ROWING CANADA AVIRON SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING ASSEMBLÉE SEMI-ANNUELLE Burnaby, British Columbia Colombie-Britannique JANUARY 25, JANVIER 2015

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1 ROWING CANADA AVIRON SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING ASSEMBLÉE SEMI-ANNUELLE Burnaby, British Columbia Colombie-Britannique JANUARY 25, JANVIER 2015 NOTICE OF MEETING AVIS DE CONVOCATION NOTICE is hereby given to all members of Rowing Canada Aviron that the RCA Semi-Annual Meeting will be held January 25, 2015 in Burnaby, British Columbia at the Delta Burnaby Hotel 4331 Dominion Street Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 1C7 Tel: LA PRÉSENTE est un avis à tous les membres de Rowing Canada Aviron que l Assemblée semiannuelle de RCA aura lieu le 25 janvier 2015 en Burnaby en Colombie-Britannique au Delta Burnaby Hotel 4331 Dominion Street Burnaby, Colombie-Britannique V5G 1C7 Tél: AGENDA ORDRE DU JOUR 1. Call to order 1. Ouverture de la réunion 2. Reading of the Notice Calling the Meeting 2. Lecture de l avis de convocation à la réunion 3. Verification of Credentials 3. Vérification des références 4. Roll Call by Secretary 4. Appel nominatif par la sécrétaire 5. Acceptance of the Agenda 5. Acceptation de l ordre du jour 6. Identification of the scrutineer 6. Identification du scrutateur 7. Reading and Adoption of the previous Annual General Meeting Minutes 7. Adoption du procès-verbal de la dernière assemblée générale annuelle 8. Presentation of reports 8. Présentation des rapports 9. Report from the Committee on Dues and Fees 10. Proposed amendments to the Bylaws 11. Other Questions 11. Autre questions 9. Rapport du comité sur les frais d'adhésion 10. Changements proposés aux règlements administratifs Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 Canada Tel: / (250) ~ Fax: (250) ~ rca@rowingcanada.org Member of: F.I.S.A./Membre de F.I.S.A., Canadian Olympic Committee/Comité Olympique Canadien Canadian Paralympic Committee/ Comité paralympique canadien page 1

2 ROWING CANADA AVIRON ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Minutes JANUARY 26, 2014 London, Ontario PRESENT: RCA Board of Directors: Position President President Elect Athlete Director Provincial Director Director Director Director Director Name Murphy, Dr. Michael Walker, Mike Beare, Jon Cendamo, Matteo Crooker, Rick Debbie Sage Finlay, Joel Lamb, Brian RCA Staff & Scutineers: Chief Executive Officer Secretary Domestic Officer Manager of Finance Finance & Admin Assistant Scrutineer Atkinson, Donna Murdoch, Sid Derry, David Bell, Kimberley McIntosh, Allyson Fryer, Justin Associations & Clubs in Attendance: Provincial Advisory Committee Name Votes Proxy Alberta Rowing Association Hermansen, Carol 1 Manitoba Rowing Association Reitberger, Jeff 1 Row Nova Scotia Webster, Peter 1 Rowing BC Jackson, Peter 1 Rowing New Brunswick Aviron Oxley, John 1 Rowing Newfoundland Hamlyn, Doreen 1 Rowing PEI Murray, Stephen 1 RowOntario Blacquiere, Tom 1 Saskatchewan Rowing Assoc. Hart, Raymond Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 Canada Tel: / (250) ~ Fax: (250) ~ E- mail: rca@rowingcanada.org Member of: F.I.S.A./Membre de F.I.S.A., Canadian Olympic Committee/Comité Olympique Canadien Canadian Paralympic Committee/ Comité paralympique canadien page 2

