OWSA Annual General Meeting and Report 1995 Paul Jurbala The year the Annual General Meeting returned after an absence of 3 years to the Ontario Sports and Recreation Centre, site of the OWSA office, giving OWSA members a chance to see the "new" Centre as they learned about and discussed the 1995 season and future directions for the Association. As always awards were presented to top volunteers and athletes, and the OWSA Board of Directors was named. The OWSA Board was pleased to name Tony Boswell as repeat winner of the Hallmark Cup (see article in this issue), while the Walter Sokolowski Special Recognition Award was presented to Nicole Maurer (also profiled in this issue). Corporate awards were on hand for sponsors Mercury Marine, E-Z Group (O'Brien and MasterCraft), and Summit Ford. Peter Heenan received a plaque recognizing his efforts in hosting the Canadian Masters and National Championships at his site in 1995. Finally, the Board created a plaque recognizing the outstanding achievement of Judy McClintock Messer, 1995 Overall Women's World Champion. This year's Board of Directors will be: Tom Stacy, President Craig Rutherford, Past President Jim McClintock, Secretary Treasurer Tim Mills, VP Coaching Nicole Maurer, VP Camps Jeff McClintock, VP Technical Andrew Thompson, Officer Cam McArthur, Officer The position of VP Barefoot is yet to be filled, and will represent the only change from the 1994/5 Board. Many thanks to departing VP Barefoot, Steve Thompson! In addition, this year's AGM featured a Tournament Organizers Meeting, and was followed by presentation of the 1995 Canadian Masters Video. In all it was a good opportunity to get together and talk skiing- it's a pity more OWSA members don't take advantage of the chance to find out more about their sport and the people who make it happen. For those of you who couldn't attend, here are some exerpts from the Annual Report: Membership Regular membership increased sharply in 1995 to 779, up from 648 in 1994- an impressive 20% increase. The largest part of this increase can be attributed to the Wakeboard/Kneeboard Tour, a clinic-recreational tournament program which brought in 68 new members. A reminder from Water Ski Canada to clubs that OWSA membership was necessary for insurance coverage was also helpful, as was our general increased effort to publicize the OWSA through shows, publications, etc. Competitive membership, on the other hand, decreased to 163 (including 21 barefooters) against 175 in 1994- a 7% decline. Competitive membership has declined steadily since 1988, when there were 324 competitors. Finding the causes for and reversing this ongoing decline must be a priority for the Association in the future. Associate membership, a new category instituted in 1994 to include clinic participants, was 270 this year, also increased from last year. This brings the overall individual membership count to 1212, a 13% increase. Corporate membership, on the other hand, was down nearly 20% from 1994, closer to 1993 levels. Financial The $ 24,754 surplus (year ending March 31, 1995) is the largest the OWSA has achieved in 10 years, and reverses losses accumulated over the previous 3 successive years. This was done in the face of a further cut in grant from the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation, which cut funding to the OWSA by over 30% between 1992 and March 1995. The primary reason for the surplus is the increased profitability of the OWSA's bingo which runs Wednesday mornings at a hall approximately 1 km from the OWSA office. Other reasons include the introduction of cash sponsorship to the Association, which totalled nearly $ 15,000 in the 94/5 fiscal year, and continuing tight control on spending. Unfortunately, the actions of the new Ontario government and current uncertainty about the ownership of the Don Mills Bingo hall cast a dark shadow over 1996: grants are likely to be cut by 30% or more, and if this is the case, loss of bingo revenue could be disasterous. Planning will take place over the winter to develop a strategy for coping with possible massive cuts. Competition Programs Nine sanctioned traditional tournaments were held in 1995, one more than in 1994. Of these, a total of 4 were Record Capability. This is the highest number of sanctioned tournaments ever held in Ontario. There were two barefoot competitions, and in addition, this was the first year of the OWSA Wakeboard/Kneeboard Tour, consisting of six events. Counting the above three series, a total of 17 OWSA-sanctioned tournaments were held in 1995, compared with 11 in 1994 and 8 in 1993. This explosion in activity has significantly increased the load on both the OWSA office and volunteers. While the Wakeboard/Kneeboard Series is a deliberate effort to expand into a new market, the expansion of traditional events comes at a time when OWSA Competitive Membership is at an all time low. This level of activity can only be sustained if it leads to generation of an increased number of Competitive Members and especially of volunteers. Several new initiatives introduced in 1995 were aimed at increasing competitive participation. The first Talent I.D. camp for skiers recruited from summer camps and ski schools was held at McClintock's in mid-June, and the first Women's Clinic (Women on Water) led by Judy McClintock Messer and Board member Nicole Maurer was held in July. This was also the second year of a new Canada Games program in which the OWSA receives steady funding for each of 4 years, and the Canada Games Camp was accordingly run at McClintock's