At 10:15 a.m. the meeting was convened by the President, Earl Farrell. The required 1/3 of members necessary for the quorum was present (29 votes - 27 required).

1. President Earl Farrell welcomed the members present and thanked them for attending. He briefly outlined the changes made to the structure of the Board at the last AGM. Regarding the agenda, motion #1 was moved to the New Business section of the meeting.

2. Cecil Smith then explained parliamentary procedures that would be in effect for the meeting.

3. Ratification of Motions of Board of Directors. Earl Farrell mentioned that a number of motions were passed at the Board meeting the night before and were not included in the list of motions. A sheet showing three important motions passed - fee increase, entry fee increase and endorsation of OCC paid coaching proposal -  were however circulated at the meeting. Earl Farrell indicated that two of these would be dealt with under item 8 of the agenda.

Motion to accept all actions and motions of the Board for the 1999/2000 fiscal year.

Don Mills/Dave Mills Carried

4. Adoption of the 1999 AGM minutes.

Motion to adopt the minutes of the 1999 AGM.

Harry Stantsos/Jack Phillips Carried

5. Reports

a) Earl Farrell - President. Earl Farrell mentioned the positive feedback regarding the Super Meet and thanked Albert Tschirhart for his work with the Canada Games Team Development project. He congratulated Dan Parsons and Dave Mills, both of whom were present, on their selection as 3M Coaches of the year. He also reminded the members that this was to be Cecil Smith's final AGM.

b) Denis Landry. Vice President Denis Landry introduced the members of the Board of Directors and outlined the structure and function of the new Board. It is now programme-oriented as opposed to regional-oriented and this has facilitated decision-making. Denis mentioned that the Board is still presently lacking a Director of Marketing/Membership and asked that if the members present had any suggestions to contact a member of the Board.

c) Dave Watt. Treasurer Dave Watt presented the Financial Statement and answered questions. Dave indicated that declining government grants and Bingo revenues has put the Association into a deficit situation. Losses have been tempered somewhat by the sale of the World Championship track and Athletics magazine. Due to government grants arriving late in the fiscal year the OTFA has had to rely on its reserve fund. It is therefore important not to allow the reserve fund to become depleted by annual deficits.

The discussion widened to include subjects such as the need to increase/retain membership, to create more competitive opportunities in the GTA, to create better links with other organizations such as schools and the need to insist on every participant being a member of the OTFA.

Motion to approve the audited statement from the 1999-2000 year.

Dave Watts/Enrico Toscano Carried

Motion to appoint auditors Turnbull-Thompson

Dave Watts/Denis Landry Carried

(Firm of Kirk-Rowe has dispersed)

d) Albert Tschirhart - Director of Operations

Albert Tschirhart spoke on his report, highlighting the issues of staffing (in light of Cecil Smith's forthcoming retirement) and membership fees. Our fees are generally lower than those of similar high-profile sports.

e) Dennis Fairall - Director of Technical Services. Dennis Fairall orally reported on some of the motions passed by the Technical Committee during the past year

f) Gary Crossley - Director of Athlete and Coach Development. Gary Crossley's report was separately distributed. He indicated that most of his work during the past year was in connection to the Ontario Coaching Council. He also initiated a process whereby athletes could gain representation on the Technical Committee. Although initial response to the idea was good only one nomination had been received prior to the Super Meet, at which elections for a male rep. and a female rep. were to have been held. The male rep. has been acclaimed and another call will go out for nominations for the female rep.

It was agreed that there is a communication problem and that information often does not get down to the athlete. A motion to include the Newsletter and all Board minutes on our website was passed by the Board the previous evening and this should alleviate the problem substantially.

g) Cecil Smith - Executive Director. Report as circulated in the meeting package.

h) Roman Olszewski - Technical Coordinator. Written report as circulated.

i) John Craig - Executive Coordinator. Written report in package. John Craig indicated that he had made an application to the Trillium Foundation to secure grants for the running of a "Fun in Athletics" programme in Ontario next summer. He encouraged the clubs to get involved if and when approval is received.

j) Bernie Eckler. Bernie Eckler supplemented his written report by acknowledging the support given to us by Brooks Shoes over the years. He encouraged the members to thank Mike Dyon and Scott Hopkins whenever the opportunity presented itself.