3 Pr Club/Association/Member Votes Proxy AB Calgary R.C. 5 Yes AB Central Alberta Boat Club 2 Yes AB Edmonton RC 5 Yes AB Fort McMurray RC 1 AB Lakeland RC 2 Yes AB Leduc Boat Club 1 Yes AB University of Alberta RC 1 Yes AB University of Calgary RC 2 Yes BC Brentwood College RC 3 BC Burnaby Lake RC 3 BC Collingwood School RC 1 Yes BC Creston Valley RC 1 Yes BC False Creek RC 1 Yes BC Fort Langley Youth Rowing Society 2 Yes BC Greater Victoria Youth Row Soc 4 Yes BC Inlet RC 2 Yes BC Kamloops RC 1 Yes BC Kelowna RC 2 Yes BC Maple Bay RC 2 BC Nanaimo RC 3 Yes BC Nicomekl RC 3 Yes BC Rockies RC 1 Yes BC South Cariboo RC 2 Yes BC St. Michaels RC 3 Yes BC University of BC Rowing Club 3 Yes BC University of Victoria RC 3 BC Vancouver RC 5 BC Victoria City RC 5 Yes CDN Canadian University Rowing Association 1 MB Prairie Fire Rowing Centre 1 MB Winnipeg R.C. 4 NB Fredericton R.C. 3 Yes NB Kennebecasis R.C. 4 Yes NL Labrador West R.C. 2 Yes NL St. John's R.C. 3 Yes NS Antigonish Rowing Club 3 Yes NS Halifax R.C. 4 NS Mic Mac Am. Aquatic Club 3 Yes NS North Star R.C. 3 Yes ON Argonaut R.C. 5 ON Barrie R.C. 3 Yes ON Brock University R.C. 1 ON Brockville R.C. 2 Yes ON Burnstown R.C. 2 Yes ON Cambridge R.C. 3 ON Canadian Henley Joint Commission Corp. 1 ON Canadian Henley Rowing Corp. 1 Yes ON Canadian Indoor Rowing Assoc 1 ON Central Ontario Rowing Assoc. 1 January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 2 London, Ontario page 3

4 ON Collingwood RC 3 Yes ON Dominion Day Regatta Association 1 ON Don R.C. 5 Yes ON Durham R.C. 3 ON Guelph R.C. 4 ON Haldimand Grand River RC 2 Yes ON Hanlan Boat Club 4 Yes ON Hatchets Training Centre 1 Yes ON Havergal RC 2 Yes ON Island Lake RC 3 Yes ON Kenora R.C. 1 Yes ON Kingston R.C. 5 ON Kitchener Waterloo R.C. 3 Yes ON Leander B.C. 5 ON London R.C. 4 ON LondonRowingSociety 1 ON Muskoka R.C. 2 Yes ON Notre Dame RC 2 Yes ON Ontario Adventure Rowing Association 2 Yes ON Ottawa New Edinburgh R.C. 2 Yes ON Ottawa R.C. 5 ON Owen Sound R.C 2 Yes ON Peterborough R.C. 4 Yes ON Queen's University R.C. 2 ON Quinte R.C. 2 Yes ON Ridley College Rowing Club 1 Yes ON Ridley Graduate Boat Club 2 ON Severn River Rowing Club 1 Yes ON Silver Lake Rowing Club 1 Yes ON South Niagara RC ON St. Catharines R.C. 5 ON St. Catharines World Rowing 1 ON Sudbury R.C. 3 Yes ON Toronto Sculling Club 1 Yes ON Trenton Rowing & Paddling 2 Yes ON University of Toronto R.C. 2 Yes ON University of Western Ontario 2 ON Upper Canada College 2 Yes ON Western Middlesex R.C. 2 PEI Rowing PEI 2 QC Aviron Lachine 3 Yes QC Club d'aviron d'alma 2 Yes QC Club d'aviron de Boucherville 3 Yes QC Club d'aviron de la Capitale 1 Yes QC Club d'aviron de Laval 2 Yes QC Club d'aviron de Sherbrooke 3 Yes QC Club d'aviron Terrebonne 2 Yes QC Montreal Rowing Club 4 Yes SK Regina RC 3 Yes SK Saskatchewan Rowing Assoc. 1 Yes SK Saskatoon RC 2 Yes January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 3 London, Ontario page 4