the week preceeding the Ontario Championships. On the national and international scene (and remarkably, considering the declining membership over the years) Ontario skiers continued to shine. Ontario again won the Provincial Team Championship at the traditional Nationals, Susi Graham again set a new World Slalom Record, and perhaps most impressive of all, Judy McClintock Messer won her second World Overall Championship in France this September. Judy's incredible effort is the culmination of 18 years on the National Team, and is her 2nd gold medal at the Worlds. Recreation Programs This was the second year of the OWSAs Water Ski Pro Clinic program, which brings a ski boat, equipment and trained instructors to cottages, marinas and recreation departments across Ontario. The program achieved solid growth in 1995, conducting 24 clinics and assisting at 5 Wakeboard/Kneeboard events for a total of 29 clinic days, up from 22 in 1994. Over 300 participants took part, each receiving a Water Ski Pro Guide and information about the OWSA, and each being registered as an Associate Member. As it has for 20 years now, the OWSA continued to offer a skills program to summer camps and ski schools. The O'Brien Water Ski Skills Awards (the 3rd year of O'Brien sponsorship) sold 3270 awards and distributed 8,000 program brochures, down slightly (3 %) from last year. Sales have been relatively constant for several years now indicating a mature program with a stable participation base. An even older program, the Ontario Water Ski Instructors Course, also continued to succeed in 1995. Now in its 34th year, OWSIC trained 45 new instructors, the same number as 1993 but down from 55 last year. Each participant received full certification at Level 1 of the National Coaching Certification Program, and a survey conducted by the OWSA office this spring revealed that OWSIC-trained instructors work with 8,000 to 10,000 skiers at summer camps annually. Chair Katie Mills stepped down at the end of the summer after leading the course through important changes to its teaching and evaluation methodology in 1994 and 95, although she will continue to be active in the program. Trish Kaliciak will take over the Chair of the course for 1996. The OWSA's recreation programs continue drive the growth of the Association and impact by far the largest number of Ontario water skiers in the OWSAs history. Official, Coach and Volunteer Training This area continues to be a problem area for the Association. No officials training was completed in 1995, after the last course held in Ontario in 1994. The number of active officials, particularly RC officials, continues to be inadequate to meet the demand. Marketing and Fundraising The OWSA did not significantly increase its sponsor pool in 1995, but did retain all its 1994 sponsors, indicating a high overall level of satisfaction with sponsored programs and the way they are delivered. More emphasis was placed on developing sponsor support for the Instructors' Course, which did reduce operating costs for this important program. Unfortunately the increasing demand on the Executive Director's time for development of new programs in 1995 prevented him from pursuing sponsorship to a greater extent. The OWSA bingo program at Don Mills Bingo Parlour became a very significant source of revenue for the Association in 1995 due to a shift to pooling and equal sharing of revenues at the hall. Formerly OWSA revenues were restricted to those derived from the poorly-performing Wednesday morning session. The OWSA realized a net revenue of over $ 13,000 from bingo in the 1994/5 fiscal year, up from $ 3000 the year before, and is expecting nearly $ 20,000 in the current fiscal period. Unfortunately the recent announcement that the owner wishes to sell the hall introduces uncertainty: if the 31 sponsors (including OWSA) do not buy the hall, another buyer may elect to introduce new sponsors after June, 1996. Office and Planning Issues The OWSA will be developing a new 3-year plan over the winter of 1995/6. In such rapidly changing times, this plan will be of great importance to the Association. One issue which must be adressed, given the current political climate, is how the OWSA would face a "no-grant future". Can the OWSA function with no staff and office, or with only a part-time staff? Which programs would be focussed on, which eliminated, and which subject to increased user fees? These are questions which must be addressed if organized water skiing in Ontatio is to continue. Summary By most standards, 1995 was one of the most successful years in the history of the OWSA. We experienced the largest growth in combined Regular/Competitive membership since 1986, and the largest financial surplus since 1985. We held the largest number of competitive events ever, more than doubling the number since 1992. Ontario hosted the Canadian Masters, National Barefoot and National Traditional Championships in one year. Judy McClintock Messer won the World Championship. More recreational skiers were exposed to OWSA programs than have been for many years, if not ever. At the same time, the OWSA faces great uncertainty. In a worst-case scenario, the OWSA may have changed so radically by this time next year as to be almost unrecognizable. We may return to the OWSA of the 1960's, yet, temporarily at least, without the level of volunteer activity which existed then. But there are also brighter scenarios. And in any case, water skiing in Ontario will go on. So there it is. Hope to see you at the 1996 Annual General Meeting!