December 2019 Q-School

December 2019 Q-School

QIC: Huckleberry, Van Gogh

Date: 12/14/2019

PAX: Burns, HOG, Drip, Burlap, Boomerang, Ziggy Stardust, Zima, Huckleberry (Co-QIC), Van Gogh (Co-QIC)

Hey PAX before going into the Q-school deets, did you know?

• Our regional leader, aka Nantan, is @Spamalot? (Formerly Bluto, Lysol and Cobra)
• Our regional 1st F Q is @Huckleberry!
• Our regional 2nd F Q is @DDay!
• Our regional 3rd F Q is…. TBD!
• Our regional IT Q is YHC and @Spicoli!
• Our regional Twitter Czar is unknown!?

When our 1st F Q asked YHC to help with a Q school along with the Nantan, YHC was happy to lend a hand. Unfortunately, the Nantan had some plans infringe on his ability to post, so the two remaining pieced back together a new order of operations for the morning… flawlessly I might add, don’t let any PAX tell you otherwise. Content that was covered below, but one suggestion many thought was a good one came from @HOG, who thought Q-school over coffee might be nice!

F3 Background

History

• Dredd and OBT started in Charlotte on 1/1/11
• DashStrong started on 01/04/2014 as a plant with support from F3 Metro and F3 NoCo.  
• Crotch Rocket and Mini Me led the first workout in 18 degree weather.

The Starfish Model

• Leadership is pushed to the perimeter, unlike the spider model where it’ all centralized (ie, government, corporations).
• With a starfish, if you cut off arm, a new one grows in its place AND the severed arm becomes new starfish
• Hence why the goal is to always recruit FNGs, grow new AOs, split off new regions (See F3Expansion efforts). 
  • No stagnation! “If you ain’t growin’ you’re dying”

Areas of Responsibility

Site Qs 

• Coordinate Qs
• Update Q calendar
• Remind and confirm Qs are ready 1-2 days prior.
• Bring the Shovel Flag
• Ensure BBs get posted!

Qs

• Send a pre-blast (including running routes or roaming AO locations if necessary)
• Plan your workout ahead of time, bring a Wienke.
• Give a disclaimer – more info if FNGs present
• Induct FNGs
• Tweet Workout Summary
• Post a timely back blast, tweet URL.

Disclaimer

Mission Statement

• To plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership.

Core principles

• Are free of charge.
• Are open to all men.
• Are held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold.
• Are led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary.
• End with a Circle of Trust.

Cadence Review

Order of Operations

• “THE NEXT EXERCISE IS… (PAUSE)… THE MERKIN!”
  • PAX repeat exercise name to signal understanding.  Q listens for unsure voices.
• “STARTING POSITION…. (PAUSE)… MOVE!”
  • Give change for demonstration request, or observe and see if one is needed.
• “IN CADENCE!”  (PAUSE)
  • Could also be: “On your own,” “On my call,” or “We will do this for 30 seconds”
• “EXERCISE! 1, 2, 3 [ONE].  1, 2, 3 [TWO]….
  • Q’s eyes never leave the PAX while counting.
  • Look for form issues, fatigue, need for less or more reps than planned, morale issues. 
• VOICE INFLECTION at last “1, 2, 3…” to signal END
  • Announce “Recover” if not ending in a position where PAX can see the Q.

Why Use a Cadence? (Tutorial Video)

• Esprit de Corps – Counting together builds bonds, fuels morale
• Fatigue by Leader – Doesn’t require complex thought, designed for breathing
• Cadence sets speed for the exercise, rhythm should always match your body movement. 
• Motions need to occur on count in order to control the exercise.

Basic Workout Principles

BE RESPECTFUL

• Respectful of time
  • Start and end on time.
• Respect the AO.
  • Pick up trash, return rocks to original spot, don’t slog through wet/muddy fields and destroy gras
• Respect the Q
  • The unspoken social contract between the PAX and a Q: “We will follow until you give us a reason not to”. 
  • The PAX are very forgiving toward VQs.
• Respect the PAX
  • Q’s are there to provide a sufficient beatdown, not kill the PAX. Be an encouraging, drill sergeant at worst.
  • Aim to make time at F3 the best part of the day for PAX, never know who may be struggling.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

• Avoid long explanations, use cardboard for long lists.
• Don’t take unnecessary risks or do stupid stuff. 

KEEP THE PAX TOGETHER

• No man left behind. PICK UP THE 6. Circle back or ask other PAX to rejoin the 6.
• Include wait stations or extra credit for frontrunners (ie, burpees, planks, squats, merkins, etc.)
• If struggling, encourage the 6 to get to a final distance or that last rep.
• As the Q, you don’t have to be the fastest or the front runner.

BRING YOUR PLANNED WORKOUT WITH YOU

• Yes, plan ahead of time, then bring the plan with you. Don’t be afraid to improvise.
• If you can’t do it, don’t Q it.
• Better to plan too much, if you don’t use it, you have a start on your next Q.
• Workout sheets are called Weinkes. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

EMBRACE THE MUMBLECHATTER

• Make this the best time of day for someone who may be struggling.
• If it gets out of hand or you lose their attention, talk louder, change things up, or call burpees.
• When you screw up or fail, keep calm and drive on… count louder and push forward. As Dredd says, “When falling, dive!”

COT Logistics

• Count-O-Rama
• Name-O-Rama – Birth Name, Age, F3 Name.
• If Present, Name FNGs
  • If EHer is present, have him do the introduction
• Announcements / Prayer Requests / Praise
• Closing Prayer
  • Q can say a religious prayer or some words of wisdom at the end – or ask if someone feels led to do it.

Post Mortem

FNG Induction

• After FNGs have their names, Qs, Site-Qs, or the EHer should tell them how to register on our website.
• By registering, PAX will get an information email about F3, and be added to PAX list for big announcements.

Tweet initial summary

• Tag @F3WinstonSalem, and the Site-Q and/or the Q Twitter Handle
• Include Hashtags for The AO name (ie, #TheEstate), or the Q Name if they do not have Twitter.
• Include Number of PAX, FNGs, and quick summary
• Optional Flair
  • GIF: Q’s like to include GIFs to draw attention to their tweets.
  • Selfie: Some AOs have a history of taking group pictures to show who was there.
  • Name-o-rama Video: Some PAX like to share video of PAX names (NOT A BACKBLAST).
  • Weinke Picture: Sharing a picture of cardboard or weinke’s used (NOT A BACKBLAST).

Post a Backblast

• Q’s are responsible for posting a Backblast. It is NOT optional (Site-Q’s may volunteer). 
• PAX must have an f3winstonsalem.com account to post. 
  • See pinned @f3winstonsalem tweet for registration and BackBlast posting instructions
• Keep The BackBlast PG rated

Tweet BackBlast Announcement

• Follow the previous Announcement guidelines, also include a URL to the posted BackBlast.
• This is most easily done by Retweeting or Replying your initial announcement Tweet.

There’s more info and background than everything included here, it’s hard to cram everything into a 30 minute overview – a lot of parts above were even skimmed over this morning. If you Google “F3 Q-school,” you’ll find tons of great content from other regions and best practices they follow. In the end, there’s a lot that goes into making F3 successful, but it starts with well-intentioned PAX taking turns and giving effort to lead the best Q they can.

Link to QSchool Cliffnotes handout is HERE.