5 Associations & Clubs Not in Attendance: BC Deep Cove RC 3 BC Delta Deas RC 3 BC Fort Langley Community Rowing Club 2 BC Fraser Valley RC 2 BC Gorge RC 3 BC Lake Windermere RC 1 BC Nelson RC 2 BC Salt Spring Island RC 1 BC Shawnigan Lake RC 3 BC Shuswap Association for Rowing 1 BC Simon Fraser RC 2 BC St Georges RC 3 BC University of the Fraser Valley RC 2 BC Vancouver College RC 3 BC Vernon Rowing Centre 1 BC Victoria Rowing Society 1 BC Whistler RC 1 MB Pinawa R.C. 2 ON Bayside R.C. 1 ON Branksome Hall Rowing 2 ON CSSRA 1 ON Georgian Bay R.C. 3 ON Lasalle RC 2 ON Orillia R.C. 2 ON St. Lawrence Rowing Club 2 ON Thunder Bay R.C 2 ON Tillsonburg R.C 2 ON Upper Canada Rowing Club 1 ON Welland Recreational Canal Corp. 1 ON Wellington Sculling Club 1 QC McGill University R.C. 3 SK Prince Albert Drifters RC 1 1. Call to order The 2013 Rowing Canada Aviron Annual General Meeting was called to order by President Murphy at 8:45 a.m. 2. Memorial Moment There was a moment of silence in memory of those in the rowing community who have passed away during the year: Henry Stephen Flood - May 25, 2013 Henry was a lifelong athlete, coach, and sport volunteer. He was passionate about rowing, running, and skiing. Over the years, he generously contributed his time, energy, and resources to the Kennebecasis Rowing and Canoe Club serving as President from Henry started rowing around 1978 and continued until the late 80s winning 8 Canadian titles and 1 January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 4 London, Ontario page 5

6 Royal Canadian Henley. He was the New Brunswick Men's Canada Games coach in 1989 winning 2 gold and a bronze for the province. His contribution to rowing in New Brunswick was massive and he is missed by many. Cameron Millikin - June 28th, 2013 Cameron was a life member of the Calgary Rowing Club and a former Vice President of RCA. His passion for rowing was larger than life and nowhere could you find a better advocate for rowing. He was a huge supporter of rowing at both the program and individual level and will be missed very much. Allen Rosenberg December 7 th, 2013 A coxswain-turned-coach whose innovations in rowing technique helped produce Olympic and world champions. He was the US Olympic Coach in 1964 in Tokyo where the US Men reclaimed the gold medal and a true friend of Canadian rowing and rowers and an active mentor of many of our Coaches. Harry Barber A legendary university and national team rowing coach in the United States. 3. Reading of the Notice of Meeting: The notice of meeting was read by the Secretary. 4. Verification of Credentials: The credentials of the meeting participants were verified by the Secretary, Sid Murdoch, assisted by David Derry, Allyson MacIntosh and Kimberly Bell. 5. Roll Call by the Secretary The Secretary took roll call and confirmed that a majority of voting members in good standing were present in person or by proxy. Therefore, a quorum for the meeting was declared under Article 22.1 of the RCA Constitution. 6. Approval of the Agenda MOTION 1: Moved: Seconded: Annual General Meeting Agenda Carol Purcer (Don RC) Judy Sutcliffe (Dominion Day Regatta Association), That the 2013 RCA Annual General Meeting Agenda be approved. CARRIED 7. Reading and Adoption of the 2012 Annual General Meeting Minutes: MOTION 2: Reading of the Minutes of the 2012 Annual General Meeting Moved: Seconded: Mike Bagshawe (Burnaby Lake RC) Bill Schenck (Canadian Henley Joint Commission Corporation), January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 5 London, Ontario page 6

