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Shaping our Tomorrow 124th AGM / AGA 124 Façonner notre avenir June 16-19, 2011 | | 16-19 juin 2011 The Westin Calgary, Calgary, AB Table of Contents / Table des matières President Report / Rapport de la présidente 2 National Office Report / Rapport du bureau 6 national SSC Commitee Reports / Rapports des comités de 15 PVC Branch Reports / Rapports des associations- 42 membres Organizing Committee Calgary Report / Rapport du 64 comité organisateur de Calgary 1 President Report I am always pleased to see you at the Annual General Meeting and to submit the 2010-2011 report by the Board of Directors of Speed Skating Canada. Another year draws to a close, a year that passed too quickly, that we hoped would be quieter than the year before, but was not. We naively thought that the post- Olympic year would be less demanding and hectic. We were wrong. Like every other year, this year forced us to exceed our limits. For this transition year, the theme chosen for our annual general meeting seems quite fitting. Now that the Vancouver Olympic Games and our "Vision 2010" strategic plan are behind us, our thoughts turn to how we want to "Shape our Future" as an organization. Not only have we started a new Olympic cycle that will take us to the Sochi Games in 2014, we have also reached the important stage of implementing our Long Term Participant and Athlete Development Model, and creating a new long-term strategic plan for Speed Skating Canada. The past season and the start of the current season confronted us with major changes and forced us to adjust quickly and deal with a new set of circumstances. Between April and November 2011, Rose Mercier took over as acting Executive Director and we transitioned between the departure of Jean Dupré for the Canadian Olympic Committee and the arrival of John-Paul Cody-Cox, selected in August as Jean Dupré’s successor to lead SSC. Rose, who has worked with us for over fifteen years, shouldered us in completing the 2010-2020 strategic plan, which we discussed and developed together at the last two annual general meetings. Rose also joined in the Board’s brainstorming on the roles and responsibilities of a BoD in this new, demanding and complex environment of sports in Canada. Together with her, we explored the best forms of governance for our organization and gave extensive thought to how we could better serve our clients and our members. We also wanted to turn these changes and departures into opportunities to take a fresh look at our organization in order to move forward and do better. Because we know that we must act and plan our future together, this brainstorming and analysis activity also included committees and chairpersons from every province and territory. The work we intend to submit at this year’s AGM is work in progress and will therefore continue in 2011-12. We must proceed properly, take time to analyze and discuss and of course, plan for the future together with all of our stakeholders, employees and volunteers. I’m sure you know that the reason we changed our meeting calendar and the list of activities involved in analyzing our association and the review procedures and rules announced last June is because the many projects underway demanded it. Not only did the clubs have to cope with the increased registrations generated by the Vancouver 2 Olympic Games (the kind of problem we like!), but our committees and member associations were deeply involved in creating the new Athlete and Participant Development Model as well as the new competition format. Implementing the model, which we agreed must be versatile and accommodating, demands support and education as well as a significant amount of energy to change approaches to training and competition. The Canadian Short Track Championships held in Montreal, Toronto and Kelowna, nothing but ideas and intentions only a few months ago, were carried off with success and pay tribute to the commitment of members and the sincere desire to offer a renewed format adapted to the skaters in our clubs. To top it off, in 2010-11 we also prepared for the Canada Games. What emotion we felt at the short track in St. Margaret’s arena and what a thrill to see our young people skate in the Commons on the magnificent oval that the local public fought to win. Their support and confirmation that the oval is being maintained is a serious boost to speed skating and to the Atlantic Provinces. The Canada Games were successfully celebrated in Halifax last February, not to mention the many other events: two short track World Cups held in Quebec (Quebec City and Montreal), the World All-Round Speed Skating Championships in Calgary, many local, provincial, national and international competitions, and more. The annual report is always an excellent opportunity to underscore the achievements of our members and congratulate our volunteers and employees for their outstanding contributions. For a reason I cannot fathom and that still impresses me, we have the exceptional good fortune to have sustained the commitment of many volunteers in all areas of our activities, and the privilege of having many athletes join our committees, clubs and boards of directors once their careers end. The level of commitment and quality of work accomplished by these many people is allowing our sport to grow and stand out. Although difficulties sometimes arise, they are not the outcome of persistent conflicts or ill-willed conspiracies, but more a symptom of communications in need of improvement or simple blunders. Among our noteworthy successes, after an Olympic year and the departure or absence of high performance athletes, I would like to mention the athletic achievements of two outstanding women who set our hearts racing and filled us with pride to be Canadian: special thanks must go to Christine Nesbitt and Marianne St-Gelais! Christine won 11 individual medals on the World Cup circuit this year including 9 gold medals, and was crowned World Sprint Champion, World Allround runner-up and World Champion in the 1000m. Marianne St-Gelais also proved that the two Olympic silver medals she won in Vancouver last year were well-deserved; she dominated the 500m at the World Cup this season, winning every 500-metre race she entered. Overall, Marianne won seven individual World Cup medals this season, including five gold medals. I would also like to mention medals won by Charles Hamelin, Olivier Jean, Lucas Makowsky and our relay and pursuit teams at the World Championships. The list of individual Canadian medals won at this year’s World Cup is long! In addition to the athletes already mentioned we 3 would also like to congratulate Valérie Maltais, Valérie Lambert, Marie-Ève Drolet, Guillaume Bastille, Jessica Gregg, Michael Gilday, François-Louis Tremblay, François Hamelin, Rémi Beaulieu, Cindy Klassen, Kristina Groves, Brittany Schussler, Denny Morrison and Jamie Gregg. I would also like to underscore the success of Laurent Dubreuil and Kali Christ who climbed the podium at the World Junior Long Track Championships for individual distances. With the many changes and major modifications in our financial landscape in 2010-11, the Board of Directors turned its attention to the future of SSC with special intensity and urgency. I would say that 2010-11 forced us to take stock, establish priorities and develop a plan over a longer term than the usual four years. To illustrate what I mean, the Board of Directors examined the following priority issues this year: 1) Safety and security (of skaters, facilities, competitions, etc.), which demands planning, research, benchmarks and standards; 2) The budget for the year in progress, causing us concern because of a deficit, and the budget for future years, which we hope to balance; 3) Shrinking government funding and sponsorships despite our outstanding performance; 4) Structures, procedures and human resources (employees and volunteers) that demand analysis and possibly some reorganization to allow our sport to advance; 5) LTPAD follow-up because we collectively made it a priority and firmly believe in it; 6) The transition between the 2010 Olympic Games and now because things have changed and we must adjust; 7) The SSC position concerning our participation in the 2012 Olympic Games for young people under 19 years of age and the athlete development philosophy; 8) The support we must provide to coaches and clubs to ensure they can deliver high-quality training; 9) The review of our decision appeal procedure because our policies must be revised and respond to situations more effectively; 10) Infrastructure maintenance and development to support speed skating in Canada and promote its growth; 11) Our relations with partners, sponsors, governments, etc., because we need the support and expertise of many people; 12) The succession for key persons in director positions (BoD or committees) in charge and of concern to us; 13) Review of the rules and procedures concerning the association governance review, necessary after more than 15 years; 14) The arrival of a new Executive Director with whom we must discuss, share the association’s history and culture, develop priorities, modify approaches, support and shoulder to give him a clear picture of who we are and allow him to take his place. 4 During the general meeting, we will explain the various issues we addressed this year in more detail. You will also see that our work will continue next year, and that we are relying on our members to ensure that our efforts are consistent with their aspirations. The association has attained a level of maturity and sophistication that demands a stricter and more critical approach, but also our commitment and unity.