NWT BADMINTON ASSOCIATION |
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NWT BADMINTON ASSOCIATION MINUTES 11 SEPTEMBER, 2004
Present Ron Graf – Past President – Yellowknife Theresa Fehrmann – Secretary/Treasurer – Yellowknife Martin Deschesnes – Yellowknife Michael Muller – Inuvik – Participated via speaker phone as per Bylaw 22.4 Braum Deklerk – Inuvik – Participated via speaker phone as per Bylaw 22.4 Rob Meckling – Sport North Consultant Kelly Webster – Hay River Rory Hinton – Development Officer – Yellowknife Jim Umpherson – Yellowknife Amanda Mandeville – Fort Resolution
Opening Remarks There was an update on the changes that had taken place in the Executive throughout the year. It was suggested that Ron chair the meeting, as per Bylaw 5.1, due to absence of the President. MOVED by Michael. SECONDED by Jim. CARRIED.
Approval of Agenda MOVED by Kelly and SECONDED by Jim to accept agenda as is. CARRIED.
Roll Call & Votes Yellowknife, Hay River, and Inuvik qualified for one vote. Fort Resolution qualified for two votes.
Members’ Reports Jim reported on behalf of the Yellowknife club. They had 50 members last year, approximately half of those junior and half of those senior. Laurell Graf, Nicole Chatel, and Martin helped with the juniors. A major issue with the club is that insurance and gym rental costs are increasing significantly. Because of this, the membership fees are being increased. The senior club plays three times per week. A mild frustration is when gym times are cancelled because of other events. There is about a 40% turnover of members. Overall, it was a successful year. Rob has offered to look into getting insurance for the NWT Badminton Association that would cover all the clubs, and therefore be cheaper.
Kelly reported on behalf of the Hay River club. It is a relatively young club, but the skill level has improved significantly. A frustration is communication regarding tournaments. For example, they did not know about the Scott McAdam tournament until ten days before it began. They have a school tournament every year, but it has not yet drawn from Yellowknife. Funding is being requested for this tournament from the Association. They play four times per week and the club is split into two groups based on age. They are looking for someone to run the adult club. The season started with 62 players, and ended with 35 players, so it was a good season.
Michael reported on behalf of the Inuvik club. It was a good year. The focus has been on the adults and would like to focus on the schools too. In the spring, the gym roof collapsed and then the gym burned, but it is fixed now.
Theresa reported on behalf of Victor Stewart of the Fort McPherson club. See attached report.
Sport North Rob thanked the NWT Badminton Association for a great job despite a lack of people, noting especially the good performance at the AWG. Christine Thorne has left Sport North, and her replacement starts in September.
The proposed Sport and Recreation Council was discussed. The council will probably be created, despite the protests that have been made. One concern is the lack of consultation. It is not supposed to have an impact on the sport organizations, but the prediction is that there will be an impact, primarily financially. The biggest fear is that the communities will suffer. Rob suggests that we need to fix the volunteer base in the communities, instead of just providing more money.
The application for funding deadline is October 1st. Changes to the funding structure are listed in page one of the Funding Allocation Handbook. The handbook and all forms are available on the Sport North website.
The multi-sport camps have been extremely successful. Sixteen communities participated, with five more to be added. Seven new sports were added, for a total of 21. More money is now available for the Excel NT program, and the NWT Badminton Association’s application has been accepted.
The coaching certification structure has changed this year: the old Level I and II theory are being replaced by CBET. It is believed that the new method produces more competent coaches.
The Coaching and Volunteer Symposium will be held from February 25th to 27th, 2005, and the theme will be Making the Circle Stronger. There will be an added stream for athletes this time. They would like to bring up Olympic athletes for this. Rob asked that any ideas of which athletes to bring should be directed to himself or Rita Bertolini. They will in turn send an invitation to the athlete. The package on this symposium will be available in October.
The President’s Council will be held in Yellowknife on November 19th to 21st.
There are plans to start cutting out some sports for the AWG. Peewee hockey has already been cut out for 2006. The new chair of the games committee is Maureen Miller. The current issue with the AWG is the preparation time, in that there were only four weeks between the trials and the games in 2004.
There are two role model programs: Esteem Team and Get Your Groove On. Sport North will assist in bringing up a high performance athlete if he or she is an Esteem Team member.
NWT Sport and Recreation Board Update This topic was covered in Rob’s Sport North presentation and nothing more was added at this time.
Minutes of Last Meetings Due to lack of a quorum last year, there was a vote to accept the 2002 minutes. MOVED by Jim and SECONDED by Ron to accept the 2002 minutes as they are. CARRIED. MOVED by Theresa and SECONDED by Kelly to accept the 2003 minutes as they are. CARRIED.
Business Arising From Minutes No business arose from the previous years’ minutes.