7 That the reading of the 2012 Minutes be dispensed with. CARRIED. MOTION 3: Minutes of the 2012 Annual General Meeting Moved: Seconded: Raissa Espiritu (Argonaut RC) Lisa Rao (Leander Boat Club), That the 2012 Annual General Meeting Minutes be adopted. CARRIED. 8. Business Arising from the 2012 RCA Annual General Meeting Minutes Motion 21 High School Membership Category: That Rowing Canada Aviron create a membership category for High School participants similar to the High School category of membership in RowOntario. Motion 21 was tabled at the 2012 RCA Annual General Meeting, referred to the RCA Board of Directors, report provided to the membership at the next meeting after consultation with the appropriate constituents. Membership Report: Based on Motion 21, the RCA Board determined that a comprehensive membership review was required and a working group was formed in the spring that includes: Brian Lamb, George Barkwell, Jennifer Fitzpatrick, Derek Ventnor, Annabel Kehoe and Jennifer Parfitt. The working group will consult with the membership in 2014 and a report will be provided at the next Annual Meeting. 9. Presentation of Reports MOTION 4: Committee of the Whole Moved: Seconded: Mike Bagshawe (Burnaby Lake RC), Bill Myra (Vancouver RC) That the 2013 Rowing Canada Aviron Annual General Meeting be moved into a Committee of the Whole. CARRIED Annual Report: The 2013 RCA Annual Report was reviewed. It was noted that this was the first time the Board has produced an annual report pertaining to RCA s Strategic Goals. Reports from Committee Chairs will be included in next year s report. Comments: It was suggested that photos should include captions names and locations. St. Catharines was spelled incorrectly in the report. January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 6 London, Ontario page 7

8 MOTION 5: Moved: Seconded: Julie Horrocks (Guelph RC), Stephen Ross (London RC), That the 2013 Rowing Canada Aviron Annual General Meeting be moved out of a Committee of the Whole. CARRIED. MOTION 6: Approval of Annual Report Moved: Seconded: Nancy Storrs (Ridley Graduate Boat Club) Mindy Bullen (London RC) That the reports presented to the 2013 Rowing Canada Aviron Annual General Meeting be approved. CARRIED. 10. Auditors Report and Financial Statements Typos were noted on page 4 of the financial statement - Statement of Financial Position: The Governance Remittance Payable in 2012 was $28, 255 and in 2011, $791. Question regarding Governance Remittance in 2013, double the amount of the prior year. It was stated that the higher amount is related to the timing of the HST remittance, remitted after the end of the fiscal year. Question regarding the amount of funding received from the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC). It was stated that CAC funding was included under Revenue, sport associations and foundations, $25,000. MOTION 7: Audited Financial Statements Moved: Seconded: Susan Kitchen (Canadian Indoor Rowing Association), Michelle Kerr (St. Catharines RC) That RCA accept the audited financial statements for the year ending March 31, 2013 as reported on by Hayes, Stewart, Lyttle & Co., Chartered Accountants. CARRIED. An interim financial statement, November 30, 2013, was provided including the current year with projections to year-end. January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 7 London, Ontario page 8

