh_gloves.htm
http://forum.phljubljana.si

Maybe some off-topic. or maybe not.

Are there videos made? And are those availeble for players around the world.
To see maybe new technicks/tacticks. But also important to see obstructions. And place them out here. so everybody can learn from it. And discuss them

I really want to have those videos if there are videos made.

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When you are good, then you are not bad..

Personally, I can’t help but think that the UWH Community was penalised by the lack of cooperation from the UWH Commission. Certain teams found themselves having to fill their luggage with buzzers, score tables etc in a last-minute attempt to ensure that a minimum amount of equipment was available for the games. The final version of the walls was made the day before the games started and from what I understand the commission never gave the organisers a clear spec sheet of what was needed, so Donato (who I think only found out he was Chief Ref a few weeks before the games) had to make the best of a bad job (making do with what was on offer).

As for the quality of the referees, given the lack of international (and experienced) referees in the countries present it’s not surprising that the quality of the refereeing disappointed so many. I think that of those present, only France has a decent number of international refs. Granted, they did not send their best (and also, to make up the numbers, sent trainees), but they could hardly be expected to supply the lion’s share, for practical reasons (they cannot ref France’s matches) and financial reasons (accommodation was financed by the CMAS, but not travel). Also, it’s hard to find refs that want to give up a week of their holiday for zero recompense, to spend a week getting shouted at and not even having the chance to play (e.g. no masters’ competition whey they too can have some fun). Personally, I think that if you want good refs, from a variety of nations, you’re going to have to think about ensuring that it’s worth their while attending and ensure that such refs exist in every country… A bit of a proactive approach to referee training would be good… Another good measure would be to oblige at least every coach (if not the players) to be a ref so that they can pass on correct information to their team, so that only the incorrect ref decisions are disputed…

As for whether the cause was harmed by the event being snubbed by many teams, I don’t know. I think it provided extra motivation for the less experienced teams as they had a realistic chance of being on the podium. But I do think it made us look a bit silly with regards to the other sports. Although the overall organisation was far from ideal (not enough accommodation, travel, food etc for everyone), grouping the sports together did at least improve the profile of our sport. We had UWR rugby players dropping by all the time, finswimmers coming to support their compatriots... We even had an impromptu “have a go session” for about 10-15 people who wanted to have a go at pushing the puck around one lunch time. I think that, at least, the idea of the games provides a fantastic opportunity of attracting people to our sport and should be massively exploited in future CMAS games...

As regards the future, the rumour is that the CMAS will limit the number of teams to 8 or so in the future, using qualifying tournaments. It would seem that for European nations, the European Championships would be the qualifiers… It would also seem that the CMAS is planning for the Europeans to take place at the same time as Durban, in Turkey. It remains to be seen whether this is the case and whether the CMAS will accept a nation that sent a team to Durban...

Finally, the other rumour that I heard is that the next CMAS games will take place in 2009 and that they are still accepting candidates. At the present time, it would seem that Budapest (Hungary), Morocco, Tunisia and Dubai are considering putting in a bid…

The videos were selling for 10€ in Bari.
How to get them now? Maybe you can still order them via internet ?

ATB M

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kurac pička govno sisa RASMC
http://www.phljubljana.si/pictures/razno/uwh_gloves.htm
http://forum.phljubljana.si

The uw hockey commission gave/sent ALL requested information to CMAS. As far as I know, there are no specs in the rules or elswhere for walls other than height minimum. I told Bari OC, in person in fall 2006, that walls were needed. No one asked me how to build or out of what. If you look back at last several WCs, you will see the walls were all different - depending on what the venue would allow, the pool floor, whether walls just one long wall on each side or all 4 walls connected. Walls have been build from plywood, metals of all sorts, etc; have been held in place by sandbags, weight of walls, framework, etc. As far as I know, and I am secretary of commission, NO one ever asked for wall specs or how/what to build. CMAS is famous for saying 'we asked and you didn't answer' which is a load of bull bleep. They are also famous for saying 'we didn't get your email/response/answer/request/etc' ....... uh huh .....

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Carol Rose

regarding quality of event IF uw hockey commission ....... please remember the uw hockey commission has NEVER run a WC. It is the host - ie BOA, AUF, USOA, SA, etc - who run the WCs. The Commission world tournament director oversees from where ever s/he lives via email and a year prior inspection on site. Does anyone really think the commission recruits volunteers, makes badges, prints program, contracts with pool, orders tables and chairs, contracts with video, sets up sound system, orders/sells shirts and such, organizes the banquet, creates the schedule. builds walls and on and on. There is only over sight - from a distance. As a person who did all that in 1998, it was my job as USOA president with my Local committee of about 20 uw hockey players who worked for 12 months, meeting monthly, to set it all up. It has never been, in my time in uw hockey (1990 to present), the commission's job or function to run a WC. I have tried over and over to make this point to CMAS without success. Now I make the point to you all.

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Carol Rose

as a federation president, who is NOT popular with CMAS (women are to be seen not heard), I do sometimes have an inside track. Last fall (2006) we were told, at a meeting of CMAS uw sport commission presidents (where I represented uw hockey) we would know the 2009 Games site in May 2007. That did not happen. We were also told there were 'many' cities interested.

Now I have 'heard' Bari may be a fiscal problem of major import. CMAS is already in deficit to tune of about 40,000 Euros for 2006. I found it interesting at the CMAS general meeting, where the deficit was announced, that no one in the room asked: how come we're in deficit? how did it happen? what costs went over budget or what income fell below expectation? what will be done to make up the deficit? The members present said OK and on to next topic.

Dues were raised, about 2 years ago, and I know USOA dues tripled - from $900 USD/year to $2700 USD/year, and CMAS is in deficit!??

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Carol Rose

I'm with you on the commission not having an influence and no one should expect that. The host is responsible for the ammenities. The one difference is that there would have been someone with experience who checked things out and would have at least said something to push for the quality before a couple weeks to go or last day or whenever things finally got done.

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Just in case you weren't sure, it's official -- CMAS sucks.
Oh yeah, and now they're broke.