6. Motions

Proposed Membership Fee Increase

Earl Farrell presented charts showing: the reduction in grants from the Ministry from $300,000 in 1990 to a projected $150,000 in the current fiscal year. Cost-cutting measures enacted by the Board in the past year: Staff $85,000, Athletics Canada fee $35,000, Board $3000, Athletics Magazine $17,000 - Total $140,000.

Earl pointed out that despite these reductions the Association was still facing an annual deficit and over the next 4 years would have no reserve left if there was no new revenue coming in.

Denis Landry stated that there hadn't been a membership fee increase since 1989. There was a suggestion from a member that agencies such as OFSAA and OPHEA should be willing to offer financial support to SGB's.

Motion to amend the proposed fee increase from $15.00 to $20.00

Pat Barr/Liz Wilson     Carried

Motion that the 2001 fee for athletes be raised by $20.00 plus G.S.T.

Denis Landry/Don Mills    Carried

The motion regarding the increase in entry fees for provincial championships was briefly discussed. It will be included in the list of Board motions to be ratified at next year's AGM.

Motion to add Officials' Representative Position to Board.

Denis Landry said that a smaller Board is more efficient. Also, other groups such as the coaches would then also want representation. If the officials want an official on the Board they should run someone for election - 1 position currently available - 2 positions next year.

Enrico Toscano spoke in favour of the motion, stating that since the Board is largely made up of coaches anyway, the coaches would not need a special representative. He indicated that since the representative could always be someone in the Toronto area there would be no additional costs incurred.

Gary Crossley noted that Technical Committee members (which include an OCC representative) are always welcome to attend Board meetings and have input.

Motion That the number of specific Directors Chairs on the proposed restructured O.T.F.A. Board be increased from 4 to 5 and that the Chair of the Ontario Officials Council be the Director of Officials with direct representation on the new O.T.F.A. Board.

Moved by: T. Slocombe Seconded by: J. Downing    Defeated

7. New Business

Coaching fee surcharge proposed by Ontario Coaches' Council. Gary Crossley outlined the process followed over the past year from the introduction of the paid coaching proposal to its presentation as a motion at this year's AGM.

Several members spoke against the motion, stating that although they agreed with the principle of the motion centralization through the OTFA office was not necessary i.e., the slubs should be administering coaches' honoraria. It was suggested that clubs should be assisted, where necessary, in developing a paid coaching programme. There was also a concern expressed about tax implications.

Those in favour argued that universality can only be guaranteed if the programme is administered centrally. Although the amount is very small the fee would represent a statement by the OTFA that "coaches have value".

The following amendment was proposed at this time:

Motion that on the registration form a coach may direct their fee, if they so wish, to the club.

Dave Small/Jack Phillips    Defeated

Motion that a coaching fee of $30.00/year be added as a compulsory surcharge to the 2001 OTFA fee for all athletes registering in the organization. This fee will be paid to the coach of the athlete as identified on the athlete's form at the end of the year. All coaches, in order to receive payment, must be registered with the OTFA. This fee will increase by $10.00 per year in the years 2002 and 2003. After 2003 the fee will be reviewed on an annual basis by the Ontario Coaches Council.

Jennifer Kopplin/Dave Mills     Carried

8. Presentation to Cecil Smith.

Denis Landry, Roly Bullock and Earl Farrell each briefly spoke on Cecil's contributions to the sport over the past 25 years after which Cecil was presented with a special plaque.

9. Adjournment

Denis Landry       Carried

Participating Clubs/Groups
Ontario Coaches Council
Ontario Officials Council
Burlington Track Club
Club SISU
Guelph Track and Field Club
Hamilton Olympic Club
London Western TFC
Markham Track Club
Niagara Regional Athletics
Oakville Legion TFC
Petrolia Track and Field Club
Saugeen TFC
South Simcoe Dufferin
St. Thomas Legion TC
Toronto Olympic Club
Toronto Sport Athletics
Track West
University of Toronto T.C.
Windsor Legion
York University TC

Minutes prepared by Roman Olszewski November 1, 2000