Let me clarify some issues here
First of all just like everyone here I too had 3 teams that were scheduled to play in this tournament which included my own team so as a President of my own organization I had a hard time with some of these numbers as well and still do however the number are what they are and this organization has used the same folks to manage medics, schedules etc for the past few years. I had to take my President hat off and look at these numbers for what they are and that's valid expenses and if the tournament would have been played as expected these expenses would still have had to be paid regardless.
Now I agree that there are some cheaper solutions out there and YES I had this discussion with the folks at MC United as to looking at some other cheaper solutions for managing their tournaments and they have acknowledged that plan to explore all possible options with any future event.
These tournaments are there to help raise money for their organization so finding the cheapest solutions is usually the wise choice although sometimes does not allow the same flexibility basically you get what you pay for. The tournament scheduling portion was done by a single individual that managed the entire aspect of the scheduling from managing emails, refunds, conflicts, schedules, website updates and brackets etc. His per team rate was not out of line for what needed to be done by a single person so basing or calling folks rats or anything else is completely out of line. So was this the best solution for the club maybe not but it was a solutions that has been proven to be successful and managed appropriately in previous tournaments held by MC United.
I spent many hours going over all these numbers over and over to make this work for everyone and to the best of my ability make sure I remained non-bias to represent the entire soccer community. So for folks to go bashing me or MYSA on STL Soccer for stepping in to give some assistance to this situation is not only ludicrous, but disrespectful to those that are trying to help find a solution to an out of control problem.
I am a very up front and honest person that wants to do the best I can for the kids that play the game of soccer. I am not about rumors so if you have questions ask I will tell you what I know to be true. I have taken this role to represent the folks in the Eastern District to the best of my ability and that's what I plan to do so looking at these numbers I can tell you that both MC United and myself did all we could to manipulate the numbers to the best of our ability to get back to the soccer community what was deem appropriate after all expenses are paid.
The bottom line is MC United has expenses they MUST pay from this tournament and they especially did not want this tournament canceled. Their refund policy stated that after all valid expenses a cash refund would be returned and I can tell everyone that is the number that we were able to come up with.
So if you have questions I would welcome your post here on this thread since I am banned from the STL Soccer Board this is the only thread I will respond to. So if you have some ways we can improve the soccer community than ask them here and I will be sure to answer your questions or find someone that can or you can feel free to contact me on my cell phone at 636-299-6238 I would be happy to speak with anyone.

Sincerely

Joe Bourque

All

If you have comments or feedback regarding this issue I welcome them to be posted here however you must register for an account on this site and post your questions here. As for StCharlesCoach on STL Soccer there will be no more postings regarding this subject on that site. Missouri Soccer Talk is not setup to allow folks to post anonymous comments all post must have a valid and confirmed identity in order to comment on any thread. If you have problems creating an account you can call me or email me and I would be happy to walk you through setting up an account so you can voice your opinion or recommendations to everyone.

I don't appreciate the negative comments on STL Soccer from folks that tend to like to stir up the soccer community sitting behind an anonymous screen name, if you have some points you would like to make then make them and stand up for what you believe but make sure people know who you are.

From my stand point I confirmed the invoices that were submitted for the tournament regardless as to how much I felt the numbers were outrageous or not. The numbers were what were submitted not by Mark or MC United but by the people who did the work. It's not the decision of me or MYSA as to the price tag a person or company put's on his or her time as to what they are worth when providing a service. That’s a business decision that each and every organization needs to take into account when they are looking for someone to provide a service. It was very clear that that Robert put in countless hours of work in supporting this tournament and he charged a per team amount for the amount of time and effort that was required to manage every aspect of the tournament. So regardless if I agree or disagree that is what was agreed upon before the start of the tournament so the backlash for the services he offered is uncalled for. As an IT Professional myself I know what goes into developing and managing a software application therefore although I would have liked to see the price lower he did provide the services and I have seen in my 18 year career millions of dollars spent for software that took very little time to develop. So because he is associated to this organization folks feel that he should have done this job for free I personally don’t see how that is the right thing to do.

