Spring 2024 WFTDA Leadership Elections
The WFTDA has put out a call for nominations for the Spring 2024 elections cycle. We have seats open in the WFTDA Board of Directors, Certification Panel, and Rules Theory Panel that need to be filled. WFTDA Member League representatives can find complete information about these elections and post nominations in the Representative Voting section of the WFTDA Online Community forum (see the WFTDA Membership Guide for instructions to add your representatives to the forum).
Nominations must be submitted, seconded, and accepted by June 3.
Election Timeline
May 6th – Call for Nominations posted to WFTDA Message Board
June 3rd – Call for Nominations closed. Nominations must be seconded and accepted.
June 10th – All Nomination Paperwork Due
June 10th – Any relevant member feedback on candidates for vetting due
June 17th – Nominees vetted
June 27th – Nominees approved by BOD
July 1st – Election Ballot language & documentation posted to WFTDA Message Board
July 15th – Election Ballot opens
July 30th – Election Ballot closes
Board of Directors
Board candidates will be elected to General Board Member seats for a term of 2 years. Board Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) will be elected internally by the Board, each year after the general election has closed.
Number of Available Seats: 2
Nominations
Nominations may be posted and seconded by active skater representatives from a member league. Current Board of Directors are eligible to nominate for these positions, except for those who have reached their term limit as stated above.
Completed nominations must be accompanied by:
- WFTDA Job Application: WFTDA Election Application (fill out and send completed link or PDF along with other materials)
- Candidate Letter of Intent and Resume – Relevant qualifications and experience (paid or unpaid jobs), prior WFTDA committee jobs, brief summary of involvement in roller derby (including any non-WFTDA roles such as national governing bodies), and what you hope to accomplish as a member of the Board of Directors.
Optional
- One Letter of Recommendation from a representative of the nominee’s Member Organization governing body (League Board of Directors, Steering Committee, or other). This letter should detail why they support the nomination, and the nominee’s qualifications for the WFTDA Board of Directors.
• Two Letters of Recommendation from any WFTDA Member Organization’s active skater representative or WFTDA volunteer. These letters should detail why they support the nomination and the nominee’s qualifications for the WFTDA Board of Directors.
If English is not your first language, you are welcome to submit candidate materials in your native language. The materials will be translated into English on your behalf.
Responsibilities and Requirements
WFTDA Bylaws Articles VII & VIII explain the rights, responsibilities and positions of the Board of Directors. Nominees must review this information and be prepared to fulfill the responsibilities of the position, if elected. Specific duties for Board Officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Ex Officio) are defined in the WFTDA Bylaws.
The job description for General Board Members may be found here: General Board Member job description – Google Docs
All Board members must sign and comply with the WFTDA Board of Directors Code of Ethics.
In addition, all Board members are expected to:
- Have personal access to computer, internet, and phone.
- Perform at least 5 hours of Board work per week.
- Attend scheduled board meetings twice per month.
- Board meetings are hosted on video conference calls. The day and time of board meetings is adjusted, as needed.
- Travel to the annual in-person Board of Directors meeting.
- The meeting location varies, and travel expenses are paid for by WFTDA.
Eligibility
- General Board Members: Candidates eligible for election must either: (a) have served as a Skater Representative for at least one (1) year for a Member Organization; (b) have served as an Officials Representative for at least one (1) year for a Member Organization; (c) have maintained active participation in WFTDA business operations for at least one (1) year; (d) have relevant and beneficial experience, as determined by the existing Board of Directors, in managing Non-Profit organizations; or (e) meet relevant professional experience criteria as determined and requested by the existing Board of Directors in accordance with current strategic goals.
- Board Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) must be a skater representative.
Experience
Candidates should meet at least one of the three points below.
• Have at least one year of experience as a WFTDA skater or non-skater representative.
• History of active participation in at least one WFTDA committee.
• History of active participation in WFTDA forum discussions.
Certification Oversight Panel
Number of Available Seats: 2
Nomination and Candidate Eligibility
Term of Office:
Each elected Certification Oversight Panel member shall take office immediately following the election and serve their initial term (one or two year depending on the seat). Following year elections will be held in the spring and all terms from then on out will be a term of two (2) years or until their successor is duly elected and installed. There is no term limit.
