NWT BADMINTON ASSOCIATION |
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NWT BADMINTON ASSOCIATION MINUTES 16 SEPTEMBER, 2006
Present Jim Umpherson – President – Yellowknife Theresa Fehrmann – Secretary/Treasurer – Yellowknife Ron Graf – Vice President, Officials – Yellowknife Kelly Webster – Hay River - Participated via speaker phone as per Bylaw 22.4 Mark Aitken – Yellowknife Claire Singer – Yellowknife Rob Meckling – Sport North – Yellowknife
Opening Remarks Jim outlined the general plan for the direction of the meeting.
Approval of Agenda Added items included the new Rally Point System, to be discussed before the Sport North update, and discussion of the NAIG selection criteria and 2007 Canada Winter Games, to be discussed after the Sport North update. MOVED by Ron and SECONDED by Mark to accept the amended agenda. CARRIED.
Roll Call and Voting Hay River and Yellowknife qualified for one vote each. Three executive members were present.
Minutes of Last Meeting MOVED by Mark and SECONDED by Ron to accept the amended agenda. CARRIED.
Business Arising From Minutes No new business arose from the minutes of the last meeting.
Rally Point System There are two websites with information on the new rally point system: Badminton Canada at http://badminton.ca/eng/inside/thelaws.shtml, and the International Badminton Federation at http://www.internationalbadminton.org/newrallypointsystem.asp. It was suggested that Sport North should send out a fax to all schools with information on the new rally point system, and there are also some other rule changes that people should be made aware of too.
Sport North Representative Rob Meckling gave an update from Sport North. They will be very busy over the next couple of years, with the Western Canada Summer Games in 2007, the Canada Winter Games in 2007, and the Arctic Winter Games in 2008. Sport North is organizing the duties for people for all of these games. The bagged lunch sessions have begun for the purpose of providing information on the grant application process. There are still some technical glitches with the online funding service, especially with regard to the accountability data entry. They are working to resolve these problems. Rob gave a reminder to include additional events that were not applied for in order to get bonus points in case bonus funding is available. Rob noted that badminton has some good aggressive goals. Badminton is very popular at the school level, and Rob suggested that this presents an opportunity to work closer with the schools to try to include badminton as a major sport in the schools, having major events. Excel funding will be sent out 18th September so that sports can finalize their high performance planning. Badminton scored 4 out of 4 points on the Excel application this year. For the high performance athletes participating in the Canada Winter Games, the facilities in Whitehorse are ready. For these games in the future, there will be changes made to the athlete pools and coach certification. A new tool which will be used to develop the next generation athletes is the LTAD model—the Long Term Athlete Development Model. There is a plan to provide resource teams to help the TSO’s develop athletes to a high performance level. The resource teams would provide information and do testing. They would also travel to the communities to train new resource teams so that there will be local resources in the communities for developing athletes. Concern was raised over the time it takes for Excel funding applications to be approved, as it is difficult to plan our Excel program when the funding is not received until after the season begins. It was recommended that badminton should advise at the Presidents’ Council that the Leadership Committee look over different models for dealing with the high performance funding. The newly-purchased Cooper Building will be occupied by Sport North, the Sport and Recreation Committe, and MACA. Sport North is planning to move in the spring or early summer. There is a concern that with all three groups moving in, there will not be very much room left over. There is hope that some space will be made available for the use of the TSO’s. DPW is developing the floor plan for the new building.
NAIG We have in the past offered help with these games, but we have never been taken up on our offer. It is a concern that they do not consult with any of the TSO’s enough, even though all of the TSO’s should be involved. Badminton has always done well at these games, including the kids and the adults, and we won a number of medals at the most recent games held in Colorado. Team NWT went to NAIG in Colorado, even though the Aboriginal Sport Circle of the Western Arctic did not endorse these games. However, they are fully endorsing the next games in 2008 which will take place in Canada. It was suggested that support for these games should be on an individual basis due to the controversial selection process used, which does not follow an official policy. ASCWA now has a website and will start posting NAIG information in October. The next NAIG will be held in Cowichan Lake, BC in 2007. NAIG is a huge event, with thousands of participants.
2007 Canada Winter Games Ron has been in Whitehorse as the Badminton Technical Representative. He noted that transportation is going to be good. Badminton will be using one of the field houses, and we have brought in eight green tech floors. The only concern is an air flow problem in the facility, but Ron will be there ahead of time to make sure this problem is fixed. Other facility problems which have been addressed are the lighting and windows. It should take the kids a day to get used to the conditions, so their practice time will be important. Otherwise the facility is great, especially for the spectators, and they are working on a computer system to make it live to the internet. The games will be played using the new rally point system. The team will consist of five girls and five boys, who will be chosen at a selection camp happening in November. Laurell Graf will be the coach, and JJ Hirst will be the Manager. JJ has sent out a training plan for all the athletes who will be trying out in November. Psychological training has begun this year for the high performance athletes.
