8:00 p.m., November 22, 2002
Delta Meadowvale Inn,
Mississauga, ON
Albert Tschirhart (Chair), Roman Olszewski, John Metcalfe, Joe Sax, John Craig
Don Mills, Kelly Harris, Andrew Greenlaw (SDO)
Dave Watt, Denis Landry (representing the OTFA at the Athletics Canada AGM in Ottawa), Marc Christie, Gary Crossley
Albert welcomed all to the Board meeting and recognized the guests
Motion to Approve:
Sax and Metcalfe -- Carried
Roman asked for adoption of the Technical Committee Motions as a group.
Technical Committee motions referred to Board for Approval (November 22, 2003)
Motion 1:
That the list ofnew records, as amended and recommended by the Director of Technical Services, be accepted.
Joe Sax/John Metcalfe -- Carried
John Craig, and John Metcalfe’s reports are as presented at the AGM tomorrow.
Joe Sax report as presented. Joe wondered about the OTFA Website and how we can make sure the OTFA has access to maintain the new website, currently managed by Nathan Percival. Albert will contact Nathan to get the website passwords etc from him so the OTFA office can do the day-to-day maintenance. Nathan can continue to do the major updates, and manage the major design changes which will make the site better and more user-friendly.
John provided a short synopsis of the new office (now in suite 302 - same building) and the new computer equipment.
Kelly advised of the Coaching Council Proposal, which will see a motion at the AGM which would have someone voted into the position of Coaching representative to the OTFA. The Coaching Council would be disbanded, and the coaches would have a representative on the OTFA Technical Committee as a voting member.
Motion 2:
That the Ontario Coaches Council be dissolved and that the membership of registered coaches vote for a representative to represent then as a voting member with the OTFA Technical Committee.
Metcalfe and Sax -- Carried
A new facility in Guelph is marvelous, but has no track or other facilities for our sport. He presented an overview, suggesting that as a sport we need to adapt more. Other sports concentrate on grassroots development, while track and field works more on supporting elite athletes. This is not our fault, but is the product of previous government funding formulas.
The government is making it hard for us to access information with new privacy legislation. Therefore the OTFA must develop a grassroots program for 6 - 13 year olds. As our numbers grow, so does government support. Athletes who come through our system either grow into athletes or supporters and spectators, which we will need in the future.
So, how do we deliver such a program? We need government support, a delivery agent, sponsorship, committed volunteers, and a long term strategy. Albert outlined ideas for a grassroots development program which will involve volunteers, kids etc and involved them in a 4 month program which charts progress, provides incentives and provides a future for our athletes.
This fits very well into the Fun In Athletics model which is already up and running. We need to be able to involve a second group of coaches and volunteers which can be the future of our sport.
Albert presented a plan as a proposal for a Five Year Competition Model for outdoor track and field. This would allow different age divisions, plus abled and disabled athletes all to compete on one weekend in the time frame such a weekend would allow.
A five year plan to establish the protocol and procedures was outlined, with the result being a Supermeet in Year Five which would see athletes qualifying for the Supermeet, based on top 2 in qualifying competitions, plus next 8 best performances, which would put 16 into the Supermeet in each event. This would provide for a shorter meet (fewer heats or rounds) and allow other groups (disabled and different age groups) to join the meet.
The financial considerations might work in favour of the local clubs, the meet directors, the officials and the supporting clubs.
Qualification standards for disabled and age group athletes will have to be developed.
Is the OTFA interested in operating the magazine on it’s own if AC drops it as one of their programs?
This is not likely an option unless the numbers can be seen as a break even option.
There is some support for the idea of keeping the magazine alive if we can find a way of breaking even.
Action: John C will see what numbers make sense, and if we can assume the magazine again. There is a small window of time here to research, and John will report at the next meeting, or sooner if possible/required.
Three potential hosts are known. Hamilton Olympic Club is interested in hosting it again, and they did a terrific job in each of the last two years. Their ability to make the right decisions in view of the terrible weather this year is commendable.
Action: Roman will further explore the options and determine what some of the technical assets are present in each location. One of the groups (the tri-club group) will withdraw from the bid. Roman will ask for more information from the Guelph and Hamilton groups and make some recommendations.
The City of Hamilton will not provide a hosting grant to the organizers for 2003. The organizers will use reserve funds to host the meet one more time at Copps Coliseum in 2003 in an effort to keep the event alive. Roman suggests we back away from the meet for this year because of concerns about the name of the event, sanction implications and an unsure future.
Perhaps the OTFA can see if there is room for some OTFA club events, like relays or distance races, possibly of high-school age kids, to flesh out the program.
Action: Joe will check with Marc Christie about possible inclusion of some junior and senior aged OTFA events. It may be possible to see if we can put two OTFA Championship men’s and two women’s relay events in the meet and run them in Hamilton instead of at the OTFA indoor Relay Championships.
Quebec has opted out of hosting this meet next year because their schedule is already full. They are willing to host the competition in 2004. Can OTFA host this meet next year? Kingston or Belleville are possible sites? We may be able to host this competition in conjunction with the SDO meet in July. This would make a second integrated competition in addition to the Top Three meet in June.
The officials will require some coordination to make sure this concept works, but it is worth pursuing.
Action: Roman will pursue the time, date etc. of this meet.
38 Clubs, mostly in Southern Ontario. The Minor Association has 22 clubs which are also a member of the OTFA, or have a formal relationship with the OTFA. We should continue to work with the Minor Association to see if we can provide some complimentary programs.
We should also foster our growing relationships with the Masters Association, which seems to want strengthen its ties with the OTFA.
Sax -
Adjourn 10:54 p.m.