WFTDA Seat Eligibility:
In order to hold a WFTDA position on the Certification Oversight Committee a candidate must be a:
• WFTDA Skater Representative
• Vetted Volunteer
• WFTDA Officials Representative
• WFTDA Certified Non Skating Official
• WFTDA Certified Referee
The candidate must have been active on WFTDA committees for a minimum of six months.
Nominations and Vetting:
All nominations shall be posted in one location on the appropriate organization’s forum. These will be the official Officials Certification Oversight Panel member nomination threads.
WFTDA Nominations must be made by a Skater Representative, or in the case of self-nomination by an Official, must be seconded by a Skater Representative. All nominations must be seconded and the nominee must accept the nomination.
The Election Committee reviews all nominees prior to drafting election ballots, in order to confirm compliance with candidate and election requirements. Once the nominees are vetted, the election language will be posted to the forum.
Elections are held annually. Emergency elections are held any time the Panel membership drops to less than 4 members. Aside from expiry of term, Panel members (including the Chair) may be terminated via resignation or removal by the applicable Board of Directors. Only people with the statuses listed under Eligibility above are able to serve in this position; inactivity, retirement, loss of Certification, or league removal as an active rep serves as automatic resignation from the Panel.
Position Requirements:
• Knowledge of the game of derby
• 2 years skating and/or officiating experience
• Participation in at least 5 WFTDA regulation interleague games. More experience, including WFTDA tournament experience, is strongly encouraged.
• Ability to be 100% confidential regarding received applications/references, committee discussions and decisions
• Ability to objectively represent WFTDA and work towards consensus
• Passion for roller derby
• Ability to be diplomatic and impartial
• Respect for the WFTDA and their procedures and philosophies
• Ability to meet deadlines
General Responsibilities:
The Officials Certification Oversight Panel is responsible for the management of the WFTDA Certification Program, audits of certification review results, appeals, management and hiring of Certification Panels.
Completed nominations must be accompanied by:
Officials Certification Oversight Application
Letter stating:
• Intent to run and derby résumé
• Link to game History (if applicable)
• Qualifications – goals, plans, dreams, experience, etc.
Rules Theory Panel
Number of Available Seats: 3
Nomination and Candidate Eligibility
Rules Committee Chair
The Rules Committee Chairperson will be elected for a term of two years. The Chairperson may be elected from either Panel or an independent candidate may choose to run. There is no limit to how many terms a Chairperson may serve.
Rules Theory Panel
Theory Panel members will be elected for two-year terms that are staggered to ensure continuity. There is no limit to how many terms a member may serve.
Completed Nominations Must be Accompanied by:
1- WFTDA Job Application: WFTDA Election Application (fill out and send completed link or PDF along with other materials)
2- Intent to run/derby resume qualifications – goals, plans, dreams, what you’ve done as WFTDA rep, etc.
Responsibilities and Requirements
The Rules Committee is responsible for developing fair, consistent rules that can be understood by players, fans and officials. The Rules Committee will:
Solicit rules concepts and feedback from WFTDA Member Leagues, WFTDA Rules users, officials, WFTDA Games management and fans. Produce ballots to allow the WFTDA Membership to vote on priorities and concepts and to ratify the rules as appropriately addressing the voted concepts. Monitor WFTDA game play, other forms of flat track and banked track roller derby, fan blogs, and roller derby media. Proactively extract feedback from all these sources to continually improve the WFTDA rules and development of the sport of flat track roller derby. Conduct feedback collection, triage issues, and execute rules-related beta testing on a regular basis to keep the WFTDA rules current and revised on a consistent, reasonable schedule. Create and publish rules content, Q&As, and publications. Play an active part in rules discussions on the WFTDA boards, both in the officials and skaters section. Offer guidance and answer questions related to interpreting and understanding the rules. Assist other WFTDA Committees with review of any materials that contain rules content to ensure accuracy and proper integration of rules revisions.
