Contents SSC President Report

Contents SSC President Report...... 2 Report of the Chief Executive Officer ...... 5 Marketing Report...... 8 Committee Reports ...... 13 High Performance Committee - Short Track...... 13 High Performance Committee – Long Track...... 19 Competition Development Committee...... 23 Official’s Development Committee Report ...... 27 Addendum to Officials Development Committee Report to Speed Skating Canada Board of Directors...... 31 Coaching Development Committee...... 33 Club and Membership Development Committee...... 40 Branch Reports ...... 44 Alberta Amateur Speed Skating Association ...... 45 British Columbia Speed Skating Association ...... 48 Manitoba Speed Skating Association ...... 50 Speed Skate New Brunswick ...... 53 Newfoundland Speed Skating Association ...... 55 Northwest Territories Amateur Speed Skating Association ...... 57 Northwest Territories Amateur Speed Skating Association ...... 57 Speed Skate Nova Scotia...... 60 Speed Skating Nunavut ...... 62 Ontario Speed Skating Association ...... 64 Not submitted...... 64 Speed Skate PEI ...... 65 Fédération de patinage de vitesse du Québec...... 68 Saskatchewan Amateur Speed Skating Association Report...... 69 Yukon Amateur Speed Skating Association...... 71 Organizing Committee Calgary Report...... 72 1

SSC President Report

I am pleased to present the 2012-2013 Board of Directors’ Report. As is the case in each and every year, this reporting exercise is an opportunity for me to take stock of our activities and, at the same time, it requires me to take a look at what we have accomplished. Having had the opportunity to speak with you and to continually share with you our concerns as well as our thought process and work progress, I am confident that you will not in the least be surprised by the topics we have covered, but like me, you will say: "what a busy year" and "how time flies"! You will recall that, upon departing last June, we were without an executive director. The national office’s management team, to whom I would like to once again express a heart- felt thank you, was tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the SSC ran smoothly, with support provided on a casual basis by the Board of Directors. In August, our search for a new executive director culminated in the hiring of whom we believe to be best suited to lead our sport, guide our destiny and get our financial house in order. Our new executive director began his term in October and subsequently needed to take leave for medical reasons. To say the beginning of the year was easy would be lying to you! Now that everything or almost everything has returned to normal, the 2012-2013 season has come to an end, we have collectively conducted a thorough and comprehensive review of our organization, clearly identified our strengths and challenges, openly and courageously discussed (and revisited!) our budget and required cuts and changes, established short, medium and long-term priorities, resolved a few crisis and emergencies: I can honestly say that we have worked methodically and thoroughly in getting the job done. And I am not upset that the year is over. I am of the firm belief that each topic, each issue, each action taken and each question asked will have made us more focussed on our mission, led us to experience the values we embrace and enabled us to achieve self-improvement. Our concerns have been abundant and varied and have dealt with, among other things, the following topics that I will share with you:

• Integrating and assisting our new executive director in his duties and within the organization and network;

• Budgeting for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, providing budget follow-up, establishing rules regarding financial reserves and preparing a budget that will remain in the black for the 2013-2014 fiscal year;

• Our financial situation and funding for our sport, maintaining existing sponsorships and seeking new ones, reducing expenditures and analyzing our approaches to expenditure reduction;

• The status of our internal and external relations and improving communications with our members, the provinces, our committees, our partners, our funders, the International Federation (ISU), etc.; • Sport safety and how changes and improvements could possibly impact clubs, provinces and skaters;

• Governance: new Canadian legislation governing non-profit organizations that we must abide by and the opportunity afforded us to reflect on the structure that we believe to be the most relevant and the most efficient, on the future we envision for our sport, on what we wish to become and on the statutes and rules that we need to review and amend.;

• Pursuing the implementation of an athlete development model at all levels of our organization;

• SSC’s optimal preparedness and its obligations in anticipation of the 2014 Olympics and the next Olympic cycles for all those involved, especially athletes;

• The significance of replacement planning, both staff-wide and at the board and committee level;

• Setting up new committees to assist the Board of Directors in their duties; • SSC’s status on the world stage and planning international events. The Annual Report also affords me great pleasure to pay tribute to the people who shape our discipline, represent us with honour and inspire us to do better and to do more. I would first like to point out the outstanding cooperation and support we have received from the provinces and all of our committees: your understanding, enthusiasm and creativity are not only exceptional values but also values that inspire and guide us. Secondly, I would like to thank the organizing committees and the volunteers who are assigned to local, provincial, national and international competitions that we staged on Canadian soil in 2012-2013: the time and care you have invested have enabled the many talents to blossom and everyone to excel in a safe and respectful environment. Thirdly, I would like to express my admiration and affection for our athletes, small and big alike, who each day experience the thrill of personal achievement, the value of work and the pursuit of their dreams. You are our reason for being and our greatest source of motivation. I would also like to highlight a few of the athletic feats this year and thank all those from near and far who contributed to these results: clubs and coaches, parents and officials, employees and teams, training partners and supporters.

On the international scene, the men’s short track team became world champions in the relay race for the third year in a row. In six World Cups, Charles Hamelin was crowned season champion in the 500-metre race. The team also earned six gold medals, 15 silver medals and 12 bronze medals. World records were also set by the men’s relay team and Valérie Maltais (1000 m). In long track, Christine Nesbitt won the bronze medal in the 1500 m race at the World Championships. On the World Cup circuit, our skaters captured six gold medals, eight silver medals and four bronze medals. It seems appropriate and necessary for me to express our gratitude to our major sponsor, Intact, whose contribution allows us to carry out many projects, provide better training to our athletes, raise the profile of our sport and provide solid support to our clubs. I would especially like to thank Intact for their confidence and strong presence at SSC events. The solid support Intact so generously provides to us year after year is most stimulating and invaluable. SSC also enjoys valuable partnerships and affiliations: Sport Canada, OTP, COC, CCES all join forces to support us in organizing speed skating in Canada, thus supporting the development of thousands of youth who, let’s hope, will remain athletes for life and some of whom will represent Canada on the international stage. Our structures and funding, although always below our ambitions and targets, also enable us to support and develop quality volunteers and officials. Mindful of the importance of individuals who assume these duties, we can say with pride that Canada is the envy of many countries in this area. Thanks to everyone for contributing to our progress and achievements. In conclusion, I would like to thank Ian and the entire SSC staff for the work they accomplished last season and tip my hat to the passion that drives them. Despite the obstacles and challenges that lay ahead, we find these individuals to be strong, positive and always motivated. I would also like to thank the Board of Directors for their hard work, their availability and unconditional support. 2012-2013 has been a busy, at times difficult, season; but thanks to the commitment, seriousness and positive attitude of everyone involved, we have always believed that we could address emerging challenges and wanted to succeed together.

I look forward with great pleasure to meeting you in Ottawa for the 126th Annual General Assembly, where we will further our discussions, the work we have undertaken and the development of our sport. After all, we are strongest when we stand together!

Marie-Claire Rouleau

President

Report of the Chief Executive Officer

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of Speed Skating Canada for the warm welcome and understanding that I received upon assuming the CEO role; as most of you know, my initial transition into this post from the Canadian Olympic Committee (Nov 2013) was sidetracked for a few months due to a slight medical challenge. Certainly not the way I wanted to start in the role but at least that is now behind me and I have assumed my full leadership responsibilities at the SSC office since returning to work full time in January 2013.

My initial experience in this organisation has been a very positive one – the quality of people engaged in Speed Skating is second to none, and the opportunities available to us collectively are far greater than many sports experience. Likewise, with opportunity comes expectation of programming and development toward the greater good – something that this membership, in particular, values highly. The SSC Board and national staff understand that responsibility and, I can assure you, continue to look at ways that grow the sport for all. My role is not only to provide leadership in tackling the challenges we face, but to also bring other perspectives and opportunities to the table – bringing new ideas to SSC based on my twenty plus years of sport management and leadership experience.

Like all NSO’s, Speed Skating Canada faces many operational and financial challenges as it delivers a national high performance and sport development system. In my time with SSC, I have already seen the internal struggle – the budget deficit “cloud” and the resulting adjustments to operational programming that have been required; the challenge of finding new revenue through sponsorship and other means; the concern around padding safety, cost and the survival of many clubs; the high expectations for success from the high performance programme and the need to provide appropriate support to achieve that success; the need to adjust association governance to meet new government standards; and the list goes on. As we know, we must deal with these matters in a logical and systematic fashion – they can and will be solved through open dialogue and the common commitment of all of us toward the greater good of the sport. If there is one thing that I have noted in my short time with you, it is your absolute willingness to tackle challenges head on and with an eye to resolution that is of mutual benefit – I can tell you that this “asset” is invaluable and not necessarily present in many other NSO’s – “we” have the collective will to work together through challenging times – that is the mark of a truly “best in class” organisation.

With that in mind, I bring to the organisation a similar attitude. While not having a Speed Skating background (I was a middle distance runner, so some similarities), I bring a logical “can do” approach to the sport – one that is built on a systematic, realistic and persistent approach to problems and opportunities, with an outlook that has been built from

being “in the trenches” throughout my career. I will always remain focused on the basic building blocks of strong association management – good planning, a healthy financial outlook and control, strong staff and volunteer management, strong support for Board and volunteer committee leadership and, as importantly, regular and quality dialogue with the membership.

To date, working with the Board and national staff, I have provided operational leadership in the following areas for SSC:

• Implemented a consistent system of internal financial controls and reporting, including monthly forecasting and dialogue with the Board; • Worked with the Board to develop and approve a 13/14 Annual budget (prior to the start of the fiscal year) based upon two key components; a “break even” or surplus scenario, and built upon “known” revenues and expenses. • Instigated a consistent staff communication and meeting protocol (monthly staff meetings) and have begun to lead a bi-monthly conference call between Branch staff and SSC staff. • Worked closely with SSC’s national committees to ensure that they are clear in their mandate and their budgets going forward; in particular, have worked closely with Mike Rivet and the Coaching Development Committee to re-engage them in management of core programming that is the purview of the committee. • With key office staff, have developed strong relationships with our key operating partners and volunteer committee chairs at the Calgary Oval and the Maurice Richard Arena – both will be hosting major ISU competitions in this fiscal year, so our relationship with them needs to be close and positive. • With the Board, have worked on developing relationships with Branch Presidents and staff – this initiative will broaden as I have the opportunity to travel in 13/14. • Have re-worked our programming funding priorities to focus on appropriate service to our Branches and clubs – again, this will develop further in the 13/14 year. • Have initiated a sponsorship and fundraising strategy (with the help of key staff) that will position SSC in the marketplace to take advantage of the Olympic “effect”. • Have begun to work closely with the high performance programme to ensure that they are well funded and structured to meet our collective performance objectives and our athlete programming expectations.

The Olympic year is practically on us now – it is the most exciting year of each quadrennial and presents as many challenges as rewards. I am certainly familiar with the Olympic build-up and feel that I can bring the leadership to the organisation to ensure not only Olympic success but also success and accountability on our domestic and management fronts. While our daily focus (in the office) might currently be on our Olympic preparation needs, I certainly know that we need to create the building blocks

for the next quadrennial now – through the finalisation of our quadrennial plan and through our engagement with Branches toward our common goals.

Finally, I want to say how thrilled I am with the quality of the Board, and the support that Marie-Claire and the Board have provided to me in these early days. As well, I can assure you that I intend to build a national staff “team” that are fully engaged and committed to our association, and understand the nuances around staff and volunteer leadership and management – I do want to take this opportunity to thank the staff for their strong commitment over the last year as the SSC leadership has changed. I want to congratulate Douglas Duncan, Marie-Pier Charest and Phil Legault on their new posts, and I look forward to introducing new national office staff to you in the very near future.

Sincerely,

Ian Moss

Marketing Report

The Marketing Department has been busy over the past couple months but now is in the planning and implementation phase to ensure that we will be prepared to maximise our opportunities over the Olympic year.

