2009 AGM Report
2 July 2009
The 2009 FHC Annual General Meeting was held at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Ottawa, Ontario from June 12 – 14. Below is a summary of the AGM report. Please click the link below to view the entire document
Your Board of Directors and Provincial Partners met in Ottawa for the Annual General Meeting this past weekend. New Brunswick and Newfoundland were the only Provinces absent and it was particularly gratifying to have Quebec at the table once again.
Eighteen hours of very productive discussions over 2½ days produced a number of developments. Here is a summary:
FHC Funding
Finding adequate funding for programs and both men’s and women’s National Teams continues to be FHC’s greatest challenge. With consideration that present Sport Canada funding is unlikely to change and is totally inadequate to fulfill the requirements of viable future sport model, a Revenue Generating committee was formed a few month’s ago. To date, we only have 3 volunteers (plus 2 Board members) on this committee and more help is needed – if this is your area of expertise or you know someone who might be able to help, we would love to hear from you.
The MapleLeafClub proposal is now under way, launched by the women’s National Team, to raise direct dollars for their program. The men’s National Team will start their parallel MapleLeafClub very shortly.
National (Junior) Development
The most significant initiative is a proposed active partnership between FHC and our Provincial Sport Organizations. The proposal will see establishment of a team of experts, under the guidance of our National Coaches, to coordinate planning and training of younger athletes into future National Teams. Finding alternative funding streams must also necessarily be part of this task. Whilst most of this pathway will be dictated by our LTAD model, how each province prepares its athletes may vary, hence the importance of their inclusion in the proposal.
2009-2012 Strategic Planning
A determination at the 2008 AGM was the vital importance of a strategic future plan for 2009-to-2012. Board members met with National Coaches and a facilitator last October to start this process and the result is now finalized in the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan (on the website). It is divided into 4 areas: Governance, Technical, National Championships and National Teams.
Governance: that organizational area we all love to hate, is always on-going. With all Board positions filled, there were no elections this year, but 2010 will see 3 Board positions up for re-election and/or nomination.
Technical: we have a number of sub-committees very much hard at work in the areas of FunStix (grass roots development), LTAD, new NCCP – Introduction to Competition Development, Competition development, Officiating, Competitive structure, Athletes With A Disability. You may think that some of these are surplus to requirements but they are mostly mandated by Sport Canada, i.e., we do not have the luxury to opt out.
National Championships: our present Committee of 3 is being expanded to 6 or 7. There are currently 2 National Championships: Seniors in Calgary July 21-27 and Under-16 in Toronto, July 30 – 3 August. You can find pages on the web site for both these Championships.
National Teams: The Canadian Men’s team is finalizing its 4-year plan toward the 2012 Olympics, with an invaluable core of experts working to achieve this goal. The Women’s team and their Coach, although perhaps a less experienced squad, is finalizing its support team and future plan. In response to a motion from the Provinces, the Board will maintain an updated website version of this Strategic Plan, in addition to a 3-year forward budget.
CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport)
Whilst this is more of a PSO responsibility than FHC, some financial support has been given to CIS field hockey over the last 3 years by FHC. Where Alberta may be losing one of its CIS teams, there is also news of other CIS schools re-commencing in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. PSO’s have agreed to examine the support role they can offer CIS and strengthen this valuable university program and the underlying backing it gives to community field hockey.
Board and Staffing
Several of you will be aware that Suzzanne Nicholson is retiring at the end of September, after some 27 years with FHC. A cocktail reception, well attended by everyone at the AGM as well as numerous friends of Suzzanne’s, was held after our meetings on Saturday evening, to attempt to say a small “thank you” to Suzzanne for her amazing dedication over the years, since not many may appreciate the (perhaps) years of unpaid hours she has given to field hockey, both within her job as well as
outside of it.
To chart the best way forward from September, FHC has contracted an HR & Management consulting firm to research and report back to FHC by mid-July. Board and PSO members present at the AGM were interviewed independently by this firm, in order to achieve an across-country assessment of what is needed for our organization to turn a new leaf.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Board.