Changes to Constitution, Bylaws and Regulations It was recommended to amend bylaw 14.1 as follows:
A quorum for
an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting of the members shall be
at least
MOVED by Michael and SECONDED by Jim to accept the proposed changes. CARRIED. One opposed.
President’s Report See attached report. Presented by Ron in lieu of Kevin O’Keefe. We were late in submitting our applications for the AWG and Excel NT, but both were accepted by Sport North. Unfortunately, some of last year’s events were held at a late date, and were not well attended. Ron will officiate at the World Junior Badminton Championships in the last two weeks of October, as well as at the Canadian Open next week. MOVED by Ron and SECONDED by Kelly to accept the President’s Report. CARRIED.
Treasurer’s Report See attached report. The Sport North funding process was explained. We will have to give back a lot of money due to not meeting our goals last year. MOVED by Theresa and SECONDED by Kelly to accept the Treasurer’s Report. CARRIED.
Vice President Coaching Development Report Ron presented the need to select coaches for the games. MOVED by Ron and SECONDED by Kelly to accept the Vice President Coaching Development Report. CARRIED.
Vice President Officials Development Report There was no training for regional, provincial, or national officiating. Ron received the Pan Am accreditation in Peru in August. Our current officials are solid, but it would be good to have more, and to have one national-level official. Ron refereed at the AWG Trials and the AWG, and Laurell umpired at the AWG. Looking for people interested in becoming regional umpires. MOVED by Ron and SECONDED by Michael to accept the Vice President Officials Development Report. CARRIED.
Vice President Player Development Report See attached report. Ron has already inquired about visiting the mines, and it seems to not be a possibility due to their heavy involvement in squash. MOVED by Ron and SECONDED by Kelly to accept the Vice President Player Development Report. CARRIED.
Vice President Competition Report The competitions over the last year were the High School Championships, the AWG Trials, the AWG, the Regionals for Games, the Territorial Championships, and the Scott McAdam tournament. The Territorial Championships were small this year, with only a total of 35 athletes. On October 2nd, there will be a one-day youth open tournament at Sir John High School in Yellowknife, and there will be a Player Develpment Clinic in Yellowknife on October 6th and 7th. MOVED by Ron and SECONDED by Martin to accept the Vice President Competition Report. CARRIED.
2004 Arctic Winter Games Report Jim informed everyone that the AWG were held in Fort MacMurray in March. The NWT team was represented in every age category, and the team did very well. Each member received a medal. Jennifer Waugh did especially well, earning two gold and one silver. The facilities were not too bad. The team played early in the morning and all day until around 4:00 or 5:00, which left time to enjoy the other sports as well. Thanks goes to Laurell Graf and Nicole Chatel for their hard work, which helped the team to do so well. MOVED by Jim and SECONDED by Theresa to accept the 2004 Arctic Winter Games Report. CARRIED.
2006 Arctic Winter Games See attached documents on the proposed format change for the tournament and site of the trials. It was generally agreed that the new format would produce an excessive demand on the athletes and that the logistics are not realistic. The newly-elected or acclaimed VP Competition will compose a letter expressing these concerns, with the assistance of Ron or Laurell Graf if necessary. This is to be presented to Ian Legaree. The number one choice for the AWG Trials site for 2006 is Hay River, and Inuvik is number two.
Selection of Coaches for AWG, CWG, WCSG The list of games will be available for people to sign up for as coaches. This will be a task for the newly-elected or acclaimed VP Coaching Development.
Recognition of Volunteers See attached list.
Long and Short Term Planning See attached updated goals.
Badminton Development Officer This is a part time position which was filled by Rory Hinton in the summer. Thus far, the long and short term plans have been used to give Rory direction. Rory is putting together a survey/questionnaire for every community in the NWT to address their issues and learn the best way to use resources. The results of this can be used to guide the Executive, who will guide Rory. Rory will attempt to develop a complete contact list for all communities. He is also developing a plan for a tournament circuit in the NWT.
Tour of Olympians/Nationals 2004 Bringing up an Olympian would cost $3000 to $5000, and is a big promotion for the sport. This is not a priority for Hay River or Inuvik now. This may not be the right time since no medals were won by Canada for badminton in Athens. However, it was suggested that the idea should not be disregarded if there is a community that really wants it.
Election of Officers for Ensuing Year By acclamation, the following individuals will form the Executive:
§ President Michael Muller § Secretary/Treasurer Theresa Fehrmann § Vice President, Player Development Martin Deschesnes § Vice President, Officials Development Ron Graf § Vice President, Coaching Development Tausia Kaitu’u Lal § Vice President, Competition Jim Umpherson § Past President Kevin O’Keefe
New Business Inuvik and Hay River are both interested in coaching clinics. Hay River, Fort McPherson, and Deline are interested in player development clinics. Hay River would like a player development clinic for beginners.
MOVED by Ron to adjourn the meeting. CARRIED.
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Theresa Fehrmann Secretary/Treasurer |