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President’s Message - Spring 2015
Spring has sprung... finally! Our provincial events calendar is winding down and it’s
time to start planning next year. Like summer, our “off season” is very short and we
have a lot to do before August 1st.
Sub-Committees
Firstly, the response to our call for volunteers has been absolutely overwhelming! Thank you to all
the fencers, coaches and parents who put together very well thought-out submissions. Laurence
and I have done a first draft of the composition of each committee. A great many of you indicated
an interest in several committees. Our goal is it get the right people, in the right seats while keeping
our committees at a manageable size (with a few exceptions, 5 members per committee is our max).
The draft structure was submitted to the Board for discussion and approval at our April 26th
meeting. Since then, Laurence has been communicating with committee chairs, draft terms of
reference documents have been prepared for each committee and we are ready to go! The board
will approve the committee terms of reference documents at our next meeting and these will be
posted on the website in early June. We have assembled an incredible pool of talent and I am very
excited about the outcome.
Ratified Sub-Committees:
Competitions: John Makela (Chair), Mark Jeffrey, William Kinney, Tim Stang, Paul ApSimon
Coaching/Tech: Allan Fein (Chair), Hugh Munby, Marc-André LeBlanc, Lynn Xu, Tim Stang
Youth Dev: Kristine Richardson (Chair), Katya Belkina, Igor Tikhomirov, Sahil Bablani, Alex Miklos
Veterans: Robert McLean (Chair), Lucie Hamelin, Elsabe Falkson, Kyle Foster, Gaby Weisz
Appeals/Complaints: Christopher Kalantzis (Chair), John Wright, Vivian Poon
Finance: Lucie Hamelin (Chair), Marilyn Jeffrey, Jessica Zhang, Mike McDonnell
HP/Quest: Paul ApSimon (Chair), David Howes, Alexis Rudkovska, Elaine Ni
Officials: Thomas Nguyen (Chair), Dima Belashov, Mike Ivankovic, John Makela, Jon Holtz, Kristina Han
Ministry cuts funding to SAO
On March 27th, we received notice of the Ministry’s decision to end funding to the Sport Alliance of
Ontario (SAO). Assistant Deputy Minister Steve Harlow held a follow-up meeting last week to
provide additional clarity and answer questions. Although the SAO has been dissolved, the Ministry
reiterated its commitment to amateur sport. Harlow stated that the Ministry would assume
responsibility for the Games (good news for us!), Sports Awards and similar initiatives.
Harlow did announce the Ministry’s priorities for the coming year. They will be targeting:
1. Participation (more engagement, i.e. more members, new Canadians and Aboriginals);
2. Development (including coaches and officials) and safety;
3. HP (they will be reevaluating Quest). Additional budget announcements will be made.
Laurence attended the meeting and is keeping in touch with our Ministry consultant. At this stage,
it does not seem that we will be affected by these cuts. However, we are present at these meetings.
We will keep you informed of the situation as it develops.
Membership
In my last message, I circulate a link to a short survey about registration of recreational members.
We have had very little response. If you have not done so already, please fill out the short 3 question
survey found here>>. Answers are completely anonymous.
Provincial Championships and Gala
As you all know, Provincials were held mid-March at Durham College. In spite of our many
challenges, we are happy with results. We had solid attendance at 295. We will present a full report
of financials at the AGM. For a number of reasons, we decided to use the same formula as last year
in the organization and venue. We introduced a few new elements, like a new protocol for awarding
medals. We will continue improving the event next year. If you missed Provincials, please have a
look at the pics on our FB page. Results are also posted on the OFA website.
Gala: We held our first gala this year (presented by Sport Durham), around the theme was
Celebrating Excellence. Over 100 people were in attendance to honour our Quest for Gold athletes.
Upon reading their profile, I was certainly impressed by these kids both as athletes and as people.
We should be extremely proud of our young fencers! We also celebrated Alex Miklos for his
outstanding commitment, on and off the piste, to fencing in Ontario, nationally and internationally.
Thank you Alex for years of outstanding service!
2015 Quest for Gold Recipients with high performance coach
David Howes.
OFA President, Lucie Hamelin presents a
lifetime commitment award to Alex Miklos.
AGM
Mark your calendars: OFA Annual General Meeting will be held on the weekend of Sept. 12-13.
More information, including location, time, agenda, will be posted as soon as they are available.
Upcoming Tournaments and Events
Senior/Veterans National Championships – Canada Cup Cadet/Junior/U15 – Vancouver. Follow the
competition here>>
Can Am Veteran’s Cup May 30th-31st at Vango Toronto Fencing Club. Click here for information and
registration.
Asian Community Games, June 13th and 14th at Vango Fencing club. As a reminder, Asian
Community Games are multicultural sport event organized around the spirit of unity and diversity.
Fencing has been part of the games for several years. This year, competitions will be held in Y10,
Y12, Y14 and Senior (over 15). Information and registration is available here or on the OFA Website
(www.fencingontario.ca).
Tashkent 2015
Several Quest for Gold athletes competed at the Cadet and
Junior World Championships in Tahkent. For many, this was
their first major international event. Congratulations to
Angela Li, Jenny Zhao, Michelle LI, Cindy Gao, Alex Cucos and
Nicolas Damjonovic. And last, but certainly not least,
congratulations Eleanor Harvey on her Silver medal!
Congratulations Kelleigh Ryan!!!
Gold Medal at the Copenhagen
Satellite World Cup this week!