I totally understand that mail does get lost. I am very disappointed that no one was notified of the situation, however. I am also wondering if it was the Grand Master Stones that had been lost, would things have been handled differently? I hope this situation can be resolved and that hopefully we can cut our stones again, if they are not found. Has this ever happened before in the any of the past competitions? According to the explanation of what really happened it sounds like there was a few people that need reprimanded for lack of organization. Why did no one have the proper address of where they were being shipped to? And why was a tracking number not given. Why are the packages not sent registered and have a signature required for pick up. Who knows really, but I feel policies and procedures need to be put in place other than what you currently have. I have very much enjoyed the USFG and understand that a lot of folks want to be able to point the finger and say “it’s your fault”. I hope we will hear something soon on a decision as to what the next step is going to be.

Thank you Thomas.

UPDATE:
Neither the US Postal Inspection Service nor the Los Angeles Police Department has reported any progress in locating the lost Novice stones. The USFG officers and directors have met to consider how to mitigate this unfortunate situation.

Decision of the USFG Officers and Board of Directors:

1. For those 30 Novice entrants who submitted stones, the Novice Competition will be extended until March 30, 2020, to allow time for those entrants to cut and submit another stone. This applies only to those entrants who previously submitted stones before the original deadline. They will receive a letter from the USFG President.
2. The original return postage will be refunded and for those who choose to submit a new stone the cost of postage to and from the stone handler will be covered.
3. Each of the original Novice entrants will have their membership extended for 2 years at no charge.

Wow. Novice here. I honestly don’t know what to say except that heartbreaking losses happen in this business. I guess I’ll do what I did last time when I chipped the gridle while cutting the crown on my second attempt. . . clean off another dop and try not to beat myself up about it. I can only imagine how much worse I would feel if I banged someone else’s stone against the side of the machine. I literally just shuddered at the thought. Try not to worry about it on my behalf, USFG!

For the record, I’m not sure if there was a ‘good’ way for the USFG to handle a situation like this. I’m sure they hoped to get the stones back before they had to tell everyone they were lost. Yes, I would have rather known immediately, but in the grand scheme of things, I suppose it makes little difference. By the way, there’s no information on the entry form or the rules that sets any expection for when we would get our stones returned anyway (I was worried about leaving my mailbox unchecked in mid-October 🙂

Now if ANYONE can tell me where I can get my woefully inadequate out-of-alightment Graves Mark IV serviced, I can start thinking about which piece of rough to use for a 4th attempt. Otherwise, my first competition stone will have to wait for a few more years so I can save up for that barely used left-handed UT I’ve been dreaming about 🙂

As I mentioned, all Novice entrants will receive a letter from the USFG president. Notice that a new mailing address is given in the letter.
There is no “participation” certificate, unless you make your own 🙂
You will get a certificate and publication in the newsletter if your novice stone scores 85 or higher. Entrants who score lower will not be named.
Remember that one of the prime benefits of entering the competition is direct feedback from a master cutter to help improve your skills.

Thank you for the information Alan. I will await my letter and I am go grateful for how generous the USFG is being. I am thrilled to be able to recut my stone and the two year subscription is much appreciated!!!

Hahaha! No participation certificate, eh? I guess a thirty-way tie for first place is out of the question then? 😉