Achievements 2012/2013:

• Intact Day on Skates – SSC and Intact Insurance held 3 Intact Insurance Day on Skates in February, in Montreal, Edmonton and Halifax. • Improved sponsor relationships – Focus has been on increasing our relationships and working closely with our existing sponsors to ensure we maintain these to an unprecedented level which has to date been very successful. • Increased reporting and communication processes from marketing department internally as well to 3rd parties including sponsors. • Development of strategic plans for fundraising initiatives as well as increased focus on planning to ensure consistent and thought-out plans are implemented going forward. • Successful Activation – We had a strong showing with Intact Insurance at the World Cup in Calgary in January whereby an additional 200 people per day were provided an opportunity to attend the event due to Intact Insurance. This also generated extra income to the event. • Signing of Sport Navigator (Long Track) and one other significant sponsor (Short Track) to increase brand awareness of Speed Skating Canada. Both contracts are signed (or will be signed) until July 2014. A couple other potential sponsorship opportunities are in the pipeline but very preliminary at the present time.

Current Projects:

1. Sponsorship Package and Sponsorship Identification a. Revamped and redeveloped sponsorship presentation package was completed in mid-May 2013 to allow for fast and easy presentation creation to sponsors. In order to create the package, a thorough SSC assets review was undertaken to identify potential sellable assets. b. Intern was utilized in April 2013 to develop extensive list of companies who might be potential sponsors. Through the analysis of 270 companies from Canada and internationally, a list of 10 companies matching SSC

values and goals were identified and will be approached over the coming few months.

2. Sponsor Reporting and KPI a. Continue to meet and discuss regularly with all sponsors surrounding their expectations and relationship with Speed Skating Canada. Met with Auclair (April), Intact (April and May), USANA (March and May) to discuss 2013/2014 activation with a focus on providing extra Return on Investment (ROI) for no additional cost to SSC. b. Continue to work directly with all sponsors to outline Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for 2013/2014. c. Annual Report for all sponsors has been completed and is currently under review internally. Will be provided to all sponsors during the first week of June 2013. During the 2012/2013 season, we provided an approximate ROI for all sponsors ranging between 200-350%, very reasonable and positive figures. This report is a new value adding feature we are offering to all sponsors (Intact was the only sponsor to receive it in the past)

3. Fundraising Strategy a. We have developed a Fundraising Strategic plan for the 2013/2014 season focussed on 3 key tasks: i. Development of Fundraising Champions ii. Development of SSC Foundation iii. Development of SSC Online Store b. Sara Christine Perron (Intern from the University of Ottawa – Masters of Sport Management program) has been assigned to manage and launch the SSC Online Store with a current expected launch date of August 1st 2013. At the present time, over 15 items will be available to purchase by the general public with further information communicated to the membership in July 2013. c. Ian Moss is managing the initial set-up of the SSC Foundation using historical information/documentation from Badminton Canada’s successful foundation establishment. Focus on developing vision around the Foundation and creating the Foundation will be key objectives during the lead-up to the following season.

4. Social Media Strategy a. In conjunction with Google, currently re-aligning all social media properties (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, YouTube, Instagram) to ensure consistent look/feel and approach.

b. Developing a social media strategy with focus on activation and engagement of our “followers” pre/during and post Sochi 2014 with focus on completion by August 31st 2013. External consulting might be required to ensure this is accomplished successfully as a successful social media approach will allow us to boost membership substantially in longer term.

Other Notes:

• 2 students from the University of Ottawa – Masters of Sports Management program began at the SSC office on May 14th 2013. Lisa Pagliarello and Sara Christine Perron have both been great assets in their short time with SSC. Lisa is focussed on redeveloping the Event Handbook for the Competitions Committee as well as Club and Membership while Sara Christine is focussing on the Online Store and AGM. They will continue to provide ad-hoc support to marketing initiatives while also assisting at the Short Track Olympic Selections.

Current Sponsor Updates:

1. Intact Insurance: Ian and Pier continue to meet regularly in person with Intact Insurance. Meetings took place on April 8th, late April, and May 31st for planning for the 2013/2014 season. Many topics are continued to be discussed including COC Olympic Selections in August to very positive rapport from Intact Insurance. a. Activation: The focus of Intact’s 2013/2014 activation has been determined with a focus on high performance athletes and Olympic window activation, specifically; they would like to do the following for 2013/2014: i. Olympic Selections Activation (Short Track and Long Track) – August/December 2013 ii. Olympic Send-Off Parties (Montreal and Calgary) – Early 2014 iii. Post-Olympic – Athlete Celebration Tour – March 2014 iv. World Championships 2015 b. Intact Day on Skates: This will not be offered by Intact Insurance in 2013/2014 due to their focus on the Olympics, as well as the program not meeting their direct goals over the past 12 months. A smaller

scale club-run event is currently being investigated by SSC and has support of Club and Membership – further information will be provided to membership by end of June 2013. c. Podium Tracker: Significant change to the club selection process and payment method will be undertaken to increase the involvement and support from the SSC membership. This is a great program which needs to be refined to maximize the usage of the funds by the clubs for development of speed skating and increased profile for Intact. Focus is on being able to nominate Intact Insurance for a CMCC award in 2014.

2. USANA: Pier met with USANA in person at the Canadian Age Class Championships in March 2013 to discuss the current sponsorship arrangement and continue to discuss with them on a regular basis. USANA is very happy with the existing arrangement and want to continue it for the long term. In discussion for the 2013/2014 season, the following points were discussed: a. Increasing the activation from USANA at our events to showcase the relationship – focus on World Cups, and World Championships. We should see more USANA dealers at our events in the future. b. Potentially creating a reward program for our athletes based on their results – to be discussed further over upcoming few months. c. USANA to assign dedicated individual responsible for developing relationship.

3. Auclair: Pier met with Auclair at their office on April 3rd 2013. While the relationship has been rocky in the past due to the lack of exclusivity in their arrangement, this has now been rectified with the production of a new world class short track glove. Auclair remains very keen to be involved with SSC over the long term and already have discussed renewing the agreement for the future. The following items were discussed: a. New Glove – a new short track specific glove will be available for all athletes by July 2013. There are currently enough prototypes for all athletes to wear and these have been distributed to them. A new order will be placed by June 10th 2013 providing all National and Development team athletes (ST and LT) with a racing glove(s) and an outdoor/casual glove b. Team Spirit Award – want to introduce a “Team Spirit” award with financial remuneration to our athletes starting in 2014. This remains to be discussed

4. Apogee: Mark Mathies has had the majority of communication with Apogee due to need to have consistent high performance information provided to him. From all observations, the relationship is healthy and continues to provide value to both parties.

5. Sport Navigator: They remain very happy with the arrangement and as such we have renewed for the 2013/2014 season due to minimal servicing required and opportunity to link with KIA Canada, G4S Canada directly for additional sponsorship.

Committee Reports

High Performance Committee - Short Track

I ACTIVITY REPORT

For the 2012-2013 season, the High Performance Committee Short Track (the “HPCST”) consisted of the following members:

Elected members: Andrew Lahey, Chair

Annie Perreault

Tom Overend (currently on leave from HPCST)

Athlete reps: Liam Mcfarlane, Montréal

Valérie Maltais, Montréal

Gabrielle Waddell, Calgary

Coaches: Derrick Campbell (National Program Coach – Men, Montréal)

Frédéric Blackburn (National Program Coach – Women, Montréal)

Laurent Daignault (National Program Coach – Men, Montréal)

Jeffery Scholten (National Program Coach – Women, Montréal)

Jonathan Cavar (National Program Coach, Calgary)

SSC Staff: Yves Hamelin, Short Track Program Director

Mark Mathies, SSC Executive Director, Sport

Jennifer Cottin, Short Track Program Coordinator

To begin the 2012-2013 season, and to evaluate the performances of the program over the previous twelve months, the HPCST held its first annual in-person meetings in Spring 2012. Subsequent to the annual review, the HPCST held numerous conference calls throughout the Summer, Fall and Winter months to implement, oversee and evaluate various components of the program throughout the season. These conference calls have occurred roughly on a monthly basis or twice a month, and as the season progressed, much more frequently (on an as needed basis). Electronic communications between the elected members and SSC staff occurred roughly on a weekly basis, and more frequently when required. The consistent and frequent level of communication has allowed the program to be proactive in its decision-making, which has helped ensure that the high performance program continues to meet the many demands which it is faced with throughout the season. The HPCST most recently held its annual in-person meetings for the review of the 2012-2013 season on April 26-28, 2013.

The athlete representatives have provided much-valued input to the discussions of the HPCST, and we once again thank Liam, Valérie and Gabrielle for taking the time out of their busy training schedules to help represent the skaters at the HPCST level again this year. We also recognize and appreciate the excellent work and contribution of Yves Hamelin as the Program Director and staff lead for the HPCST, Mark Mathies in providing his unparalleled guidance and counsel as Executive Director, Sport, and Jennifer Cottin in providing much- valued administrative support as the Program Coordinator.

We thank the meet coordinators, organizing committees and officials who collaborated so well to conduct the two Fall World Cups in Calgary and Montréal, as well as our national selection events in Calgary, Toronto and Montréal. We appreciate their essential contributions to the high performance program. We truly believe that Speed Skating Canada’s short track program is recognized as a world leader, not only because of athlete performances, but because the way in which our officials, coordinators and staff provide their unmatched services while remaining committed to excellence.

The HPCST released HP Bulletin #154 (August 2012), HP Bulletin #155 (October 2012), HP Bulletin #156 (December 2012), and HP Bulletin #157 (February 2013) this season. Although the drafting of these documents is an extremely time intensive process, the HPCST remains committed to ensuring that the HP Bulletins are released in a timely manner, and to make certain that all athletes, coaches and officials are aware of all policies and decisions of the HPCST.

In terms of the 2014 Olympic selections, the HPCST completed the drafting of the selection policy document in late February/early March, and has met the initial requirements set forth by the Canadian Olympic Committee. The document is currently in its final stages of translation, and is being finalized for distribution. Special mention must go out to Yves Hamelin, Mark Mathies and Jennifer Cottin, along with the other members of the HPCST, for the tremendous effort that they have put in to the drafting of this document over the past year. Speed Skating Canada remains at the forefront of the amateur sporting landscape in Canada, and this is due in large part because of the efforts of the incredible SSC staff, and their diligent approach to Olympic planning and the development of Olympic selection policies. I can say without hesitation that the detailed policies which have been constructed will become the benchmark for other sports in this country.

Moving forward, planning for the 2014 Olympic selections will continue to be a focus of the program through the Spring and Summer. Planning in this area formed a large component of the annual in-person review meetings which took place in Bromont, Quebec on April 26-28, 2013.

II COMMITTEE DECISIONS

The following highlights some of the decisions of the HPCST this year, as it relates to committee composition:

Andrew Lahey was nominated and re-elected as Chair of the HPCST

Annie Perreault was nominated and elected as an Elected HPCST member

Isabelle Charest was nominated and elected as an Elected HPCST member on an interim basis while Tom Overend continued his leave of absence from the committee for personal reasons

Committee representation at national selection events for 2012-13:

Fall World Cup Selections, Calgary, Andrew Lahey

Canadian Junior Championships, Toronto, Andrew Lahey

Canadian Open Championships, Montréal, Annie Perrault

Final National Team Selections, Montréal, Andrew Lahey

As previously stated, the administration of bye requests for team selections was reviewed during the 2011-2012 season, and the HPCST re-structured the process, as first outlined in High Performance Bulletin #152, based on the input it received from athletes, coaches, elected Committee members and staff. As per the High Performance Bulletin, the newly amended process by which Senior athletes were compared for the purposes of the bye applications was through the stipulated bye point system. Under this new system, the HPCST assigned bye points on the basis of competition results from the previous 12 months. If the athlete requesting a bye had at least 5 more points than the athletes in the ranking list, from which he/she was being compared, that athlete had their bye request granted by the HPCST. The aforementioned changes to the bye request procedures continue to be seen by the majority as a very positive progression in the decision-making structure of the high performance program, as the HPCST continued to utilize the bye point system for the 2012- 2013 season for Senior team selections. The new procedure is based entirely on a points system, and all discretion has since been removed from the bye request process for Senior team selections. While all components of our selection policies and procedures will be reviewed at our annual in-person meetings later this month, the HPCST is confident that the bye point system has been a very positive addition to the program, and will be utilized for many seasons to come.

