Today I headed to the ODSA AGM held in Toronto for what was expected to be a very interesting AGM. Parts of this post are written while I was at the AGM so there will be a changes in tense as you read on.
A bit of background (I can chat about this because it’s public) on why it’s interesting is that there is general discontent amongst Ultimate clubs in Ontario with ODSA’s governing body (board and Executive Director). The larger clubs in Ontario are not content with the leadership and recent events regarding the 2009 Ultimate Championships pushed more Ultimate clubs towards leaving ODSA.
Within ODSA Disc Golf is disproportionately represented and Disc Golfers are “well taken care of”. This is not due to some imbalance or favoritism over time but rather a lack of action by Ultimate clubs to elect members or represent themselves at AGMs in the past. This year Ultimate players are out in force to voice their opinions and ensure that Ultimate interests are well represented.
Going in I wasn’t sure if Disc Golf players were aware of the issues surrounding the largest and most active sport within the organization or the concerns that some clubs had with the Executive Directory (Chris Lowcock).
It was also very interesting to see the organization of clubs in Ontario in relation to WODS. WODS is one of the few Disc Sports club as opposed to most clubs which are either Ultimate or Disc Golf specific. Our interests are to support general sports development and we’ve done very well in both areas by building out a large league program as well as assisting Liquid when it was first starting out. WODS continues to develop and assist new competitive and touring teams in Waterloo Region. On the Disc Golf side WODS has contributed significantly to the new Chicopee Disc Golf course. We’ve also played Goaltimate (and continue to do so time to time) in the past and are working towards a Double Disc Court tournament (when we get a free weekend). Freestyle will eventually get going here once I get decent at it.
Other organizations simply do not work with multiple sports or provide the opportunity to crossover. Within WODS we can easily empathize with all players and disc sports players. There is tension in the room as Ultimate teams wait patiently to voice their needs. The Disc Golf players do not seem aware of what may soon happen.
So what may happen soon? Going into the meeting it was tough to say. In fact many Ultimate clubs in Ontario didn’t know until recently that there was discontent amongst the larger clubs. Not all clubs are associated with touring level Ultimate and as such do not have the same competitive level concerns that the big clubs in Ontario have.
When there’s tension in a room it has a way of bubbling up from time to time. The first moment was when a review of Chris Lowcock’s performance came out and the first salvo was fired with concern about the evaluation process. The second was a questioning of how the Ontario Regionals were left to CUPA to organize and run (WODS did that on behalf of CUPA). A quick response on feedback that ODSA received from member clubs was brought up and an uneasy pause was entered while new business was moved onto.
It’s strange, as if some organizations have already made up their mind but Lowcock has been smart in providing documentation of communication and not answered directly. Yet you can sense the frustration in his voice; frustration at things dragging on and at questions being asked.
In conversations I’ve always found that the ODSA Executive Director enjoys doing the talking, expressing a variety of ideas, and wanting people to hear what he’s saying. In all of his conversations, speeches, and discussions at the AGM he continued to express his thoughts in much the same manner but there were problems. His speeches tend to be vague and rather than address the core issues he simple dismisses the current line of questioning.
The Disc Golfers in the room could also sense that something was not normal. I got the distinct sense that these AGMs and meetings tend to go fairly quickly and orderly without question or discussion of what the core group of members push forth in the agenda or policy. Many were also surprised by the anger and passion in some lines of questioning. There was also frustration that the Ultimate clubs were there en mass indicating that they had expressed issues time and time again without receiving a response.
Frustration that the board members had communicated time and time again and yet had not heard back at all. This particular frustration deserves further questioning. How is it possible that almost all Ultimate clubs in Ontario conveniently ignored any feedback requested of them in a timely manner? It’s not.
There’s a disconnect somewhere and that was about the only common understanding reached at the end of the AGM. Where that disconnect is depends on whom you talk to. Regardless of who is to blame all sides will need to work together starting immediately. Emails should be flying back and forth now. There was no situation presented at the AGM that cannot have all parties happily moving towards a solution inside of a week.
