Friday, April 19, 2013

Strat Plan Part 2, AGM, Sport Awards

2012 AGM Comes to a Close

Many thanks goes out to all those member clubs who attended the 2012 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the Rexall Centre Player's Lounge. We had one of our highest attendances in years, with 117 people representing 49 clubs. The full business conducted was videotaped and posted on the OTA's YouTube Channel OTATV1 in case you missed it. In addition, you'll find the most popular seminar, "How to attract and retain new members at your club", on our YouTube channel, and all the seminar presentations posted on the OTA Resource Centre on google drive (check with Jay Neill at the office if you don't already have your link). Also posted there is the 2012 Annual Report.

I'll be looking over the AGM survey forms shortly and report back on some of the feedback in May, especially on recommendations for future seminars.

2012 AGM

Pictures from the day can be viewed on our Facebook page.

2012 Ontario Sport Awards Held April 18, 2013

Another exciting evening for coaches, athletes, volunteers and sponsors at the 2012 Ontario Sport Awards held at the Marriott Airport hotel. I counted 40 tables so there were likely between 350-400 in attendance. The OTA nominated Sharon Arnold for a Syl Apps volunteer award for tennis and was honoured along with 29 other volunteers at this event last night. For a full list of all the winners, visit http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/sport/sport/awards_winners_2012.shtml.

Sharon has been involved with tennis for over 55 years. Early in her career she taught tennis at the U of T and was instrumental in the birth of the Doug Philpott inner-city children's foundation and still serves as secretary and chair of the Program Committee. Sharon received the DSA award in 2004 for her work with disadvantaged youth. Congratulations Sharon! Pictures from the evening are also on our Facebook page.



OTA Strategic Plan Part 2

One of the seminars held after the AGM on Apr 13 was a review of the latest OTA Strategic Plan. The full presentation is posted on the OTA Resource Centre. In my March blog post, I outlined examples for our first Goal and I continue this month with our second goal:

GOAL #2: Provide opportunities for players to improve at every level

Summary of Strategies
  • Support competitive opportunities for players with an active competitive structure
  • Promote player development
  • Maintain an effective ranking system
  • Assist member clubs in attracting  top tennis pros
  • Encourage enthusiasts to become instructors and officials
  • Continue with OTA charitable fundraising in support of junior development
Examples

  • A strong partnership with OFSAA to deliver province-wide tennis competitions for high schools, culminating in a large playoff event at Rexall Centre in June - 310 players competing in 10 events
  • The NEW U9 Champions initiative and tournament. Club events will be held over the summer with a final tournament Nov 8-10, 2013 at Rexall coinciding with a charity/fundraising dinner at the Cricket Club on Nov 9th.
  • Maintain an active competitive structure with sanctioned competitions year-round – bonus for clubs and academies to promote tennis, attract players and generate additional revenue – Ontario has 2208 registered players, 360 sites with 841 events
  • Promoting online software to streamline club operations and programming (eg: Visual Reality (VR) Tournament Planner for sanctioned tournament management, 3rd-party offerings)
  • Launch of the new rounds-based ranking system in late 2013 using VR system
  • Coaching certification through OTA office – 212 new instructors and 40 upgrades in 2012. Is your tennis pro registered with the Tennis Professionals Association (TPA)?
  • Tennis Canada provide officials training twice annually – roving, chair umpires, line umpires for Futures events, Rogers Cup, etc. – important to maintain strong pool of officials to promote fair play at tournaments – 24 new umpires certified in 2012
  • OTA offers an active Job Line for Club pro hiring and even hiring of club monitors and assistant pros