Member Reports Jim reported for the Yellowknife badminton club. The junior club was very healthy last year, thanks to Laurell Graf and Nicole Chatel. The adult club was not as strong. Rental fees have finally peaked, but they still will be paying about $9000 for gym rental in the upcoming season. They will continue to try to get lower gym fees. Laurell and Nicole will not be running the junior club next year, so we will need someone to run the junior club. The junior players are very young now, so there may be a lot of talent coming in the future. An extra night has been added to the adult club time as an introductory type of session, for those who want more instruction.
Kelly in Hay River reported that sponsorship for Hay River badminton is expected from the Elks. They may have to start paying for gym time in the future, which could have a huge impact on their club. December 8th to 10th will be the date for the Territorial High School Championship.
President’s Report Please see attached report by Jim. Jim added that acquiring a full executive continues to be a challenge. Badminton Canada has been slow in sending their promised funding for the Sport Development Program. We have just received last year’s money, but do not yet have our third year funding. We have been accepted for the 2011 Western Canada Games.
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report Please see attached report by Theresa. Theresa added that we should not have to return any money to Sport North for our funding this year. It was suggested that all accountability/application issues should be sent to the leadership committee instead of only the Sport North staff. We are unsure of the best way to provide financial assistance for the high performance athletes, as we want to take the burden off the parents, but costs can become very high. It was suggested that we should estimate the cost for an event before it happens, and then allocate the funds in the budget accordingly. We will have a more definite budget for Excel once the funds are received from Sport North.
Vice-President, Coaches Development Report Jacqueline Cupples filled this position for part of the year. Very little happened in this area last year, and it is very important for more coaching development to happen this next year.
Vice-President, Officials Development Report Please see attached report by Ron Graf. Ron added that there has not been much success in finding new officials. Any advice is welcome as Ron is planning to leave this position next year.
Vice-President, Player Development Report Please see attached report by Kevin O’Keefe.
Vice-President, Competition Report Jim reported for this position, saying that a schedule of competitions was put out at the beginning of last season.
Sport Development Officer Report Jim reported for the Sport Development Officer. The past year was very successful, with congratulations going to Cathy MacAskill, our former SDO who has recently left the North. Cathy was especially strong in the area of player development, holding many clinics. In order to increase fundraising, it was suggested again that a badminton circuit could be created, which would have a program containing advertising.
Finding a New Sport Development Officer – Any Ideas? It was suggested that something could be put on the Sport North website. Sport Canada also has an intern coaching fund, which could possibly be combined with the SDO funding.
Recruiting Volunteers – Developing Coaches Recruiting volunteers continues to be a challenge, especially volunteer coaches. We have been making good steps in finding volunteers for specific jobs, instead of asking people to take on a bigger more generalized role. It was suggested that we could combine the executive postions of Vice-President, Coaches Development with Vice-President, Player Development into one position.
Selection of Coaches for Western Canada Summer Games There has been no response yet, and so there is not yet a coach and the WCSG is less than a year away. There is only one person in the NWT who is qualified to be coach, as a Level Three, but she is unable to fill this role. We can try asking for an exemption and use a Level Two coach, or else hire a coach from the south, which may be an expensive option.
2008 AWG Harmeet Jagpal is the Chair for badminton, and Claire Singer is the Vice-Chair. Therefore, planning has begun and the next step will be to create a work plan. The facility for badminton will be the Sir John Franklin High School gym.
Long and Short Term Planning A concern with planning is how to increase membership. There are a lot of people playing but we need to improve communication. Ron suggested some minor changes to the long-term plan for officials. Hay River would like training for coaches this year. It may be a good idea to get a coach from the south, such as Calvin Holoboff, to conduct this training.
Online Accountabilities and 2006/2007 Workplan The accountability/application to Sport North for funding will be due October 1st. Data entry for the accountability was more frustrating this year than last year due to technical difficulties. However, most of the accountability is finished for last year, and Jim and Theresa will finish the application. Kelly and Ron will enter some of the final accountabilities. It was noted that an official is usually sent down to Hay River for the High School Championships. Ron will look into whether that will be possible this year.
Election of Officers for Ensuing Year By acclamation, the following individuals will form the Executive:
§ President Jim Umpherson § Secretary-Treasurer Theresa Fehrmann § Vice President, Officials Development Ron Graf § Past President Michael Muller
The following positions are vacant:
§ Vice President, Player Development § Vice President, Coaches Development § Vice President, Competition
New Business There was an inquiry as to the feedback received on all the equipment that had been sent to all the schools last year. There was very little feedback, but it was all was positive. It was noted that the Yellowknife High School Championships are being held the weekend before the Territorial High School Championships in Hay River. The Territorial Championships will be held 9th to 11th March. Information on all championships and clinics planned for the year will be distributed.
MOVED by Ron to adjourn the meeting. CARRIED. |