I don’t worry for the future of Disc Golf or Ultimate; both of these sports are well entrenched and established within their member cities. I do wonder though if the concerns expressed during the AGM will be handled quickly.
In other news out of the AGM:
- Three new board members: Natalie Fitzgerald, Darryl Chow, Rob Wormald. Mike Yuhasz who’s with the Brantford Disc Golf Club, Chicopee Disc Golf Club, and WODS is also on the board serving out his second year (Mike and Duane played a huge role in getting Chicopee going with AJ).
- Thomas Meyer stepped down as Treasurer and moved into the position of President. New Treasurer is Curtis Vanderloo.
- The RADD tour is very cool and both Dušan Nedelko and Mark Kowgier have done well with it. Dušan came through Waterloo a few years ago during the tour and hooked many people on Disc Golf. He’s played a major role in keeping DG active throughout Ontario and getting kids more involved in Ultimate.
Aside from that we await news of the new competitive/touring policy. Hope you’ve enjoyed my rambling semi-in-the-moment blogging.
Yesterday evening was my first foray into National level organization by participating in my first Ultimate Canada board meeting. A friend in Hamilton (Linda) suggested that I try for an Ontario rep spot and at the conference a few weeks ago I was acclaimed (deeee-fault!). I have, for quite some time, shied away from being a part of the system in Canadian Ultimate much preferring to think that I could create change more easily from the outside. It’s a view that I’ve taken with WODS even though I’ve been on the board in Waterloo since the beginning.
Life is about experience and even the single meeting has shown me that trying to create change from the outside is the lazy way of approaching the problem. By sitting outside of a group and simply complaining or even creating as solution without sharing it with the “system” will not result in anything unless somebody in the “system” notices you and champions your cause.
Better than to wait for somebody else to take action is to be proactive and join the group that makes decisions and if nothing else one gains insight into why things are the way they are. So I’ve taken the leap and am on the Ultimate Canada (formerly CUPA) board of directors and I can tell you, it’s very exciting in seeing where we’re headed in the next few years.
If you feel there’s an issue in your local organization or really anywhere and you think you could help, do it from the inside, not the outside.
The deadline for submitting a nomination to recognize a member of the Ultimate community in Canada has been extended to December 15th, 2009.
The four areas a member could be eligible for are: Coach of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, and Spirit of the Game award. More details, eligibility criteria, and nomination details are available here: http://www.canadianultimate.com/Awards.html
Follow the iamultimate Twitter feed or better yet, that of Piers Truter for updates regarding the last spot for WUCC 2010 in Prague.
I had planned on posting this post a few weeks ago but a lack of being able to be awake prevented me from doing so. I will continue to post photos and video from the tournament over the next little bit.
One thing is for sure, the Australians know how to party on a grand scale. They arrive in style, pound back shots till the music starts, and then they get the dance floor going. On day four they were returning to their hotels well into the morning in preparation for a day of practice.
Continue Reading →
National Organizations now know how many bids they will receive for WUCC 2010. Details are available on timing and dates on the WUCC 2010 site.
Ladies, ladies, and some gents. I am returned. I am recuperating from what was essentially two weeks of being awake with some sleep breaks.
Photos and video to follow but in short: Boracay Dragons (and company) are the most hospitable hosts _ever_.
29
Nov
ODSA 2009 AGM
Today I headed to the ODSA AGM held in Toronto for what was expected to be a very interesting AGM. Parts of this post are written while I was at the AGM so there will be a changes in tense as you read on.
A bit of background (I can chat about this because it’s public) on why it’s interesting is that there is general discontent amongst Ultimate clubs in Ontario with ODSA’s governing body (board and Executive Director). The larger clubs in Ontario are not content with the leadership and recent events regarding the 2009 Ultimate Championships pushed more Ultimate clubs towards leaving ODSA.
