The IATF announced this week that they have closed nominations and are seeking votes and discussion around the "Panel of Throwers" - a select number of representatives charged with increasing transparency and boosting the dissemination (tee hee) of information more accurately and efficiently. But how? And also: what?
WHAT THE PANEL OF THROWERS IS
According to an IATF doc The Axe Badger was able to secure (read: I found it on IATF's Facebook page), The IATF Panel of Throwers will be a group of 16 elected-and-appointed throwers who represent the diverse voice of the greater throwing community.
These throwers will be comprised of 9 regional representatives and 7 IATF appointed representatives. This group will then elect 3 community forum moderators.
BUT WHAT DO THEY DO?
Great question, me.
The panel will:
Attend meetings
Listen to feedback from throwers and then tell that feedback to the IATF team
Review the website, rule changes and schedules put forth by the IATF, and tell them what they think of it
Be able to speak to the interests of their regional/demographic group. Without like, being a tyrant about what they themselves want
All get together and put their axes on a round table (that looks like a premier clutch) at the same time before starting each meeting. Okay I made that one up but it's a missed opportunity, IATF.
Be active online or in person to listen to fellow throwers
Be active in axe-throwing spaces to share info from the IATF
WHO IS UP TO BE ON THE PANEL?
The IATF just posted a cute little PDF (available near this paragraph) including names of candidates, where they are from, and why they want to be on the panel.
These folks were selected as they expressed interest in the position, so there wasn't necessarily any hand-picking from the IATF. There were no requirements short of being an active thrower for the regional representatives. The IATF appointed reps were chosen based on diversity, inclusion, leadership, experience, and community engagement.
HOW DO I VOTE?
Voting will open on Thursday, October 5. Though it isn't really clear to me how we're supposed to vote, yet.
I assume there will be a big scandal, the losers will say the election was stolen, and then we'll find out we were actually voting for WATL's next axe name.
Once I know, you'll know. Though I'll hazard a guess that most of you, dear readers, will know how to vote on this before I do.
WHY/HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
I want to be flippant about this, but I'll put on my serious hat for a minute: whenever representatives of a budding, weird sport happens, it's a golden opportunity to make sure that sport is heading in a good (read: beneficial) direction.
While this may not seem terribly important to you, making sure folks who care about the community is essential for avoiding backwards steps. When it comes to making sure the IATF listens to its throwers and what we want, having a voice closer to the eldritch horror that I assume is IATF is invaluable.
If you are interested in not being ultra-frustrated at IATF rule changes all the time - or at least want to be aware of them ahead of time to know exactly how frustrated you'll get to be, a panel of throwers might benefit you. It's a real, tangible opportunity to have more input on how our sport evolves, and that's pretty exciting, if you care about any of this at all.
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