Referee Director - Alex Miladi 2010 letter
Dear Fellow Referee
Happy New Year to all. We begin the new year with a reconstituted new Board of Directors.
The advent of the new year ushers in a new year for our Federation.
New, New , new , every thing is new.
Our new Board of Directors for USA-NKF were seated the first week of January and all 9 members got together under one roof for a couple of days. The USOC people noticed that for first time in a long time we are filled with many positive people all working together. This is a good thing for our federation as well as our sport. Our CEO Luke St. Onge has said, “In my 24 years of involvement with different boards, this is the first time I have seen a group of people so diverse and at the same time so together". We want to take our federation forward. This task requires a lot of hours of hard work from all its members.
We are presently making significant changes to our organizational structure to comply with the requirements of the USOC to make our NGB democratic and fair to all. In the meantime, the board is also diligently working to make our system more efficient for your needs. Among the changes we are working on is to streamline our structure to make us more responsive to the needs of our members.
As your Referee Director I wish to express my gratitude for all the hard work of the Referee Committee as well as the entire referee membership. Our job is among the most demanding and at the same time most thankless in the federation.In every match, one competitor thinks we are incompetent or cheating or both. (usually this is the loosing competitor) I encourage all senseis and coaches to take the referee course not only to learn the rules which will make them more knowledgable as coaches, but also to appreaciate the role and difficult task of the referee.
I can not state often enough how proud I am of the work of our referees led by our chairman Sensei Cleve Baxter. Under his leadership, we are seeing many people rejoining our federation and our web based group. The entire Referee Committee is dedicated to guaranteeing that your prepared for your task as referees and that you get a fair chance to pass all the certification levels. Please don't forget the important role that each one of you has, in publicizing what we are all about to the senseis in your region. More than anyone else, you are in a unique position to bring in new members.
As the referee director I actively participate in the restructuring of the organization but as a referee committee member, I continue to travel to different States and work in different dojo's in order to bring in many new faces. Last month I was invited by Mr. Patrick Hickey of the USAKF to update his group on the latest WKF rules. I was very happy to be given this opportunity and met many wonderful people and great senseis. I look forward to seeing them again in future events and working together with them.
With the New Year please make sure that your membership is current, dues are up to date in order for your license not to lapse and that you remain an official in good standing.
If you need any additional help please log onto the federation website. www.usankf.org
In closing, I also want to recognize the great effort being made by Sensei Tokey Hill and his coaching committee. Our athletes have made great improvements in the last couple of years and we are finally on top at the Pan American level. I encourage all of you to help USA Karate and to give our new Chairman, Sensei John DiPasquale your full support.
As in the past I encourage all of you to attend all the seminars close to you, and keep your perceptions sharp. You can reach me anytime via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or my personal email, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Of course, you can use the www.karatereferee.com for all your referee news, needs and tools. You can email me from that website as well. Please keep the communication lines open so I can do my job representing you in the best possible way. I look forward to seeing you all in Vegas.
Sincerely,
Alex Miladi
Old African proverb: to travel fast...go alone to travel far....go with a group!