III RESULTS AND COMPETITIONS

The Canadian team had a very successful 2012-2013 World Cup and World Championship season. Highlights of the international competitions are included below:

World Cup #1 took place in Calgary on October 19-21:

Canada collected five individual medals (four silver and one bronze) and a bronze in the men's relay.

World Cup #2 took place in Montreal on October 26-28:

Canada collected three individual gold medals, five silver and three bronze, as well a silver in the women's relay. The 12 total medals are the most in history for Canada at one World Cup.

World Cup #3 took place in Japan on November 30 - December 2:

Canada collected two individual medals (one silver and one bronze), both by Charles Hamelin.

World Cup #4 took place in China on December 7-9:

Canada won three individual medals (one gold and two bronze) and a bronze in the men's relay.

World Cup #5 took place in Russia on February 1-3:

Canada won three individual medals (two gold and one bronze) and a silver in the women's relay.

World Cup #6 took place in Germany on February 8-10:

Canada won four individual medals (two silver and two bronze) and a silver in the women's relay.

The World Junior Short Track Championships took place in Poland on February 22-24:

Canada did not collect any individual medals, but did collect a silver in the men’s relay. The top ranked Canadian athletes were Yoan Gauthier in 9th place overall on the men’s side, and Geneve Belanger in 10th place overall on the women’s side.

The World Short Track Championships took place in Hungary on March 8-10:

Canada won five individual medals (one silver and four bronze), as well as a gold in the men’s relay and silver in the women’s relay. The top ranked Canadian athletes were Charles Hamelin in 3rd place overall on the men’s side, and Marianne St-Gelais in 4th place overall on the women’s side. 17

IV SPECIAL MENTION

Special mention must go out to Tom Overend, for his years of volunteer service as elected member and long-time Chair of the HPCST. Tom has guided the committee through decades of national, international, and Olympic successes. His tireless effort, passion, and commitment to the sport in Canada are without question, unmatched. The HPCST, and the Canadian speed skating community in general cannot thank Tom enough for all of his years of dedication to the sport. Although Tom is stepping aside from his formal role on the HPCST, he will continue to remain an important figure in our community. We wish Tom and his family the very best.

Yours very truly,

Andrew Lahey

High Performance Committee Short Track, Chair

High Performance Committee – Long Track

1. Activity Report

The Committee consisted of the following members in 2012-2013.

Elected Members: Gregg Planert (elected 2011) - Chairman

Dennis Duggan (elected 2012) – Vice Chairman

Derrick Auch (elected 2010)

Coaching Members: Xiuli Wang, Mike Crowe, Bart Schouten, Mark Wild

Gregor Jelonek, Todd McClements

Skater Representatives: Muncef Ouardi, Jamie Gregg, Philippe Riopel

SSC Staff: Mark Mathies, Sean Ireland, Scott Stefani

The HPCLT held their Annual Review Meeting in April, 2013 in Calgary. A number of conference calls were held throughout the season to deal with World Cup and World Championships selections.

The third year of the Quadrennial emphasized the preparation for the upcoming Sochi Olympics. Dennis Duggan was re-elected in June at the AGM for another three year term. Derrick Auch is up for re-election at this year’s AGM.

Gregg Planert continued his role as Chairman and Dennis Duggan as Vice Chairman of the Committee.

The National Team for the past season consisted of skaters that competed in the 2012 World Single Distance Championships and finished in the top 16 in a distance. There were no significant retirements during this past season. A number of the newer skaters on the Team made an impact at the World Cup and World Championship level. These included

Kali Christ and Gilmore Junio. Many outstanding results were put in this year by Christine Nesbitt, Ivanie Blondin, Tyler Derraugh, Jamie Gregg and Jordan Belchos.

Other significant achievements are highlighted in Sean Ireland’s report. The Juniors that attended the Junior World Championships ran into a severe illness bug and it affected mostly all of the results that our team achieved. Kate Hanly and Vincent De Haitre had very good results despite being ill.

Our Spring meeting was once again split into two sections this year, with a Conference Call held first to discuss the qualified skaters for the 2013/2014 National and Development Teams.

The actual Spring meeting centred around a major review of this past season, the schedule for next season, proposed rule changes with the main focus being on the Olympic Games in Sochi.

Scheduling of the new season.

The Fall World Cup Trials will be held in mid October in Calgary. Details for this and all other events will be given during the AGM.

The Fall Trials will once again be the first ranking competition, followed by Canada Cup 1 in Quebec City, the combined Olympic Trials/Canadian Championships and Canada Cup 2 in Calgary, the Canadian Junior Championships/Canada Cup 3 in Saskatoon and Canada Cup 4 in Calgary.

The HPC decided to withdraw the North American Championships from the ranking points competition series this year. The North Americans will be run simultaneously with the Regional Qualifier for the World All Round Championships in mid January in Calgary.

Junior events

This season the Junior World Cup Regional events have not been scheduled as of this date by the ISU. We have proposed to run the Canadian one in Quebec City with Canada Cup 1. The Junior Canadian Championships will be held in Saskatoon in late January where the Junior World Team will be selected. The Junior Worlds this year will be in Bjugn, Norway in 20

early March. We are currently planning to participate in both of the Regional Junior World Cups in North America and then attend the Junior World Championships.

Selection events

Selections for the Fall World Cups will be held in mid October in Calgary. The Olympic Team, the Winter World Cup Teams and World Championships Teams will be selected at the Canadian Championships/Olympic Trials also held in Calgary in late December and early January.

Competition Quotas for the 2013/2014 season must be confirmed by the ISU.

World Sprint Championships – Nagano, Japan - January

World All Round Championships – Heerenveen, Netherlands - March

World Single Distance Championships – Not held in Olympic year

World Junior Championships – Bjugn, Norway

Olympic Winter Games – Sochi, Russia

Regional Qualifier for World All Round Championships – Calgary

Summary

The HPCLT continues to work to ensure that we have the best skaters competing in the Olympics this year. There have been major discussions regarding the Olympic Trials format and the actual racing dates.Racing rules for the Trials have already been submitted by Sean and Mark to the Canadian Olympic Committee.

This past season was not as good as everyone would have liked it to be and all are training hard to make the Sochi Olympics the best ever for Canada. The Coaches and Skaters continue to work hard and I know they appreciate all of the support they receive from the Board of Directors and the General Membership.

More information will be available at the AGM in Ottawa. I look forward to seeing everyone there and answer any questions that anyone has on the High Performance Committee Long Track. I know Sean will be able to provide details on Sochi for everyone at that time.

I would like to thank the Skaters, Coaches, IST Staff, SSC Staff, the Board of Directors and Dennis and Derrick for their contributions this past season. We all look forward to this upcoming competition season culminating in the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Submitted by

Gregg Planert

Chairman, High Performance Committee Long Track

Competition Development Committee

Members:

Steve Harris – Maritimes (Vice Chair)

Robert Bourassa – Quebec

Sandra Chenard - Ontario/Nunavut (Chair)

Sharon Zorman – AB/SK/MN/NWT

Christina Acton - BC/Yukon

Domestic Competitions Supported by CDC

• Canada East (Halifax) / West (Canmore) were hosted by new organizing committees. (112 athletes participated in Halifax and 104 athletes participated in Canmore) The committees were very successful but required a great deal of support from our Technical Reps and SSC Staff member. Close communication with the hosts from early fall proved to be successful and we will continue the practice next year for all competitions where we appoints a Technical Rep. The new padding and medical requirements were a major concern.

• Canadian Age Class Long Track (Winnipeg) was hosted by an experienced Branch. (155 athletes participated). We saw an increase number of participants in this Hybrid competition. Again the CDC Technical Rep was in close contact. Manitoba was very concerned about the padding requirements and their potential to host competitions in the future.

• Canadian Age Class Short Track (Montreal) proved to be difficult because the competition was originally planned in conjunction with selection #2. (74 athletes participated plus 48 at Selections the weekend prior.). The HPST moved the Selection portion of the competition late in the year and this made for confusion and extra work for local organizers in Montreal. The Competition was successful thanks to local volunteers.

• Canadian Open Masters (Winnipeg) This competition has been very poorly attended for the last 3 years. This year we came close to canceling the event. In the end it was run along with the Manitoba Provincial Championship. Master skaters have reported that they: do not want to skate outside or in out of the way places so it is difficult to find a host. For 2013-14 we suggested that this event could be run along 23

with another event.

Competitions Concerns:

• The major changes to medical and padding requirements introduced by SIMEC at the AGM in June 2012 and adapted changes made in February continue to cause concern and confusion at the club and Branch level. Some of our clubs who have held successful competitions in the past are reporting that they may not host SSC events due to the high cost of padding and short supply of qualified medical personnel.

• Branches and clubs are also finding the padding document and medical documents difficult to understand. We must make this section of the Red Book easier to interpret.

• The financial costs for new padding and medical personnel are very high and worrisome for most hosts.

• Sanction requests continued to come in slowly and we believe it has a great deal to do with padding and medical requirements.

• The new Competition format has been in place for 3 years and the committee has reflected on ideas shared with us from the membership when we review the Bulletin each spring. We requested input from all Branches, Regional Development Mentor and other committees. The feed back received has been widely different from across the country. The committee tries to react to suggestions received in the spirit of the LTPAD so that we provide the highest quality of competition possible for the athletes attending.

Canada Winter Games 2015 Prince George

• The Canada Winter Games information meeting was held in Prince George. The CWG Organizing Committee is well into their planning. The Short Track arena is under construction and it appears to meet all our venue requirements. The LT facility is a natural ice facility operated by the local club. This facility will need work to bring it up to our venue standards.

Technical Review Panel:

• The CDC worked with all the other committees to establish a Technical Review Panel to review changes to the Rules and Regulation section of the Red Book. This review procedure will better meet the needs of the organization when it comes to reviewing 24

rules and regulations amendments prior to the AGM. The SSC Board will address this further in their Governance documents.

Meet Manager Update

• The management of the Meet Manager Software will now be coordinated from the National Office. Sharon Zorman will represent CDC as part of the team working towards a more effective competition software program. Until this is completed, CDC continues to work with the FPVQ to ensure a program is available that meets our immediate needs.

The Committee Can Successfully Report That:

• We were under budget for 2012-13

• The BOD increased our budget for 2013-14 and we have been able to increase hosting grants.

• Hosting manual will be updated and made more user friendly over the summer with the help of an intern.

• The 2013-14 Calendar for Domestic Competitions is completed but we were waiting for HP dates at time that this report was submitted.

• Host Packages 2013-14 have been updated and are ready for distribution pending any changes at the AGM

• Competition Bulletin 2013-14 will be finalized following the AGM

• Competition templates for 2013-14 competitions: Announcements, preliminary entry/final forms are ready for distribution pending any changes at the AGM

• A complete review of all SSC competitions will be completed during the next season for implementation 2014-15. All stakeholders will be contacted.

• Report forms including: Meet Coordinators Final Report, Sanction Application, Host bid documentation and Emergency Action Plans are ready for distribution pending any changes at the AGM

• The Hosting Manual contains valuable information for competition hosts but it is difficult to use in its present form. A Summer Intern student will work on formatting and designing an interactive manual that will be user friendly. The student will work closely with the committee and staff over the next few months.

Other Concerns:

• We must get our Competition calendar out much earlier for the Branches to be able to plan. We had our Domestic calendar ready in February but unfortunately had many missing dates for the National HP calendar. This causes a great deal of confusion with the Branches who are delayed or must make major changes to their domestic schedules very late in the year. When CDC receives late dates, competition changes, etc. it makes it difficult for us to carry out our mandate and there is a ripple effect for the Branches and clubs. The Red Book in B5-300 is clear that dates must be made available to potential hosts 18 months ahead and the hosts confirmed 16 months ahead. This has been very difficult to accomplish.

