november2013

2013 Softball Canada Annual General Meeting Summary

November 22, 2013

Ottawa, ON

2013 Softball Canada Annual General Meeting Summary
 
 
(Ottawa, ON) The 2013 Softball Canada Annual General Meeting was held this past weekend in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Representatives from each Provincial and Territorial Association attended event, with excellent workshops and discussions on how to improve the sport throughout the country.

The three days of meetings began with a national and provincial/territorial staff forum, where Softball Canada staff gave national program updates throughout the morning followed by an afternoon discussion session around system alignment. The Board of Directors and Officiating Development Committee also held meetings, followed by a President’s Reception.
 
  Softball Canada President Kevin Quinn and Chief Executive Officer Hugh Mitchener got things going with an Opening Session the morning of Friday, November 15th where they discussed items arising from the International Softball Federation Congress held last month, in addition to updates on activities related to Softball Canada’s Strategic Plan. The session concluded with an update on the success of the “My Game” Softball Canada Public Service Announcement (PSA) and the presentation of the new Softball Canada PSA that will also be distributed in multiple languages to television stations across the country in 2014.
 
  Over the two following days, interactive workshops covered all areas of Softball Canada’s operations, including the Future of Canadian Championships, Canada Games, Long Term Player Development Implementation Best Practices and Program Updates, and Technology. In addition, Randy Beatty from Rawlings Group Canada was on hand to educate delegates on the technology of softball equipment with the assistance of Tony Carnelos from Home Run Sports. A Male Fastpitch workshop also took place to discuss the state of the men’s game in Canada and it was announced that a committee has been formed to work on improving the program.
 
  A lot of discussion took place surrounding a few motions proposed to Softball Canada’s Special Operating rules, as well as the age category for the men’s and women’s softball competitions at the 2017 Canada Summer Games. In the end, Provincial and Territorial delegates agreed to work with Softball Canada to come up with resolutions about those topics in the following months.
 
  At the Annual General Meeting, Kevin Quinn (Charlottetown, PEI) was acclaimed as President, as were four other members of Softball Canada’s Board of Directors: Larry Gould (Burtts Corner, NB), Robb Andison (Whitehorse, YK), Ryan DeBelser (Airdrie, AB) and Lynda Turton (Port Colborne, ON).
 
  At the Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet, Rachel Proctor (Surrey, BC) and Nicole Swett (Kelowna, BC) were announced as the recipients of the Ethel Boyce Achievement Award ($1,000 bursary), while Jessica Raymond (Waterloo, ON) and Tom Fischer (Teeswater, ON) earned the Claude Deschamps Memorial Award ($1,000 bursary). Softball Canada then presented the Home Run Sports Coach of the Year Award to Haylee O’Neill (Oakville, MB), the Home Run Sports Umpire of the Year Award to Brent Chadwick (Assiniboia, SK) and the Rose Hodgson Volunteer of the Year Award to Floyd Daniels (Hay River, NWT). Three inductees were then inducted to the Softball Canada Hall of Fame, including the late Jimm Barr (Official – Northwest Territories), Paul Gard (Builder – Northwest Territories) and Adam Smith (Athlete – Ontario). All of these inductees brought significant contributions at both the national and international level, and were very humbled by the presentations.  
 
The Softball Canada Annual General Meeting in Yellowknife was very successful, and Softball Canada would like to thank everyone who contributed to that success, including the NWT Softball volunteers and staff, our Provincial/Territorial delegates, as well as the Board of Directors and staff of Softball Canada. Next year’s Annual General Meeting will take place November 13-16, 2014 in Charlottetown, Prince Edwards Island as a part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference, where the idea of forming Canada as a country was proposed.
 
 
 
For more information, please contact:
Gilles LeBlanc Manager - Marketing and Communications Softball Canada (613) 523-3386 ext. 3105 gleblanc@softball.ca
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