Will I need to register?
YES. While attendance is free for all USDF members, anyone wishing to participate will need to register through our online portal. When registering, attendees will be able to select the different meetings, sessions, and events they wish to attend throughout the convention (December 2-6, 2020), populating their personalized calendar in the attendee dashboard.
Will there still be a “Salute Gala & Annual Awards Banquet”?
YES and NO. This year will be reminiscent of years past when the Salute Gala and the Annual Awards Banquet were separate events. So while this event will not be held in the traditional sense, we will be recognizing and honoring our 2020 class of inductees in the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame (Dr. Hilary Clayton, Gary Rockwell, and Verdades), our 2020 USDF Volunteer of the Year Jean Kraus, and our Rider, Year-End, All-Breeds, and GMO Award winners.
Is this just going to be a week full of endless Zoom meetings?
NO WAY! While the virtual convention will be utilizing the Zoom platform, you will not be spending hours upon hours in your typical “Zoom meeting”. The most engaging and popular parts of our annual convention tend to be our open forums and panel discussions. So, based on that, we have focused the convention week itself on less individual meetings in favor of more of these. The week will also feature a great lineup of education offerings, special presentations, and interactive options.
What are some of the education topics that can be expected?
The virtual convention will feature education offerings on topics such as joint therapy, marketing for GMOs, motivation and goal setting, bits, protein feeding, training issues, and much more. Make sure to follow us here, on YourDressage, as well as on our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for more details on what can be expected as the event gets closer.
How will voting work for delegates at the Board of Governors (BOG) General Assembly?
USDF’s IT team is hard at work building a custom voting portal, which should streamline the voting process, not only this year but for future BOG meetings as well, and allow delegates to vote in live time, right from their mobile device or computer. Detailed instructions will be distributed to all delegates prior to the convention.
With us all in different time zones, how will the schedule for the week be constructed?
USDF has worked tirelessly to develop a convention schedule and plan that will hopefully be palatable and doable for all attendees. As it stands now, attendees from the east coast will not begin before noon and will end no later than 9:00 p.m. any day of the convention and those on the west coast will not begin before 10:00 a.m. (with the exception of one Youth education session scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m.) and will end no later than 6:00 p.m. Unlike many previous in-person conventions, the current schedule also features numerous breaks throughout each day.
Will I be able to attend all of the meetings and sessions that I want and need to attend
YES!! As the scheduled stands now, there are no conflicting sessions or meetings with the exception of some regional meetings running concurrently. So, conceivably, attendees could attend every forum, panel discussion, education session, special event, and meeting held (except regional) throughout the convention, and we hope they will!
How will I access the reports and handouts that are normally made available during the convention?
All documents, reports, handouts, and support materials will be available for viewing and download through the attendee dashboard and the convention website.
When and where will I find more information as it becomes available?
As more and more details about the virtual convention are nailed down and made available, we will be disseminating it through USDF social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), the convention website, and here on YourDressage! Make sure to follow us!
What about the holiday shopping I always squeeze in at the USDF and sponsor booths?
Don’t worry! The USDF Online Store and sponsor websites are here for you and available on the convention website. Holiday shopping is only a few clicks away!
Look at the highlights from the 2019 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention.
Can you view the meetings at a later date if miss one that wanted to see? thank you!
portions of the convention on demand after post production is finished. Watch social media for update.