Within ODSA Disc Golf is disproportionately represented and Disc Golfers are “well taken care of”. This is not due to some imbalance or favoritism over time but rather a lack of action by Ultimate clubs to elect members or represent themselves at AGMs in the past. This year Ultimate players are out in force to voice their opinions and ensure that Ultimate interests are well represented.
Going in I wasn’t sure if Disc Golf players were aware of the issues surrounding the largest and most active sport within the organization or the concerns that some clubs had with the Executive Directory (Chris Lowcock).
It was also very interesting to see the organization of clubs in Ontario in relation to WODS. WODS is one of the few Disc Sports club as opposed to most clubs which are either Ultimate or Disc Golf specific. Our interests are to support general sports development and we’ve done very well in both areas by building out a large league program as well as assisting Liquid when it was first starting out. WODS continues to develop and assist new competitive and touring teams in Waterloo Region. On the Disc Golf side WODS has contributed significantly to the new Chicopee Disc Golf course. We’ve also played Goaltimate (and continue to do so time to time) in the past and are working towards a Double Disc Court tournament (when we get a free weekend). Freestyle will eventually get going here once I get decent at it.
Other organizations simply do not work with multiple sports or provide the opportunity to crossover. Within WODS we can easily empathize with all players and disc sports players. There is tension in the room as Ultimate teams wait patiently to voice their needs. The Disc Golf players do not seem aware of what may soon happen.
So what may happen soon? Going into the meeting it was tough to say. In fact many Ultimate clubs in Ontario didn’t know until recently that there was discontent amongst the larger clubs. Not all clubs are associated with touring level Ultimate and as such do not have the same competitive level concerns that the big clubs in Ontario have.
When there’s tension in a room it has a way of bubbling up from time to time. The first moment was when a review of Chris Lowcock’s performance came out and the first salvo was fired with concern about the evaluation process. The second was a questioning of how the Ontario Regionals were left to CUPA to organize and run (WODS did that on behalf of CUPA). A quick response on feedback that ODSA received from member clubs was brought up and an uneasy pause was entered while new business was moved onto.
It’s strange, as if some organizations have already made up their mind but Lowcock has been smart in providing documentation of communication and not answered directly. Yet you can sense the frustration in his voice; frustration at things dragging on and at questions being asked.
In conversations I’ve always found that the ODSA Executive Director enjoys doing the talking, expressing a variety of ideas, and wanting people to hear what he’s saying. In all of his conversations, speeches, and discussions at the AGM he continued to express his thoughts in much the same manner but there were problems. His speeches tend to be vague and rather than address the core issues he simple dismisses the current line of questioning.
The Disc Golfers in the room could also sense that something was not normal. I got the distinct sense that these AGMs and meetings tend to go fairly quickly and orderly without question or discussion of what the core group of members push forth in the agenda or policy. Many were also surprised by the anger and passion in some lines of questioning. There was also frustration that the Ultimate clubs were there en mass indicating that they had expressed issues time and time again without receiving a response.
Frustration that the board members had communicated time and time again and yet had not heard back at all. This particular frustration deserves further questioning. How is it possible that almost all Ultimate clubs in Ontario conveniently ignored any feedback requested of them in a timely manner? It’s not.
There’s a disconnect somewhere and that was about the only common understanding reached at the end of the AGM. Where that disconnect is depends on whom you talk to. Regardless of who is to blame all sides will need to work together starting immediately. Emails should be flying back and forth now. There was no situation presented at the AGM that cannot have all parties happily moving towards a solution inside of a week.
I don’t worry for the future of Disc Golf or Ultimate; both of these sports are well entrenched and established within their member cities. I do wonder though if the concerns expressed during the AGM will be handled quickly.
In other news out of the AGM:
Aside from that we await news of the new competitive/touring policy. Hope you’ve enjoyed my rambling semi-in-the-moment blogging.