• The separation of the Canadian Age Class ST / Selections #2 is a concern. The Branches and committees supported having these 2 events together for a variety of reasons and we would like to work with HPST on a format that may allow this in the future.

• With rising costs CDC will be undertaking an extensive review of how we fund competitions and what competitions we fund for the 2014-15 season. This review will include all our stakeholders and partners and we would appreciate any comments.

Official’s Development Committee Report Committee Members:

Roger Cole - Atlantic Region

Jacques Gregoire - Quebec

Rocky Lamontagne - Central

Dave Thomson - West

Ted Houghton - Far West and Chair, ODC

Activities:

• Eleven (11) conference calls held and we welcomed back Jacques Gregoire to our committee.

• Six (6) Canadian officials attended the bi-annual ISU Short Track seminar in Dresden

• Two (2) Speed Skating Referees attended an ISU course in the Netherlands

• Canadian ISU officials were appointed to events in Calgary, Salt Lake City, Japan, Germany, Norway, Russia, Italy and Hungary. This speaks very well to the high regard Canadian officials are held at the ISU level.

• Ten (10) Canadian officials are now on the ISU list with a further twenty-nine (29) on the ISU International List which speaks to the on-going strength of our officials' programs at the branch and national level.

• Eighty-six (86) officials were assigned by ODC to eighteen (18) competitions this past season.

• Nine (9) development officials were assigned to national events appropriate to their skill level.

• Four (4) Level 3 Short Track clinics - Referees and Starters - (two in Trois Rivieres and two in Calgary) were held and were well attended. Thanks to the branches supporting these developing officials.

• Submission of seven (7) officials to the ISU for consideration to the ISU International List including the first Canadian female - Cynthia Onions from Whitehorse - Starter.

• A "situational" Referees document - thanks to BC - has been circulated and is being extensively used in Referees clinics and in mentoring opportunities.

Finances:

• Budget constraints caused us to assign some domestic appointments based on where our officials lived. We minimized, where we could, the impact of this.

• Budget constraints also caused us to "set aside" the Development program for 2012- 2013. It is being re-implemented next season as a critical pathway for our developing officials.

• We were able to remain within budget notwithstanding the separation of one event into two (and the resultant cost impact of adding more assigned officials) as requested by HPST. Additionally, an ISU event in Salt Lake City (non-funded by ISU) was added to our budget. This event was not originally included in our budget. Dawn Currie is to be commended for being vigilant in staying on top of seat sales thereby mitigating the largest cost component of our national events budget.

• On behalf of ODC, my sincere thanks to Ian, Pat and Dawn for their engagement, guidance and direction as we worked through the consultative budget process for the 2013-2014 season.

• Our thanks to the Board of Directors for their continued funding support for ODC's programs for the 2013-2014 season and for recognizing the impact the two Olympic selection events have on the overall budget.

Other:

• Initiated by Jim McClements and led by Dave Thomson, ODC is updating the Level Two (2) and Three (3) Referees Course Conductor manuals. Various stakeholders are being consulted with a completion date of late fall.

• An overall review of ODC's portion of the SSC website is ongoing. When the previous website was "imported" numerous duplications and erroneous information found its way under the officials banner. It is our goal to find a single repository - with appropriate links - for all resource material. This may well be a task undertaken "outside" of the ODC as there are probably other instances of similar issues that will have budget impacts.

• Revised assessment forms - thanks to FPVQ - for Referees and Starters were adopted and now reside on the website as do the revisions ODC made for all levels of officials certification.

• Concerns have been expressed over the decision-making process presently within our regulations as it pertains to the "powers" of the Chief Referee to allow an event to proceed. ODC will also be reviewing, at our face-to-face meeting in late May, the "Safe Community" document circulated by Jim McClements.

Please see the attached addendum for additional information.

Challenges/Opportunities:

• It was with regret we were unable to host the biennial Officials Symposium in 2012. We did look at partnering with the Coaching Development Committee and also hosting regional symposia, however, budget constraints in the first instance and the lack of resource synergies in the second instance meant postponement of this very successful and important component of our developing officials pathway. ODC will be targeting the 2014-2015 season for the next such Symposium and will be presenting our overall program and attendant costs to the CEO at the appropriate time.

• Our ISU officials are mandated to conduct ISU Regional clinics. The 2013-2014 season's budget will not allow that to happen, however, ODC will be putting forward a proposal to host such a clinic in the 2014-2015 season. This may well be a component of the aforementioned Symposium...subject to approval by the ISU.

• ODC continues to be in discussions with HPST over the functionality of the video equipment used and required at designated SSC selection events. The past season saw less than adequate (for the purpose for which it is needed) equipment being in place and technicians not fully trained in the needs of our Referees. There must be an assurance that the correct equipment and technicians are in place for the upcoming ST Olympic selection event as our skaters (and officials) deserve it.

Summary:

ODC is fully aware of the fiscal challenges that SSC continues to face. We are aware the CEO and Board of Directors remain committed to improving the situation. ODC continues to be committed to being part of the process that will see Speed Skating Canada remain a leader in the sport delivery system in Canada at both the domestic and high performance levels. We

are most grateful for the fiscal and resource support shown by the Board and Staff as we move forward.

ODC will continue to meet our mandate going forward and thus meet the expectations of the Board and our country-wide membership.

Respectfully submitted,

Ted Houghton

Chair

SSC ODC

Addendum to Officials Development Committee Report to Speed Skating Canada Board of Directors

ODC has concerns with what follows. These concerns are far reaching and require dialogue with the SSC Competitions and High Performance Short and Long Track committees, SIMEC, Risk Management and professional staff.

Such dialogue may result in changes to existing SSC Procedures, Regulations and Policies as well as various documents such as the Hosting Manual and Safety documents presently published on the website.

1. The recently published SSC Return to Play Guide states in part:

Any athlete with concussion symptoms should be identified by a coach, official, therapist or doctor

on site.

The majority of our officials do not have the required training to make this identification.

Erring on the side of caution could and will have major ramifications IF we consider only the event

results.

2. Section B Competitions and Events Regulations B4-300 Types of Sanctions

Each SSC Sanction carries with it a specific series of conditions that the competition/event organizer must meet to ensure that the event is safe, developmentally appropriate and is run in accordance with SSC’s policies, procedures and regulations.

There is an assumption that the organizing committee, when applying for an SSC sanction, will meet all the SSC’s policies, procedures and regulations.

There is no process in place to ensure compliance prior to the Chief Referee arriving on site.

3. Section B Competitions and Events Regulations B4-605 Inspection of Facilities

A technical inspection of facilities and equipment shall be carried out by the Chief Referee. His approval must be given before the start of the competition. See Duties of the Chief Referee.

The Hosting Manual says SSC will appoint an "Advisor to the Organizing Committee" for designated competitions with non-specific duties. Historically, the Advisor does not arrive on site earlier than the Chief Referee. The timing of the "technical inspection" of the facilities frequently does not allow for changes to be made (i.e. mat protocol not followed) prior to the scheduled start of the event.

4. Section B Competitions and Events Regulations B4-700 Revoking a Sanction

SSC reserves the right to revoke or cancel any sanction after issue. Reasons for revoking a sanction

may include:

• A program change which results in the event no longer conforming with SSC procedures and regulations

•Failure to submit required documentation

•Lack of qualified personnel

•Failure of an organizing committee to submit required documentation from a previous event

Revocation may also include improper or insufficient matting and lack of certified officials.

The Chief Referee is the Chief Executive of the event. There is no statement that empowers the Chief Referee to revoke a sanction, for failure to meet the above conditions, although it is assumed such is the case.

5. Section C Racing Rules C5-201 & C5-301 Referee Responsibilities and Powers in Long Track and

Short Track respectively.

The Referee shall be the chief executive officer of the competition and shall decide all points of dispute

and infringements of rules, which can result in disqualification. His decision shall be final

The Referee decides upon:

2. All matters concerning any breaches of SSC policies, procedures and regulations in consultation with SSC Technical representatives when present.

We charge our Chief Referees with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with all the various event regulations. They are then placed in the untenable position of deciding whether safety, as an example, can or should be compromised in order to hold an event. They are cognizant of the importance of the event (selections, declaring Canadian champions, etc); the cost for all participants to attend and the time, effort and costs taken on by the host organizing committees.

There are "draft" documents addressing some of the above concerns that will be reviewed by ODC during our May 31, June 1 and 2, 2013 face-to-face meeting.

This addendum is provided to advise the Board and membership that amendments to existing SSC Regulations, Procedures, Policies and other published material may be necessary but can not take place for the upcoming season due, in part, to our existing approval process for such changes.

Coaching Development Committee

Members:

Peter Steele – Maritimes

Annie Sarat – Quebec

Mike Rivet - Ontario/Nunavut (Chair)

Bill Christ– AB/SK/MN/NWT (vice chair )

Sandi Vyse - BC/Yukon

I am happy to report that the Coaching Development Committee (CDC) had the opportunity to meet face to face in Ottawa (March 1-3) and develop the annual work plan for the Committee. The Committee was fortunate to have Cindy Flett (VP- Coaching Association of Canada) make a presentation on the NCCP. This was also the last meeting that Douglas Duncan was able to attend and, subsequently, the Committee was informed that Marie-Pier Charest was also leaving her current post and moving to the INS in Montreal. The Committee wants to thank both Marie-Pier and Douglas for their contribution to SSC’s Coaching and NCCP over the many years.

The CDC wishes to recognize the BOD for their commitment to the CDC. This was demonstrated by ensuring that Marie Claire Rouleau ( President of SSC ) was in attendance to provide the SSC direction and support.

The CDC wishes to recognize Ian Moss ( CEO of SSC) for his willingness to meet on numerous occasions with the committee chair prior to the face-to-face meeting to ensure that a positive outcome would materialized.

The meeting was very productive and helped us identify the following project priorities for 2013/14 and beyond:

2013

• Pilot the Competition Development Curriculum • Work on the Curriculum for the Intro to Competition (Advanced) level • Develop a Coach Professional Development List and Framework • Re-Introduce a Coach Recognition Program • Improve SSC and Branch Dialogue regarding Coaching • Develop a Protocol for Dialogue • Improve Staff and Committee dialogue • Assess and monitor Branch delivery mechanisms • Stabilize operational leadership for Coach Program development at the national office • Discuss the national LF training and professional development protocol • Develop an LF mentor process • 2014 • Research the process for Modular Delivery (De-Coupling) • Develop a Coaching Curriculum Review Process • Implement a national LF training and professional development system 34

• Introduce an SSC Women in Coaching programme (linked to the HP programme)

For 2013, we have focused the NCCP budget on two key projects; piloting the Competition Development Curriculum, and instituting an Introduction to Competition (Advanced) curriculum that can help with our Canada Games certification needs (the Canada Games Council has now opened the door for a more appropriate level of NCCP certification for those Branches/Territories that do not have coaches at the Comp/Dev level of certification). We know that there is considerable focus from the membership on our coaching education challenges in the past – we certainly feel that we are now past those and look forward to driving SSC’s coaching education program positively forward.

I am confident that with the new changes in the administration with SSC, the committee will now recieve full support in order to ensure coaching development will be a priority not only at the branch level but nationwide.

The members remain very committed following our March meeting and subsequent activities due to the leadership and commitment demonstrated by Ian Moss, CEO of SSC.

Respectfully submitted

Mike Rivet

Chair SSC Coaching Development Committee

The Participant and Athlete Development Steering Committee

Members:

Dennis Duggan – Chair

Nancy Goplen

Yves Hamelin

Mark Mathies

SSC has in its continuing efforts to achieve developmentally appropriate programming established the Participant and Athlete Development Advisory Steering Committee as the successor to the Long Term Athlete Development Model Implementation Working Group.

