Annual Report 2009-10 Table of Contents 1 President’s Message 3 Year in Review 3 Beach High Performance Committee 4 Men’s Indoor High Performance Committee 6 Women’s Indoor High Performance Committee 7 Disabled Volleyball Committee 8 Domestic Development Committee 9 Domestic Competitions Committee 9 Beach Competitions Committee 11 Directors, Delegates, Chairs and Staff 12 Program Committees 13 Partners 14 Auditor’s Report b President’s Message At the 2008 AGM, I had the unpleasant task of informing the membership that Volleyball Canada was near financial insolvency, and that we had de - veloped and initiated a Debt Reduction Plan which would impact all our programs for at least thirty months. Since that time, we have reduced that debt significantly, and have also reviewed and reformed many operational protocols. In addition to those financial and operational reforms, we have also revised our Strategic Plan to 2012 and rededicated ourselves to our core business. At the end of last year’s AGM, we focused our Strategic Plan around the theme of “volley - ball in Canada.” What this means is that the business of Volleyball Canada is to grow and enhance what is good for volleyball nationally over the long-term. It will be the responsi - bility of our PTA partners to deliver those programs which have an impact within their own regions. An example of this theme working for everyone is the development of a new membership policy. Volleyball Canada cannot directly grow the membership of any individual province or territory. However, a clear and effective national membership pol - icy will provide every PTA with the opportunity to increase their membership numbers. Remember that a cornerstone of our present policy is that every member of a PTA is a member of Volleyball Canada and vice versa. As our financial situation improves and as we continue to rebuild our capacity, we will continue to build on the successes which have taken place over the past year. As you all probably know, both our indoor teams qualified for the 2010 World Championships. We have also begun to rebuild our Beach Volleyball Program with the hiring of a National Team Coach, and the establishment of a Beach Volleyball Centre in Toronto. Our Sitting Volleyball program, both men and women have a training centre in Calgary and have competed in the Parapan AM Championships. The men’s and women’s teams have quali - fied for the World Championships. Our national championships continue to attract a record number of teams and we are now committed to hosting a mega event in Toronto in 2012. In May of 2012, we will host all our national championships in one site. This event will not only enhance what has consistently been one our most successful programs, it will contribute to that other core business: increasing the visibility of volleyball in Canada. We have begun to explore the development of “sports schools” as an element of athlete development. Currently, two pilot projects are underway, one in Calgary and one in Rich - mond. These “Centres of Excellence” are consistent with LTAD principles and we hope that a series of these centres will help produce the type of athlete we need to compete in - ternationally. As we rebuild our domestic capacity, we are also asserting our presence in national and international bodies. Our participation in the Sports Team Coalition has already resulted in some gains in funding. As our finances improve, we are again able to send more dele - gates to NORCEA and FIVB commissions and meetings. This level of involvement will eventually pay dividends for our National Teams. 1 On the other hand, we have also had some disappointments. The NRS was launched after some delay. Unfortunately, it was not the seamless, flawless system we were hop - ing for. Much work remains before it can deliver the services we expect. However, it is being fixed and we can expect an improved system shortly. In closing, I would like to thank my fellow Board Members, all our staff and the thou - sands of volunteers for their tireless efforts in making volleyball in Canada better. The work of advancing volleyball in Canada is never-ending and we are fortunate that we have so many people who selflessly meet that challenge day in and day out. Hugh Wong President 2 Year in Review Beach High Performance Committee Beach National Team Program and National Beach Volleyball Practice Centre (NBVPC) After hiring a fulltime Head Coach (Lennard Krapp), a fulltime Beach Development Coach (Angie Shen) and a fulltime admin staff (Rob Dyba), Volleyball Canada established a three-way partnership in order to run a fulltime National Beach Volleyball Practice Centre in Toronto. The partners Ontario Volleyball Association, Canadian Sport Centre Ontario and Volleyball Canada are contributing to a centre that is serving all development levels with year round quality coaching in order to meet World standards. Due to the