9 An explanation was requested regarding General Sponsorship - Year to Date actual is $17,000 and the Year End projection is $12,000. It was noted that $5,000 is a coding error and will be reallocated from General Sponsorship line to the High Performance Sponsorship line item (reflects $5,000 increase in projected amount) An explanation was requested with respect to the large disparity in funding between Sport Development and High Performance, an 18 to 1 ratio. It was stated that this difference is related to targeted excellence funding received from Own the Podium that can only be allocated to the National Team/High Performance program and cannot be spent on Sport Development. MOTION 8: Appointment of Auditors Moved: Seconded: Carol Purcer (Don RC) Judy Sutcliffe (Dominion Day Regatta Association), That RCA appoint Hayes, Stewart, Lytlle & Co., Chartered Accountants, as auditors for the year ending March 31, 2014 at a fee to be decided by the Board of Directors. CARRIED. 11. Executive Accountability MOTION 9: Actions of the RCA Board of Directors and Executive Committee Moved: Seconded: George Barkwell (RowOntario), Raissa Espiritu (Argonaut RC), That the actions of the Rowing Canada Aviron Board of Directors during the year ended March 31st, 2013, and since the last General Meeting, be approved. CARRIED. 12. Motions for Ratification Notice of the proposed motions for ratification were sent to all voting members on December 19 th, Standing Committee on Dues and Fees It was noted that the Standing Membership Fee Committee report did not recommend a fee increase for the registration year. MOTION 10: Standing Committee on Dues and Fees Report Moved: Seconded: George Barkwell (RowOntario), Bill Myra (Vancouver RC) That the report of the Standing Membership Fee Committee be approved as presented. January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 8 London, Ontario page 9

10 CARRIED Constitutional Amendments Governance Motion #11: To Continue the Corporation under the provisions of the Canada Not-forprofit Corporations Act S.C. 2009, c.23 (the Act) and authorize the directors to apply for a Certificate of Continuance. Moved: Seconded: Mike Bagshawe (Burnaby Lake RC) Judy Sutcliffe (Dominion Day Regatta Association), Whereas the Corporation was incorporated under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act by Letters Patent dated the 24th day of November, 1971, as subsequently amended; and Whereas it is considered to be in the best interests of the Corporation that it be continued under the Act pursuant to section 297 of the Act; Be it resolved as a special resolution that; The Articles of Continuance of the Corporation which have been submitted to this meeting are approved; The directors of the Corporation are authorized and directed to make an application under section 297 of the Act to the Director appointed under the Act for a Certificate of Continuance of the Corporation; The Constitution of the Corporation is repealed effective on the date that the corporation continues under the Act and the by-laws which have been submitted to this meeting are approved and will be effective on the same date. CARRIED. Any one of the officers and directors of the Corporation is authorized to take all such actions and execute and deliver all such documentation, including the annexed Articles of Continuance, the notice of registered office and of directors in the forms fixed by the Director, which are necessary or desirable for the implementation of this resolution. Motion #12: To apply for an exemption from holding an Annual Meeting within six months of the Corporation s March 31, 2014 year end. Moved: Seconded: Michelle Kerr (St. Catharines RC) Carol Purcer (Don RC), Whereas section 160 of the Act and related Regulation require the Corporation to call an Annual Meeting not later than six months after the end of the Corporation s preceding financial year; and Whereas it has been the Corporation s practice for several years to call its Annual Meeting at the same time as its National Conference ten months after its year-end; and January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 9 London, Ontario page 10

11 Whereas the Act s requirement places an undue burden on the Corporation in the first year of its continuance under the Act; Be it resolved as a special resolution that the directors of the Corporation are authorized to apply to the Director appointed under the Act for authorization under section 160 (2) of the Act to extend the time for calling an Annual Meeting with respect to its fiscal year ending March 31, 2014 to not later than ten months after the Corporation s March 31st 2014 year end. CARRIED. Motion #13: To modify the term of office of directors in the period of transition to the new Act. Moved: Seconded: Raissa Espiritu (Argonaut RC), Russell Lawrence (Saskatoon RC), Whereas paragraph 10.5 of the Corporation s by-laws states that the President shall be elected for a term of four years commencing on the day after the Annual Meeting; and Whereas paragraph 10.6 of the Corporation s by-laws states that the directors shall be elected for a term of two years commencing on the day immediately following the Annual Meeting; and Whereas in the transition to the ACT the Corporation s Annual Meeting will be held four months earlier than under its previous constitution; and Whereas it is the Corporation s intention to apply for an extension to the time for calling its Annual Meeting following the March 31, 2014 year end to ten months after that year end, if authorized under motion #2; Be it resolved as a special resolution that the terms of office of the President and the directors elected at the Annual Meetings to be held in January 2014 and January 2015 shall end at the end of the next Annual Meeting at which their position is up for election, albeit that will occur before their full term of office under the Corporation s by-laws has been completed. CARRIED. Motion #14: To modify the date of holding the Semi-Annual Meeting in the period of transition to the new Act Moved: Seconded: Nancy Storrs George Barkwell, Whereas paragraph 5.3 of the Corporation s by-laws states that a Semi-Annual Meeting of members shall be held within 6 months of the Annual Meeting; and Whereas it is the Corporation s intention to apply for an extension to the time for calling its first Annual Meeting following the March 31, 2014 year end to ten months after that year end, if authorized under motion #2; Be it resolved as a special resolution that, in the event that the said extension to the time for calling its first Annual Meeting is granted, the first Semi-Annual Meeting of members shall be January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 10 London, Ontario page 11