It will be comprised of multi-disciplinary committee members and expert technical volunteers, endorsed by the Board, and SSC senior professional staff, designated by the Chief Executive Officer.

The Advisory Steering Committee will act as the champion and strategic facilitator for long term participant and athlete development activities and policy development.

The Mission:

The mission of the Participant and Athlete Development Advisory Steering Committee is to foster the stabilization of LTPAD principles in order to ensure, as articulated in the Preamble to SSC’s Procedures and Regulations, that decision making in SSC is conducted in accordance with the principles of Canadian Sport for Life and SSC’s Long Term Participant and Athlete Development Model as the framework for principled, evidence and values based decision making.

The Mandate:

The mandate is to:

• Work collaboratively with the SSC Board and management in the development and monitoring of a comprehensive strategic plan which integrates all aspects of the LTPAD model;

• To facilitate successful implementation through the provision of advice and guidance to the Board, SSC committees, Branches and clubs with respect to developmentally appropriate programming; • Champion and promote cooperation and coordination amongst national committees and branch organisations to achieve successful implementation through active consultation and coordination of activities which facilitate collaboration and cooperation amongst stakeholders; • Establish priorities within the context of the strategy and short and long term objectives. • Developing proposals designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the LTPAD based competition system in respecting the principles and recommendations of the Model and meets the stated objectives; • Inform SSC membership and participants of the latest developments in participant and athlete development and monitor best practices in sport;

To enhance the Advisory Steering Committee’s effectiveness in its role as the facilitator for change for LTPAD implementation and in recognition that success rests on the active participation of and consultation with standing committees and other leaders, SSC also established the Long Term Participant and Athlete Development

Consultative Forum.

The LTPAD Consultative Forum consists of:

• the Advisory Steering Committee;

• the Chairs, or their representatives, of SSC’s Standing Committees; and,

• two leaders, who within their respective Branches are involved in Long Term Participant and Athlete Development implementation.

The Advisory Steering Committee will take into account, to the extent possible, the varying capacities of Branches when choosing these two members.

In the conduct of its activities, the Advisory Steering Committee will consult the Forum on a regular basis.

The Forum is designed to ensure the strategic commitment and involvement of the standing committees and Banches in the implementation of developmentally appropriate programming

The Advisory Steering Committee will:

1. invite members of the Canadian Sport for Life Leadership Team and Expert Advisory Group to participate in the activities of the Working Group, as may be appropriate; and, 2. may invite additional subject matter experts to participate, as needed, to address specific questions that are within its mandate or to participate in sub-groups designated to address issues of significance.

The Participant and Athlete Development Steering Committee (PADSC) has had a rather slow launch of its revised role and structure. The PADSC still lacks a full complement of members and, of course, more recently, we have lost the services of our chief staff liaison with the departure of Douglas.

Of the course, the role of the Committee will evolve consistent with the evolution of developments in SSC governance.

Implementation Assessment Project:

As such, the Committee continued to focus on work already initiated. The main thrust and effort has been on monitoring and assessment.

From a positive perspective, it may be said that some very good work has been carried out on this aspect. A document entitled “Implementation of Long Term Athlete and Participant Development Model in Speed Skating Canada -2012-2013 assessment” has been produced and will be available for distribution. The review, led by Marie-Pier Charest and Douglas Duncan, was designed to provide a picture of the leadership and governance context and use of implementation strategies in our provincial and territorial branches. The implementation assessment project should establish an effective mechanism, going forward, within which the majority of our monitoring activity with respect to the model’s and, therefore, developmentally appropriate programming can be completed. We are confident that the assessment process should serve to achieve the stated objective of ensuring that the monitoring exercise serves both a formative and summative purpose.

Club Excellence:

In this area, another step forward has been taken with the launch of pilot projects involving several speed skating clubs.

Summary

The Committee acknowledges the support Douglas Duncan has provided over the years in our efforts to move this enterprise forward in achieving SSC’s commitment to developmentally appropriate programming. We would also like to acknowledge the advice provided by Marie-Pier Charest in her role as Regional Mentor. Marie-Pier is also moving on to pursue other challenges.

Club and Membership Development Committee Committee members for 2012-2013:

Kathy Elliott, Chair (Central),

Derrick MacLeod, Vice Chair (Atlantic)

Margaret Krieck (Far West),

Craig Dutton (West),

Stephanie Mierschs (Quebec),

The CMDC held 8 meetings in the form of conference calls between September 2012 and May 2013. The committee met for their annual In Person meeting in Ottawa over the weekend of April 19-21 2012 at which time the committee discussed and developed a work plan for the upcoming season.

With a limited budget, the 2012-13 season was somewhat of a rebuilding year for CMDC. We remain optimistic that we are heading in the right direction and will be back on track for the 2013-14 season, one we know will be very busy for Clubs and Branches in the areas of club and membership development given that it is an Olympic year.

Activities:

Sports Day in Canada: Information regarding the promotion of Sports Day in Canada was forwarded out to Branches in early August. All clubs were encouraged to host an event in conjunction with this National celebration. Event ideas along with planning and promotional material were made available upon request to all Clubs.

CBC, ParticipACTION and True sport will be sponsoring this event again this fall and we will once again be encouraging Clubs to take advantage of the promotional opportunities a national event such as this has to offer our sport and its clubs.

Parent Guide Update: The reviewing and updating process of the Guide has been completed and a draft version has been forwarded on to the LTPAD working group for review. We are optimistic that a final draft will be ready to be posted on the website by Fall 2013. 40

Newsletter: Plans are underway to re visit the publication of a regular Newsletter. The committee realizes that there is often a feeling of disconnect between the association, and its Clubs and Branches and feel this may be a way to restore that connection. While some of the information will be coming from the SSC office and SSC’s committees we will also be requesting the membership to share best practices, provide us with information about upcoming events and relay interesting information or stories about themselves and their clubs.

Club Profile: The committee has discussed featuring “Club of the Month” on the SSC website and facebook page. This we anticipate will offer an avenue to highlight grassroots achievements. A simple online template has been developed to ensure a consistent theme is followed. Clubs will be requested to answer a few questions pertaining to their Club’s history, activities, special programs or project and event highlights. This information along with a few club pictures will be used to create the club profile to be posted. The committee is currently discussing the feasibility of moving ahead with this initiative.

Resources: Over the years many good resources and documents have been developed, the committee felt there was a need to locate and identify those that are still relevant. An inventory of resources has been completed and the committee reviewed and identified the revisions and updates necessary to make them current and useful.

Moving Forward

At the In person meeting held at the end of April discussions were had surrounding the short and long term projects and programs the committee is planning to undertake in the upcoming season and beyond.

Discussions revolved around but were not limited to the following projects and programs:

Pre- Post Olympics: As the upcoming season is an Olympic year a large percentage of our work will revolve around ensuring that Clubs and Branches have what is required for both Pre and Post Olympic promotions and that they are ready to manage the increased interest the Games historically brings to our sport. Plans to design a preparation check list and planning guide document were discussed and final documents should be ready for the fall.

Festivals: The committee plans to re visit and promote the popular Festivals program in the upcoming season. Clubs will be encouraged to host and event during the month of February to coincide with the Olympic Games. While there is not money in the budget to offer the Festival Grants the committee plans on making available a festival kit to help clubs in the planning and hosting of an event. In the past Festival events have been very successful and useful in promoting our sport and securing new members.

Club Finder: The committee noticed many Clubs contact information is outdated on the Club Finder tool located on the website. We will be asking that all clubs check to ensure the most current contact information for their Club is correct on the “Club Finder” section and update their information if necessary. This information is required to be updated annually and can be done when submitting registration information to the SSC office. Having the correct club contact information posted is extremely important especially with the potential increase in interest we hope the Olympic will bring to our sport.

Sport 4 Life Grants: The committee would like to see the popular Sport4 Life grant program brought back and will continue to examine all avenues that may be available to secure the funds necessary to re instate it.

Cutting Edge Pin Program: This is perhaps one of our most widely used and popular programs SSC offers. Most of what the committee will be looking at in terms of changes to this program will come in the form of redesigning the report card document.

The pin order form found on the website will also be updated and an order deadline will be imposed. This deadline will help to ensure the office has the supply of pins required to deliver all orders on time.

Personal Best: The committee discussed the merits of this program and decided to once again make certificates available to those clubs who may want to utilize the program as part of their year end awards presentations. The major change to the program will surround the issuing of the certificates. In the past CMDC filled in the skater’s information and printed off the certificates, now blank certificates will be issued along with a template and the individual Clubs will be required to input the individual skater’s information and print off their own certificates.

Resources & Documents: One of the tasks taken on at the In Person meeting was to go through old resource documents and discuss which ones were still of value to our clubs. Among some of those documents reviewed and deemed useful were:

• Starting a New Club

• SSC Programs and Member Services

• Festival Binder

• Negotiating Ice Times

• Fast is Fun Brochure

• On the Edge Curriculum

• On the Edge Video

• LTPAD Video

• Sharpening Skates Brochure

• Off Season Training Guide

The committee also discussed what new document and resources could be developed to help clubs run programs and develop membership. Suggestions included:

• Lesson ( Practice) Plans Ideas for FUNdamentals - L2T

• Post Olympic Planning Guide

• A Strategic Planning Guide for Clubs

• Try b4 You Join

• Youth( Peer) Coaching Program

The committee is dedicated to ensuring that the revisions and development of most of these documents and programs be completed and ready for distribution and posting to the website by the fall.

Website: Since the development of the new website the committee has expressed concerns surrounding the difficulties involved with locating certain documents on the site It is our plan to continue providing suggestions for improving the website and in particular the Membership Section. 43

The past few seasons, for reason beyond or control, have been challenging ones for the CMDC. We have been required to re-examine the goals and direction of the committee and now feel we are in a good position to move forward and honour our commitment to the membership, something that is very important to all members of the committee. We are looking forward to the 2013-14 season and are excited to see what impact the Olympic Games will have on our Clubs.

Finally, on behalf of the CMDC I would like to thank the Board of Directors and the SSC office staff for their continued support over the past season. I would also like to pass along a special thank you to our staff liaison Dawn Currie for all the hard work and many hours she has put in working with the committee over the season. She has been invaluable and we look forward to a continued working relationship with her through the 2013-14 season.

Respectively Submitted by:

Kathy Elliott,

Chair, SSC Club and Membership Development Committee

Branch Reports 44

Alberta Amateur Speed Skating Association

For the Alberta Amateur Speed Skating Association, highlights included:

• New membership threshold achieved - 1216 members in 13 Clubs.

• The Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track was hosted jointly by AASSA and the Olympic Oval in October 2012. This is only the second time a short track World Cup has been held in Calgary. It was well attended and Oval and AASSA volunteers worked together to provide the type of hospitality has been come to be expected. Grant funding for this event included allowance for legacy initiatives involving the purchase of transponder equipment for use by Alberta Speed Skating and the Oval. Thank you to Stefan Bronsard and to Bureau des evenements nationals for great support of the event. • A World Cup Long Track was hosted in January 2013 by the Organizing Committee Calgary. This was the 28th World Cup/Championships organized by this committed group. The first World Cup of the 2013/14 season will be in Calgary on November 8-10. • In March, Banff/Canmore Speed Skating Club hosted the Canada West Short Track T2T Championship. Lethbridge Speed Skating Association will host this event in March 2014.

• As a team, Edmonton Speed Skating Association, AASSA and Speed Skating Canada organized an Intact Day on Skates event at Edmonton’s Silver Skate Festival in February. Thank you to Intact Insurance, for supporting us in introducing almost 400 individuals to speed skating (including Ian Moss).

• One Short Track skater and four Long Track skaters from Alberta selected for World Junior competitions.

• AASSA was well represented by the age class skaters who attended the Canadian Long and Short Track Championships.