bold goals of the program, the talent & commitment of the athletes, quality of the staff, the commitment of the partners and the already established support system, the centre is eligible to receive Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative Funding. These financial resources will allow for hiring a second fulltime Beach Development Coach. The targeted group of athletes will be expected to own the podium in 2015 (Pan Am Games in Toronto) and 2016 (Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro), which is also the focus of the cur - rent National Team Program. A future high performance advisory group, together with the Head Coach, will create a staged plan in order to achieve these objectives and build a sustainable support system. The transition has not been without its bumps. The culture change, to year round high performance beach programs and a National Federation taking the lead on the develop - ment and support of National Team athletes still has to be established. Further challenges are the loss of 2 senior cards per gender (5 remaining), no travel fund - ing for the athletes, high indoor beach court fees and appeals. Volleyball Canada and Volleyball BC started bridging the Centre in the East with the Provincial Associations in the West by organizing a selection camp in Vancouver in May 2010 for U19 and U21 World Championships as well as for T2C. It should be noted that there the Beach Development Committee (BDC) did not run any activities in the last programming year. 2009 International Results > 9th World Championships in Stavanger/Norway . van Huizen/Redmann > 5th FIVB Grand Slam in Moscow/Russia . van Huizen/Redmann > 17th World Championships in Stavanger/Norway . Lessard/Martin > 9th FIVB Grand Slam in Moscow/Russia & Gstaad/Switzerland . Lessard/Martin > 2nd NORCECA Circuit Puerto Vallarta/Mexico . Binstock/Zbyszewski > 3rd NORCECA Circuit Puerto Vallarta/Mexico . Broder/Maloney > 1st Jeux de la Francophonie in Beirut/Lebanon . Lelliott/Saxton > 3rd Jeux de la Francophonie in Beirut/Lebanon . Bansley/Rodrigue > 9th U19 World Championships Alanya/Turkey . Del Bianco/Chow > 9th U19 World Championships Alanya/Turkey . May/Sidgwick > 9th U21 World Championships in Blackpool/England . Krizmanich/Whitaker > 9th U21 World Championships in Blackpool/England . Marshall/Schachter 2009 Selection Camp 6 female athletes and 7 male athletes were recommended for 2010 L2W carding and 0 athletes for T2W carding. One athlete couldn’t fulfill the requirement of committing 3 to the fulltime Centre and had to decline the carding. Carding scenario after 6 appeals and a re-ranking process: > Training to Win: 2 males + 2 females > Learning to Win: 7 males + 6 females 2010 International Results > 17th FIVB Grand Slam in Rome . van Huizen/Redmann > 1st NORCECA in Guatemala . Rodrigue/Zakrzewski > 1st NORCECA in Cayman Islands . Reader/Sewell > 2nd NORCECA in Guatemala . Lelliott/Saxton > 3rd NORCECA in Chiapas/Mexico . Bansley/Maloney > 4th NORCECA in Chiapas/Mexico . Broder/Cordonier > 4th NORCECA in Chiapas/Mexico . Schachter/Wheelan > 4th NORCECA in Cayman Islands . Hatch/Saxton 2010 Selection Camp T2C Selection Camp for 2010 carding held in May in Vancouver and in June in Toronto. Decisions pending. Upcoming in 2010/11 > Updated carding policy > T2W/L2W selection camp for 2011 carding in August 2010 > Start of the Olympic qualifying process (FIVB Olympic Ranking) on Jan. 1st 2011 > Start of the Olympic qualifying process (NORCECA Circuit leading up to the World Cup) on June 1st 2010 Men’s Indoor High Performance Committee The Men’s Indoor National Team just finished its first year in Gatineau. The highlight of the year was without a doubt the qualification into the World Championships to be held later this year in Italy, secured by a first place finish at the Norceca qualifying tournament last August in Mexico. More recently, the team finally made the physical move into its new home, the Centre Sportif, where the 2010 Open Selection camp took place from May 9 to 14 with approximately 45 athletes participating. Another positive point for the long- term development of the program was the operation of the Full-Time Training Centre this past fall and winter. A total of 13 athletes trained with Vincent Pichette, while Glenn Hoag was busy leading the Slovenian team of ACH Bled to a European Champions’ League Final 4 appearance in early May. It will no doubt be a very busy summer and fall for the Men’s program. The A team will be preparing for the World Championships, starting on September 25th in Italy. The B team will be training for 6 weeks to prepare a group of athletes for the 2011 World University Games as well as to identify and begin preparations for longer term success in the 2013- 2016 quadrennial. Volleyball Canada will also be operating a Junior team, to participate in the NORCECA Championships held August 14 to 22 in Gatineau.