So as I stated before my teams were impacted in the same manner as everyone else and I can tell you from the beginning I stated and told others I would not except the refund from MC United unless I was able to review all the expenses from the tournament and if I found fraud I would combine forces with folks to fight this issue.

When I first looked at all the expenses that were submitted I thought at that moment 95% of everything was fraud and MC United was trying to get over on folks and I was out to prove that however, the more I went through everything and spoke to every person whom which I had an invoice it was clear that it was not fraud but in fact just poor decision making or contracts which made for a bad situation for everyone involved. After looking at what was submitted I had to take my personal opinions out of the equation and look at them for what they are regardless of the amounts and that were invoices for services rendered.

So I understand and appreciate some of the comments from folks however the constant negative comments and bashing of MYSA, MC United and myself for posting the final outcome is just outright crazy. Folks I realize that everyone won't be happy even if I said you were getting 80 - 90% back someone would step up and say why they should get 95%. I am sorry for the outcome it was out of my control because I had to work with the numbers there were submitted, I too wish it would have turned out differently but it is what it is.

As for the referees that were being flown in to support this tournament this has always been the case for this tournament. I had spoken to referees to ask for their opinions in regards to this situation and they too agreed that referees where needed and they should bring in refs from out of state. So folks take a look around almost every league game I play I am missing a ref because of no shows or just outright shortages of referees in the area so playing in a tournament I would expect that the organization does whatever is necessary to ensure every game has the appropriate number of referees for each game. I know that MC United offered an Associate Referee Clinic in March in which I believe only 24 people attended and SLYSA also tries to offer clinics as well to build the referee pool but as fast as we can get referees we loss them because of out of control parents on the sidelines. So as I stated to MC United they need to have some valid rain out clauses added to everything they do not only to protect their organization but everyone else that is coming to participate in their event.

So folks can continue to use STL Soccer to post negative information in the forum which does nothing good for the soccer community other than fuel each other’s fire or you can post some positive recommendations and comments as to ways of improving the community and help those kids who enjoy the sport we all love as well as educate those that are new to the sport. The STL Soccer Board and this site reach many people each and every day so use it to help improve the game not negatively impact it.

As I have stated to others we all volunteer for the positions we hold and if anyone feels that he/she can do a better job than someone that is in a board position or has some positive ways they can contribute to either MYSA, Clubs or teams than do so in ways that makes a difference because every organization needs volunteers and many roles go unfilled because of lack of support.

If 5% of the amount of effort that goes into posting negative information could be used in a positive way than we could make the entire soccer community a much more enjoyable environment.

So I welcome your feedback either positive or negative I hope that folks can understand the situation as for what it is.

Thanks
Joe Bourque
Eastern District Commissioner
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636-299-6238

All,

I would like to thank everyone for their patience regarding this issue however as of May 20, 2008 MC United has not followed through with their commitment to refund teams by May 15th 2008 who paid to participate in their Spring Tournament.

I have had multiple conversations with Mark Chartrand at MC United and he has continually assured me that all the checks have been mailed out; however as of May 20th it appears that checks may have never been mailed therefore failing to meet the May 15th deadline as agreed upon. So I am referring this issue to the entire MYSA Board of Directors to determine the immediate next appropriate actions to be taken against Mark Chartrand and MC United Soccer Club. I will continue to keep the entire soccer community informed as to the determination of the MYSA Board.

I would recommend that you speak with your Club Board of Directors to determine how to proceed with recouping the fees paid into the tournament.

I sincerely appreciate the support that folks gave me with presenting this information to the soccer community and I look forward to continuing to support the Eastern District and Missouri Youth Soccer Association.

Joseph Bourque
Eastern District Commissioner
Missouri Youth Soccer Association
www.mysa.org