• Beginning May 2013, AASSA operates, in partnership with the Oval, a Regional Training Centre for Short Track and Long Track skaters. Three coaches deliver this program to the 34 skaters currently in the program, aimed at skaters from Clubs across Canada ready for more challenging training, to prepare them for Oval Programs. There is room for more skaters in September. • New Long Track Ovals (natural ice) will be built this fall in Canmore (for Alberta Winter Games) and Grande Prairie. With existing Ovals in Edmonton, Red Deer and Lloydminster, this will mean five outdoor Long Track Ovals in Alberta.

• Lloydminster speed skating coach and all-round great volunteer Richard Starke appointed Minister Tourism, Parks and Recreation (and speed skating) for Alberta.

• Base funding and key coaching and event grants from the Provincial Sport Foundation (Alberta Sport Recreation Parks and Wildlife Foundation) have remained stable this year, although some grants (which might support Clubs in mat purchases) have been reduced. The Foundation is reviewing its Sport Plan in the coming year, and I expect that we will see increasing requirements for PSOs to demonstrate activities consistent with and in furtherance of Alberta’s Active Alberta and the Sport Plan. Alberta Speed Skating is well- positioned to do so.

• Mike Marshall is coordinating new strength-training programs for local Clubs, delivered in conjunction with Alberta Sport Development Centres around the Province. This is a new initiative and has taken some effort to put in place. It will be interesting to see the results as young athletes (and adults) go into this fall’s skating season with a summer of strength training behind them.

• Mike Marshall continues to play a pivotal role in improving coaching skills within the Alberta clubs, and overseeing the Regional Training Centre program. A one day coaching seminar was held in conjunction with the AASSA AGM in May. Mike works with Speed Skating Canada as one of its Regional Development Mentors.

• Alberta Speed Skating will press Speed Skating Canada and other branches for continued work on developing the next generation of meet software. We are also working with the Oval on advancing the use of transponders at all levels of Club and Oval training and competitions, with the long-term view of having this equipment give officially-recognized times and results. You will hear from us in future years about rule changes to allow that.

• As of May 5, 2103 AASSA Executive consists of :

Blair Carbert (Calgary) President Elizabeth Offin (Calgary) Treasurer (new) Nicole Cooney (Lethbridge) VP Officials Development and Competitions Graham Howe (Canmore) VP Communications Laura McWilliam (Edmonton) VP Club and Membership John MacLennan VP Skater Development (new) Wendy Walker Program Coordinator Mike Marshall Technical Director

AASSA thanks Shawna Pearman (Red Deer) and Garret Pariseau (Lethbridge) for their service to Alberta Speed Skating during their term on the Executive.

• The Alberta Long Track and Short Track Provincial Teams remain strong and competed at all Canada Cups and Trials. Provincials Team ranks has been thinned somewhat by skaters advancing to National teams, but new skaters are moving up and will meet our time standards in the coming year.

• Our National Long and Short Track Team Members currently are;

National Long Track Team

Anastasia Bucsis

Kaylin Irvine

Jamie Gregg

Gilmore Junio

National Short Track Team

Jessica Gregg

Gabrielle Waddell

Liam McFarlane

National Long Track Development Team Kate Hanly Tamara Oudenaarden Brianne Tutt Danielle Wotherspoon

British Columbia Speed Skating Association

This past season saw transition across many phases of the sport in BC.

We acknowledge that SSC has hired Ian Moss as the CEO and appreciate his efforts in establishing relationships our branch staff.

Dave Morrison was recently hired, in a joint partnership agreement with SSC and the Richmond Olympic Oval, as the Head Coach, Short Track Legacy Program and Regional Development Mentor. This arrangement creates many opportunities for BCSSA to raise the profile of our sport and take advantage of all that the Oval has to offer. We are, and will continue, to work closely with Dave to maximize his expertise and our growth needs as well as allowing our developing coaches another resource.

In BC, the sport delivery system, while still undergoing transition, is now being led by viaSport along with the Canadian Sport Institute and its regional deliverer of services – Pacific Sport. Discussions on how regions not directly served by Pacific Sport are ongoing. An expectation is that with expanded regional services coaches, officials and local sport administrators will see the direct enhancement of services.

The PSO review, a requirement to secure government funding, was completed last October with some PSO’s facing challenges to remain funded to previous levels. BCSSA was able to maintain its funding position this past season through viaSport .viaSport is the sole funding provider – Community Gaming grants aside – and as such BCSSA is required to provide periodic reports to them. The accountables/deliverables include membership growth (across all areas in our sport); results; fiscal management; programs and governance.

Funding: The public funding received this past season matched that received in 2012 with an unexpected $30,000 increase in Community Gaming. Many PSO’s were not as fortunate to receive this windfall. Funding through viaSport is directly linked to overall membership growth, and in particular, in the areas of skaters, officials and coaches. This past season saw an overall membership decline of 5% which followed a decline of 12% from the previous year. There has been a focused effort within both the Officials and Coaching Development Committees to grow their numbers and they are to be applauded for their efforts. Four clubs had double digit increases in their overall membership while six had double digit decreases. Skater numbers have shown a marginal drop while the Associate membership dropped 14%. The incremental growth target remains 10-15% by the 2014-2015 season meaning an overall membership increase of 335 in each of the next two years. Failure to meet these targets will result in loss of participation funding commencing 2015.

Direct funding to our athletes, this past season, exceeded $40,000 aided in part by Canada Winter Games specific funding. Additional CWG funds also helped double the financial support (from the previous year) the Association was able to provide to all our coaches. Officials funding remained at last year’s level but more officials were the recipients of direct and indirect support.

Governance:

Following up on the governance presentation at last year’s Annual General Meeting, the Association’s Policies, Procedures and Regulations have now been updated and distributed to the membership. These documents, together with the Strategic Plan, are the “management tools” of the Association.

Next Steps:

• Our Club and Membership Committee have some exciting initiatives to improve the visibility of our sport which may assist our clubs in growing their membership.

• The Association will continue to explore non-public funding opportunities.

• Our Officials and Coaching committees will continue to explore growth initiatives.

• Continue to strengthen the relationship enjoyed with SSC and, where applicable, share resources.

Fiscally, the Association is in a strong position and with committed members ensuring the strength in our many program areas, there is reason for optimism in the coming years. The staff; Ted, Lorna and Christina, are to be commended for their outstanding service to the Association.

Respectfully submitted,

Dave McQuaid,

President

BC Speed Skating Association

Manitoba Speed Skating Association

Membership: MSSA membership has remained steady over the last several years and this year again was no exception. We are considered a smaller branch with under 250 members at any given time.

Club strength in holding its membership numbers steady is a good sign given the current economy. All of our clubs ( 7) have experienced slight increases and a few decreases, but nothing of huge significance, this is similar to the Manitoba economy, always considered a steady course. We are happy for the positive signs of growth.

What is a positive sign for our branch is that with the start of a new 19+ group we are keeping post Provincial Team members who would have been lost to the sport. This new group of pre-masters skaters are encouraged to train to compete and to have the support of the provincial coach. It is currently a long track sport effort and has had very positive feedback.

Finances: MSSA has had a few rough financial years, with many lessons learned in how to reduce risks in expenses and better predict cost, and we are happy to say that our process and approaches chosen by the Board and our membership has paid off. MSSA is in our final stretch of debt repayment and will be in a position for viable financial surplus within the next 9 months. Our Provincial Sport body, Sport Manitoba, has been very supportive of our efforts to improve our financial situation.

This year has been a forward motion year with a membership that continues to be in support of the adopted transparency approaches now in place. MSSA is anticipating a steady year with accountability in mind during fiscal decision making. We are ramping up for the extra costs associated to a Canada Winter Games year and we are also anticipating a 4% increase in the cost of ice fees and venue rentals as per the City of Winnipeg fiscal charges.

Governance: The MSSA Board of Directors has experience the usual turn over of board members, however we have had the great fortune of taking on some very talented leaders that work well together. As well we have had a stellar year with our new Provincial Coach in place. Our Executive Director continues to be a marvel and a strong pillar of support to the board and the business practices of MSSA. Nicolle has been instrumental in keeping our

sport in good standing and is the person responsible for our administration and accountability success.

Once again, the organization managed to pull through a year of changes and begin to prepare for a year of governance revisions. Clubs have been aware of these up coming tasks and have been working to be in sync with the MSSA changes.

We would like to share that this is our third year of hosting our AGM at a later part of the year, in September, to accommodate our annual audit process and to begin the season with planning rather than basic management. We have found this to be a positive practice and we will for the first time take the AGM time to provide clubs, officials and coaches with additional education sessions held on that same weekend to help kick off our season.

We now have a dedicated board member who will work with governance development as an adhoc function to the board. We have planned a strategic meeting for the AGM weekend to kick off our rewriting efforts. MSSA expects to have our new governance in place by the 2014 AGM for a reading and approval process to take place at that time.

Programme: MSSA went through a huge motion of transition, we are preferring to call it our revitalization. Our new provincial coach cause us to have a very sharp learning curve as we learned how to navigate the world of immigration and the assimilation of a foreign worker. Our time and effort and faith paid off in satisfactory amounts. This past years programme was worked well and received very strong and positive feedback with most skaters believing that they exceeded their own expectations of performance. Personal bests were achieved by many and personal goals were experienced by many more.

The programme being designed for the coming year, is exciting and supportive of a great path to the Canada Winter Games. It is innovative and creative with LTADP in mind. Sport for life is another of our quests as we move into the program design that will attract those skaters who exceed the ages of the provincial program funded by Sport Manitoba and enter the ages that would pertain to the type of skater development necessary to enter into the Oval based training programs.

We have been partnering closely with our community in both rural and urban Manitoba to facilitate support and skating opportunities. Learn to skate and maintain your skating session are being offered by branch clubs and supported by MSSA.

Health: At this point in time our branch continue to be in general good health. But not without a sharp lesson in vulnerability. Our “crown jewel” the Susan Auch Oval is at risk for land sharing with summer and fall sports that would put its current design and structure in a vulnerable position. We are working with the sport that is proposing the land use and seem to be able to maintain a conversation, however, it is a lesson learned as to the ease of loss that can occur when a city and or province is not in full engagement with any sport.

Our branch club health is positive. Clubs are in continued support of MSSA management and mostly show full support of process and decisions. Stakeholders have provided feedback of confidence in the place that we are. And most importantly, the skaters, both young and old are in support of our state of business.

Submitted with great respect,

Caroline Slegers-Boyd,

President

Manitoba Speed Skating Association.

Speed Skate New Brunswick

Eastern Regionals Host

The 2013 Short Track Regionals East took place in Halifax Nova Scotia this year, which is but a short drive away for many of our volunteers. The top-talent meet provided an excellent opportunity for many of our volunteers to pair up with experts from outside of the province for a valuable development experience. It helped equally that our officials development had underspent on its budget for the season and we were able to provide some funding to the volunteers in attendance.

Many partnerships were formed and friendships were made allowing opportunities in the upcoming years for continuous development. We are hoping to budget a trip to Ontario for our meet recorder next season to further improve her abilities and bring that knowledge back to our competitions and volunteer development initiatives.

It is my opinion that opportunities for development is a driving factor behind volunteer retention, and the national competition in Halifax allowed up to venture down this road, creating relationships that can be explored in years to come.

Finances and Membership

Our membership stayed steady this year, however our top end, older skaters dispersed significantly, leaving us with a very young core (this in turn created difficulties for our HP program). A handful of volunteers have stepped up to help solve the problem and formed a Club and Membership Development committee for the next season that will look at member generation, member retention, promotions and partnerships for Speed Skate New Brunswick. It will be an exciting venture using Social Media and a large amount of additional techniques that have emerged since our last CMD committee in 2007.

Other plans for the next season include an awards and recognition banquet for skaters, officials, volunteers and coaches. During the off season we hope to plan for this and have something prepared for the 2013 season.