Rules Committee Chair
The Chairperson will manage all of the Committee Panels and staff and responsibilities include:
Innovative, results-driven leadership of the different Rules Committee panels and staff, ensuring that teams are working together in their appropriate roles and duties, goals are set and attained and communication within the committee and to/from Membership is ongoing and productive. Coordinating the efforts of all Committee members and Panels to ensure the proper workflow for rules revisions and deliverables. Moderating discussions and Panel feedback within the Committee. Initiating ballots within the Committee. Defining project plans and with the assistance of the Committee Project Manager, creating a schedule that includes milestones, deliverables and timelines. Acting as the spokesperson for the Committee in the public arena. Ensuring the posting of minutes and completing the quarterly Committee report. Personnel management – job sheets, job postings and issues management.
Rules Theory Panel
The Theory Panel brings a theoretical perspective to the rules management process and is responsible for the study, maintenance and oversight of the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby. The Theory Panel is charged with gathering information from all the sport’s stakeholders to determine how the game should be played. This requires working closely with skaters, officials, Marketing and Games to ensure that the rules are meeting the needs of these groups. Through continual review of game play, discussion and testing, the Theory Panel creates the concepts behind the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby and hands them to the Application Panel, who writes the rules content. The Theory Panel’s role on the Committee is to:
Study the rules and maintain rules knowledge for the organization. Observe game play under the WFTDA Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby and game play of other roller derby organizations to seek out best practices, rules implementation data and trends for the growth of the sport. Safeguard and express the basic rules concepts of flat track roller derby and articulate these concepts to the Application Panel, who writes rules content. Formulate ballot content on rules concepts, which may contain specific rules language, for WFTDA Membership vote. Conduct rules beta testing programs and report on findings to WFTDA membership. Solicit proposed changes and feedback from WFTDA Member leagues, the WFTDA rules user community and officials. Monitor rules feedback, providing clarification of rules concepts and content. Review and consider WFTDA Member league, officials’ and WFTDA management proposals for rules revisions, and initiate rules revisions proposals. Create Q&As and clarifications as required and maintain current Rules library. Work with the other members of the Committee to publish rules revisions on an annual revision schedule.
Eligibility
Rules Committee Chair
Candidates for Chairperson must submit a formal application and meet the following experience requirements:
Availability to make the commitment to 1-2 hours per week for attending meetings plus up to 10 hours per week performing tasks and providing deliverables. Ability to have an online presence to supervise and participate in rules discussions. Demonstrated knowledge of the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby. Knowledge of the game of roller derby. At least two (2) years’ bouting experience in WFTDA regulation interleague games as a skater or official. Participation in at least one (1) WFTDA tournament is a bonus. Strong management skills. Successful participation in one of the two Committee Panels is highly recommended. Strong organizational and communications skills. Experience with coaching and training is a bonus. Ability to think creatively and critically. Ability to meet deadlines. Access to MS Word, Excel, Acrobat and other productivity tools.
Rules Theory Panel
Candidates must submit a formal application and meet the following experience requirements:
Availability to make the commitment to 1-2 hours per week for attending meetings plus up to 10 hours per week performing tasks and providing deliverables. Ability to have an online presence (at least every other day) to review and participate in discussions. Demonstrated knowledge of the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby. Knowledge of the game of roller derby. At least two (2) years’ bouting experience in WFTDA regulation interleague games as a skater or official. Participation in at least one (1) WFTDA tournament is a bonus. Application Panel candidates must show strong technical writing ability, providing samples of applicable work. Marketing research, balloting or survey writing skills are a strong bonus. Strong organizational and communications skills. Experience with coaching and training is a bonus. Ability to think creatively and critically. Ability to meet deadlines. Access to MS Word, Excel, Acrobat and other productivity tools.
Nominations and Vetting
All nominations shall be posted to the nomination thread in the WFTDA Online Community forum in the Representative Voting section.
Nominations can be made by any Member Organization, and each nomination must be seconded by a representative from another Member Organization and accepted by the nominee.
The Election Committee reviews all nominees prior to drafting election ballots, in order to confirm compliance with candidate and election requirements. Once the nominees are vetted, the election language will be posted to the forum.
Learn more about WFTDA Member League requirements and expectations in annual elections at resources.wftda.org/wftda-member-league-voting/.