Speed Skate New Brunswick faired okay financially this year. With a large reserve in our accounts we allowed ourselves to run a little over budget without charging the clubs additional fees as we have done in the past. A project for the summer is to discuss with our financial director a better way of collecting club contributions from our clubs as the current system is difficult to budget for on both ends. We also need to diversify our income … but this is a difficult task for any organization that relies as heavily on government funds as we do, especially as we do not want to charge our membership more. The price raise from SSC and 53

the rising cost of ice time have already made membership fees far higher than desired. Along with equipment costs, they are a large barrier to entry for our sport.

Other news

A few other minor things have happened over the course of this season as well. Notably, the summer camp that has been held in Fredericton for the last 6 years is on the move. It will be hosted by the Saint John club in Quispamsis for the following two years. From that point on we hope to continue rotating this camp as we believe it provides great opportunities for host clubs, although it does come alongside a large administrative burden.

Our provincial coach, high performance coach, Athlete and Coaching Development Committee and a plethora of other individuals have begun work on our Canada Games Team. A favorite project for our organization, we spent the end of our season re-engineering the team standards and the training camp schedule for the 2015 event. There will be more work done over the next year to choose our team coaches and personnel, and, the following season, our athletes.

Newfoundland Speed Skating Association

Membership: Located in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Humber Valley Speeding Skating Club is the only speed skating club in Newfoundland and Labrador. As a small club in a small city of 23,000, we are constantly competing with more popular sports clubs such as hockey, figure skating, and swimming for kids` interests. Our membership has declined slightly to 23 members this season compared to last season`s membership of 26 with a few veteran skaters moving away. Although the club has been struggling with membership the last several years, we continue to strive for new members. Last season, 2000 flyers were distributed to various schools in the city to generate interest in registration. Unfortunately our speed skating season does not begin until mid-October well after most other sports clubs have started, so most kids have probably already chosen their fall and winter sports programs. This year the executive plans to distribute the flyers earlier. We are hopeful this will attract more members.

Financial: The decline in membership has brought reduced club revenue. Registration and skate rental fees just barely covered the cost of ice time. This is the first season our club has held three major fundraisers to overcome the financial shortcomings. The fundraisers were quite successful and allowed the club to boast a surplus of $2,000 by the end of the season. Next season we will continue to fundraise and to generate extra revenue.

Governance: The executive underwent transition shortly after the season began when the former club president resigned. The executive currently consists of four dedicated parents determined to grow and prosper the club. Parent recruitment and involvement is a major priority of current executive for next season.

Coaching: Our club is very grateful and fortunate to have seasoned speed skater Dr. Melissa O’Brien volunteering as Head coach the past two seasons. Dr. O’Brien returned to the Province last year following her completion of medical school in Ontario and has currently set up a family practise in the City. She is a former member of the HVSSC and is an experienced speed skater who has competed in former Canada winter games. Coaching was previously done by parents with minimal coaching levels. Dr. O’Brien is very committed to the development of all her skaters and the achievement of their personal best. Her love of speed skating constantly shines through her coaching dedication. She has been quoted many times in the dressing room telling the kids that the person she is today can be attributed to her speed skating experience. Melissa’s spirit has had a major impact on our clubs morale. Her faith in the club has created new encouragement in parents of skaters and the skaters themselves have become inspired to obtain the same personal skating experience as their respected coach.

Conclusion: Despite the challenges the HVSSC has been experiencing the past few seasons we are not discouraged. Our spirits are stronger than ever. We will continue to set goals and endeavor to rebuild and redefine the Newfoundland and Labrador HVSSC.

Respectively submitted,

Sharon Karn

HVSSC President

Northwest Territories Amateur Speed Skating Association

The mission of the NWTASSA is to deliver programs and services that promote the sport of speed skating to the residents of the NWT.

Membership and Program:

• Our membership experienced a 12% gain over last year’s totals (4%net gain over the last two years), due in part to a greater effort at registering volunteer officials. On the flip side, two of our smallest, most isolated clubs have experienced a drop in membership and are below 10 members. We are doing our best to support them. • Skater development programs included one training camp at each of our 6 clubs. These programs were aided by a grant from the territorial government. • A territorial summer camp and a local Christmas camp were held in Yellowknife. • A short-term school introductory program was offered in 1 community. • Our Special Olympics program continued and one NWTASSA Special Olympian won 3 silver medals for Team Canada at the 2013 World Cup in Korea. • Two high performance skaters skated in the Oval Program in Calgary.

Financial:

• We are in a healthy financial position at our year-end, and have applied for a couple of extra government grants to assist our skater development and coach development programs in the coming season. • A similar grant will also assist us in hiring a part time sports administrator for the coming season. This will hopefully reduce the load on some key volunteers.

Competitions:

• Territorial championships had 109 skaters with representation from every NWT club. • Skaters had successful experiences attending Canadian Age Class Short Track Championships (3 skaters), Canada West Championships (14 skaters), Winterfest (4 skaters), Oktoberfest (3 skaters), and RU Fast (11 skaters), • Our National Short Track Team member finished his season ranked first in Canada and won 4 world cup medals and a world championship in the team relay.

• Two clubs were able to purchase some much needed new mats, but most of our clubs still operate with mats well below SSC standard. Searching out grants to upgrade this situation will be a priority next season.

Coach Development:

• Two speed skating specific coach-training clinics were offered in NWT this season (Fundamentals A & B). Our high performance coach also took 2 Competition Development courses in preparation for CWG. • Problems have continued with the CAC site, The Locker. Course credits are placed in the wrong level, or not recorded until months after the course completion. We are working with SSC personnel to assist in correcting these inaccuracies. • We have reviewed CAC’s Making Headway in Sport (concussion awareness course) and have recommended that all our coaches take the course.

Officials Development:

• After a two year hiatus we have had a busy year for officials development offering the following training: • Level 1 off-ice officials • Starters course • 3B training and practicals for our head referee

Summary:

Although this has been a busy and successful season for our branch, recruiting new volunteers for coaches, officials, club organizers and board members has been a challenge. After discussions with other sports, it seems this is a wider issue stretching across all sports and regions of the country. This trend gives rise to the greater questions of the future direction of sport in Canada. As a result of the load on sport organizers in our jurisdiction, some of our program dollars will now go to a paid sport administrator.

I would like to give a big thank you to our dedicated board members and club organizers for their perseverance and energy this season. They along with our coaches and officials have ensured another successful season for skaters, and the inspiration to continue to next season.

I also acknowledge the volunteers and officials from other branches who welcomed our skaters at their competitions and put on some fabulous events. As in past years, I am very grateful for help, guidance and advice from Sport North and SSC personnel. 58

Pam Dunbar,

President, NWTASSA

Pam Dunbar President, NWTASSA

Speed Skate Nova Scotia

Officials Development

The 2012/2013 season was active in Nova Scotia with 19 officials being trained in Level 1 Officials and Level 2 Starter Clinics. Some of the new officials volunteered to officiate the two main speed skating events of the season – Atlantic Long Track Championships in January as well as the Canada East Championships in March. Their enthusiasm will contribute to the growth of speed skating.

Executive Director

SSNS has hired a part-time Executive Director - Amy Scott. She handles the day to day operations as well as seek out funding opportunities to help build the sport.

New Club

Nova Scotia has a new club -Valley Speed Skating Club. The club successfully completed its first season of activity. The Club held regular practices on Saturdays from 11:00am - 12:00pm at the Western Kings Arena in Kingston NS. The Club also ventured to the Halifax Oval a few times for training and competition events.

Through successful application for funding the Club has purchases several pairs of speed skates to provide to its members on a rental basis. The Club also obtained protective board pads to provide a safe environment for its members.

Moving into its second season the Club continues to strive to provide Speed Skating a home in the Annapolis Valley. The Valley Speed Skating Club will continue to offer skating programs for the new skater and the racer at heart in 2013-14.

Masters Club

A new club is being formed called the Nova Scotia Masters Speed Skating Club.

Yarmouth and Sydney clubs continue on a steady course.

Events and Medals

In January, the first Atlantic Long Track Camp was held at the Halifax Oval which was attended by 59 skaters and 7 coaches. Half of the skaters were from Speed Skate Nova Scotia. Later in the month, the first Atlantic Long Track Championship was held attended by 40 skaters from the Atlantic region.

In February, four skaters travelled to Winnipeg to attend the Canadian Age Class long Track Championships, winning Nova Scotia’s first medals with bronze in Boys-14 300m, bronze in Boys-14 100m, and bronze in Girls-13 100m. The three ALTP skaters also achieved standards to compete in the 2013-2014 Canada Cup series.

Yours in sport,

Troy Myers

President

Speed Skating Nova Scotia

Speed Skating Nunavut This past year was a year of transitions and premonitions for the future. We know increasingly that a new age is dawning for us, with lots of challenges.

• We had a great clinic with Peter Steele in October, ensuring the advancement of two more coaches to full Level Two NCCP Introduction to Competition certification and development work with our older athletes. • Two of our coaches attended coaching conferences in Montreal and Ottawa. • We participated in two Eastern Ontario Regional Ability Meets in Ottawa and Brockville and achieved podium performance in Brockville with a Bronze medal. • Our athletes skated at Canada East Championships in Halifax and had a great time. • We had our second annual John Sands Iqaluit Inter-School Championships. The turnout and interest increased despite being on Easter Saturday, and this year’s winner was Nakasuk School. • We have experienced a dramatic and enthusiastic membership growth in younger skaters, but unfortunately a decline in older skaters. • We are still struggling with our disappointment at the announcement that Short Track Speed Skating will not be included in Arctic Winter Games 2016, and that has had a noticeable impact on everyone: athletes, coaches and supporters.

We have identified several needs and expectations for renewal and change. We will continue to work on the development of a new generation of competitive skaters. We are committed to renewal and change within the sport of speed skating, especially the new Long Term Athlete Development agenda of Speed Skating Canada. The Canada East Speed Skating Championships have provided us with new opportunities for relevant competitive experience. Our appreciation to the organizers of those meets who gave our skaters from Nunavut a very warm welcome. Also, we would like to express our huge sense of gratitude to the New Brunswick Summer Speed Skating Camp organizers for including our skaters in their camp. The John Sands meet was made possible through the generous support from our benefactor, John Sands. This meet gives many school children from the four elementary schools in Iqaluit to get a wonderful introduction to the sport of Speed Skating. We would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to Speed Skating Canada for their support in supporting us this season. We would like to acknowledge all our volunteers and supporters, without whom we would not have survived! And good news at last for those who surf the web:

The Nunavut Speed Skating Association is proud to advertise website. Check it out: You can look at the beta website: http://www.nunavutspeedskating.ca/index.html

Respectfully submitted,

John Maurice, President- Speed Skating Nunavut

Ontario Speed Skating Association

Not submitted

Speed Skate PEI

Speed Skate PEI had a productive and successful 2012/13 season. Among the highlights to report:

• Enrollment in our sole club remained flat versus the prior season, with 100 youth skaters. New skater recruitment was at a record level, however, our attrition rate from the prior season was also higher than usual. In particular, our retention of first year skaters was lower than in recent years. We suspect that was due to some “one- time” factors, however, retention of new skaters is too low in general and we are looking for ways to keep more of the skaters we attract.

• Nine PEI skaters competed at the Canada East Short Track Championships in Halifax, where two of our skaters had top ten overall finishes. We hope that our improved attendance this year (no doubt due in part to the shorter travel) will help stimulate interest for future seasons. No PEI skaters attended the Canadian Age Class Short Track Championships in Montreal this season. Our ranks of senior competitive skaters within the CACST age groups are very thin, with just six skaters, only three of whom competed this year. Overall, 43 of our skaters participated in at least one sanctioned meet this season. One PEI skater participated in the Atlantic Long Track Championships in Halifax this year and thus became the first PEI skater to compete in a long track event since 2007. Several others attended at least one LT camp in Halifax.

• Coaching, as in other branches and clubs, is forever a work-in-progress. Our Head Coach for the past several years informed us in late June that he would be stepping back from the Head Coach role, though he has remained involved in other essential and valuable capacities, including coaching. One of our other four senior lead coaches also elected to retire from coaching and some of our assistant coaches had their children leave the sport unexpectedly, so we had several large holes to fill this year. Fortunately, we were blessed to have three new individuals step into leading roles with two of our larger groups and parents answered our calls for more new assistants to join us on the ice. In the end, we had excellent coaching coverage, with a total roster of 15 coaches or assistants. In September 2012, we hosted a FUNdamentals Leader clinic in Charlottetown, led by SSNB Technical Director Peter Steele. This was our first offering of a speed skating coaching course in PEI in several years – we are indebted to Peter for his assistance.

• We have also been working to grow our ranks of officials. Again, one of our colleagues from New Brunswick (Bruce Gray) was kind enough to put on a Level 1 Officials clinic for us in early November. We had eleven PEI attendees at the clinic and as a result of their practical experience and clinic attendance, we now have several new Level 1 officials. We also had a Starter attend a Level 2 clinic in December and this individual gained additional experience at several events throughout the season. We’re looking to continue increasing our base of officials in the coming year and in particular we are looking to recruit candidates for Referee and Starter training.

• Financially, we expect to end our May 31 fiscal year with a small surplus. Icetime costs continued their steady rise, but were offset by slightly fewer hours and increased fees from skaters. We were fortunate to receive $1000 again in 2012/13 from the Intact Podium Tracker program and the money was put to good use as it helped us make some re-investments into our rental skate program. The City of Charlottetown and Province of PEI remain as key financial partners, though income from both of those sources declined this year. We are currently awaiting news from the Province of PEI regarding 2013-14 funding under a revamped Amateur Sport Funding Program and are cautiously hopeful about the new program. In addition, we are hopeful that the newly announced Legacy Fund from the 2009 Canada Summer Games hosted by PEI will mean some new funding opportunities for future seasons. Finally, on the financial and fundraising front, Speed Skate PEI has agreed to partner with a local country music festival this summer. We will recruit and supply a number of volunteers for the three day festival in return for a financial contribution from the festival. We will be using this new money to help fund our upcoming safety mat purchases. If the event goes well for both parties, it could continue as a source of revenue for Speed Skate PEI for years to come. Time will tell!

• 2012-13 marked the first full season for Todd Landon in his role as SSC Regional Development Mentor and Long Track Coach in Halifax. We were pleased to have Todd as a new resource within our region and believe that over time, long track within our entire region will benefit significantly. Beyond long track, Todd has also been an excellent general resource and we appreciated the visits that he was able to make to our Annual Meeting and to spend time with our skaters and coaches on and off the ice during the season.

• We had continued interest from a small group of parents in one rural community who are considering starting a new club. We’ve been working to find ways to support them with the expected challenges around coaching and equipment and are hopeful that they may elect to proceed with a new club in 2013-14.

• Speed Skate PEI has taken the first steps in a strategic planning exercise in recent months. We will continue with this exercise during the next year and are looking to chart our course for the next three to five years.

With our energetic and committed team of volunteers, parents and skaters, all of whom we are very thankful for, we are looking forward to continued progress on and off the ice in the coming year.

Speed Skate PEI

Fédération de patinage de vitesse du Québec

Not submitted.

Saskatchewan Amateur Speed Skating Association Report

In Saskatchewan our primary focus has been to develop a better governance model for our board and to completely embrace LTPAD by putting the athlete front and center in our Sport’s committees.

Club Membership: There are currently seven affiliated clubs in Saskatchewan (Humboldt, Melville, Moose Jaw, Nipawin, Prince Albert, Regina and Saskatoon). There has been an increase in our overall membership from 477 to 524. There seems to be a noticeable gap amongst our older skaters. Some of our clubs are successful in bringing in new members using learn to skate programs.

Financial Status: SASSA continues to remain financially stable through the oversight of the Board of Directors and our continued support from Sask Sport, our membership and Speed Skating Canada. Part of our risk management is to decrease the dependency on Sask Sport by increasing our fund raising ability.

Staffing: SASSA has two fulltime employees; Shawn MacLennan continues to be our Executive Director and Tim Comfort has been our Performance Coaching & Technical Director of Speed Skating since August 2012.

Governance: Saskatchewan Speed Skating is into our second year of our new board structure. Once again we called on our Board Governance Coach, Arthur Whetstone, to help guide our progress. He showed us areas where we have vastly improved and areas of governance where we are still week. From these discussions we have now revamped our bylaws and policies to better reflect what the board’s responsibility is and what the member’s at large responsibilities are. Our Human Resources committee have defined the process for elevating our staff members and the recommendations to them for improvements. And our Financial Oversight committee has improved our budgeting and with the help of our executive director seek new areas of fund raising to reduce our overall risk.

The Sport Development Committees structure — Active Start-FUNdamentals-L2T , Train to Train, High Performance and Active for Life— which promotes a bottom-up approach to LTPAD. The sport development committees have been successful in bringing unique ideas from different perspectives to the SASSA Board. We are still working on launching the Active for Life Committee for this season as it did not sit this past season.

Season’s Events: Saskatchewan hosted five provincial competitions over the course of the 2012-2013 season. There was a shift from two day to more one day competitions with development camps 69

throughout the season. This model helped improve participation at our competitions. Saskatchewan had 3 skaters compete at the 2013 Canadian Short Track Championships. Keegan Christ was overall champion for the Junior A/Neo Senior age category. Saskatchewan had a very successful Canadian Long Track Championships, 2 class champions, 8 medals, and Most Improved Branch Award. The Canada West Short Track Championships was equally successful with 14 medals and 2 class champions.

On the international scene: Our athletes and officials represented their province and country with great class and zeal. Kali Christ, Lucas Makowsky, Justin Warsylewicz, and William Dutton represented Canada at International Competitions. We had Kali Christ and Lucas Makowsky on the National Team; William Dutton, and Justin Warsylewicz were members of the Nation Development Team. Kali Christ found success on the World Cup circuit with strong results in the 1500m and Team Pursuit.

Respectfully submitted,

Steven Krueger, SASSA President

Yukon Amateur Speed Skating Association

The 2012/13 season was a relatively quiet one for us with no major competitions on the agenda to plan or host. A small number of our skaters managed to compete in a few competitions in Alberta; as well we still have 2 skaters in the Oval program who continue to strive for spots on national level teams. Again one of our biggest struggles continues to be new membership and maintaining the T2T level skaters. At the beginning of the season an announcement was made that Arctic Winter Games 2016 would not have speed skating (as well as 5 other major sports) because Greenland is hosting and does not have the facilities. Obviously this is a major concern for us as these games are a huge event for our northern youth. After a major outcry our government has chosen to take this on on our behalf and we hope to have an announcement any day as to what they plan to do. We were also hoping to bid on a major SSC sanctioned event for the 2013/14 season but none of the suitable events had dates without conflicts for us. We plan to continue looking for an event suitable for us hopefully for the 2014/15 season. I am sad to say that my time with speed skating is coming to a close but not my passion for the sport. I am moving on to work with curling as my boys are very involved in this “boring” sport ;). I will always keep speed skating close to my heart and will miss working with this amazing “family” I have come to love. I am sure you will all hear me cheering for my beloved athletes during the Sochi Olympic Games! GO CANADA!

Respectfully Submitted,

Laini Klassen President, YASSA

Organizing Committee Calgary Report Annual General Meeting June 2013

I. Overview The Essent ISU World Cup returned to Calgary on January 19 & 20, 2013. The Organizing Committee Calgary was honoured to host and organize this prestigious ISU World Cup which was the focus of another successful speed skating season in Calgary. This was the 28th World Cup / Championships that OCC has produced on behalf of SSC.

II. Committee

The Organizing Committee Calgary (OCC) is a non-profit association registered under the Societies Act of Alberta. The events are managed by a volunteer-based group of approximately 180 dedicated volunteers. The Executive Committee consists of a Chairman and eight Vice Chairs. Part-time contract staff also provide an integral role in the structure of the Committee.

Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating

There were 125 athletes from 22 countries who competed in this event. From the teams’ airport arrivals and the Opening Draw to the athletes’ departure for Salt Lake City, every effort was made to provide the participants with the best possible environment for their competition. The top Canadian performances were by Christine Nesbitt who claimed a silver medal in the 1000m and Jamie Gregg who earned the bronze medal in the 500m. An exciting world record was set by Sang-Hwa Lee from Korea in the Ladies 500m – 36.80.

Opening ceremonies were attended by MP Rob Anders and MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans. There was a special tribute made to Kristina Groves recognizing her contributions to speed skating and her amazing career.

There were over 40 accredited media representing print, radio and television. CBC provided domestic host broadcast; international feeds went worldwide.

Partners

Many corporate partners continued their ongoing commitment to the Committee with over $60,000 supplied as donations-in-kind. Local suppliers included Ricoh, The Calgary Herald, Mediaco, Best Western Village Park Inn, CTV, Rogers Radio, West Canadian, Pepsi and McAra Printing.

Corporate ticket sales and hosting opportunities were once again offered to corporate Calgary with a few groups from last year returning. Several corporate partners used the 72

event for hosting clients and employees. Speed Skating Canada’s key sponsor Intact hosted a large group in a dedicated hosting space with reserved seating in the stands. Essent, a Dutch energy company, held the event’s title sponsorship through their long-term agreement with the ISU. The marketing rights for all of the World Cups were contracted by Referee Sportsmarketing in an agreement with the ISU which gave them the rights to most of the advertising in the rink area for their international partners.

Funding was received from the ISU, Sport Canada, Tourism Calgary, Alberta Tourism, Parks & Recreation Olympic Legacy Project and the Alberta Lottery Fund. Other revenues were generated through ticket sales, merchandising, corporate sales and other sponsorships.

Continuing with the successful initiative started last year, was the popular Club Corner. Tickets were sold by Alberta speed skating clubs who retained one half of the sales as a fund raiser for their clubs. The group sat together in their reserved corner near the 500m start and added a lot of enthusiasm and excitement to the venue.

Officials’ Development

The Committee continues to be interested in assisting with new recruitment and retention ideas for technical volunteers and supports the training and upgrading of officials at all levels.

III. Future International Competitions to be organized by OCC

The Committee is very much looking forward to organizing the next Essent ISU World Cup to be held in Calgary on November 8, 9 & 10, 2013. This pre-Olympic event will be an exciting opportunity for speed skating fans to preview the Olympic athletes on their way to Sochi, Russia. Marketing strategies such as the Club Corner will continue and expand to include more regional speed skating clubs in fund-raising or revenue-sharing that will benefit the clubs and engage increased numbers of spectators in the exciting atmosphere of the World Cup.

In closing...

Over the past 25 years, OCC is pleased to have developed an excellent working relationship with SSC, the Olympic Oval and the ISU and their partners. These strong relationships will no doubt continue to provide a substantial legacy for speed skating in Canada and contribute to the positive environment required to develop world-class skaters. The Organizing Committee would like to acknowledge the support of the Olympic Oval staff at the University

of Calgary. The Olympic Oval has maintained a very high standard for fast ice in an outstanding venue and together with the Organizing Committee continues to attract worldwide recognition for high caliber competitions.

Our team of volunteers is looking forward to the future. We always depend on the continued dedication and commitment of our experienced volunteers, as well as the new volunteers who have joined our team. We would like to thank them all for their exceptional contribution to the success of the World Cup. We look forward to working with all of them again next season.

Respectfully submitted,

Organizing Committee Calgary Executive:

Alice Humeny – Chair

Nannette Ho Covernton – Vice Chair Sport Production

Janice Dawson – Vice Chair Administration Gregg Planert – Vice Chair Technical

Catherine Humeny – Vice Chair Event Support Jim Kelly – Vice Chair Finance

Mark Messer – Vice Chair Telecommunications Lynn Nixon – Vice Chair Operations

Russell Reimer – Vice Chair Communications/Marketing

Staff

Lynda Murch – Manager Administration

Eryn Paterson – Manager Volunteers & Website

Antonio Faiola – Manager Business Development

Nathalie Smith-MacInnis – Manager Team Services

Gillian Richmond – Event Assistant