12 held in conjunction with the first Annual Meeting and the next Semi-Annual Meeting will be held within 6 months after the Annual Meeting called after the Corporation's year-end of March 31, CARRIED. 13. Nominating Committee: Elections The Nominating Committee conducted a search, interview and selection process and put forward the following nominations for the offices to be elected at the 2013 RCA Annual General Meeting: President The Nominating Committee put forward a nomination for this position, Michael Walker Athlete Director The Nominating Committee put forward the nomination from the Athletes for nomination for this position, Jonathon Beare Directors at Large (2 positions) The Nominating Committee put forward nominations for this position: o Brian Lamb o Greg Rokosh o Debbie Sage In accordance with RCA s Constitution, further Nominations were invited from the membership. No further nominations were received as of the deadline, December 28 th, The President and Athlete Director were elected by acclamation. The Director at Large candidates provided a 5 minute presentation to the members. An election process was conducted by the Scrutineers for the election of 2 Directors at Large in accordance with Article 23.5 of the RCA Constitution. Election Results: 107 Ballots were cast and collected by the Scutineers: Debbie Sage: 209 votes Brian Lamb: 184 votes Greg Rokosh: 79 votes Debbie Sage was elected to the position of Director at Large for a term of 18 months. Brian Lamb has been elected to the position of Director at Large for a term of 18 months. Motion #15 Ballots Moved: Seconded: Carol Purcer (Don RC) Judy Sutcliffe (Dominion Day Regatta Association), January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 11 London, Ontario page 12

13 That the ballots be destroyed. CARRIED. 14. New Business Collingwood rowing club requested that the membership working group provide some guidance for recreational clubs regarding the transition to programs that will attract competitive athletes. Also, further information was requested regarding recreational events at regattas. It was stated that the working group will conduct a comprehensive review. 15. Tributes to retiring/recently retired Board members: Mike Murphy was thanked for his service to RCA as President of RCA, his contributions as a participant at COC and FISA meetings and his support of rowing in Canada over many years. Phil Monckton was thanked for his contribution to RCA as a Board member and VP High Performance over many years. RCA Staff were thanked for their contribution and in particular Colleen Miller, Allyson MacIntosh, Jen Parfitt and Chief Executive Officer, Donna Atkinson. 16. Next Meeting - Sunday January 25th, Motion to Adjourn: Lana Burpee (Ottawa RC). January 26, 2014 RCA AGM Minutes Page 12 London, Ontario page 13

14 2014 ANNUAL REPORT page 14

15 2014 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Vision, Mission and Values Message from the President Message from the CEO Board of Directors Year in Review Goal One: Win gold medals at the Olympics, Paralympics and World Championships Goal Two: Grow participation in the sport of rowing at all levels Goal Three: Build a dynamic and sustainable organisation Message from the Treasurer Financial Statements Bring on 2015! With thanks to our Partners, Stakeholders and Supporters Partners and Sponsors in 2014 Page 3 Page 4 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 11 Page 16 Page 20 Page 24 Page 25 Page 36 Page 38 Page 39 Cover and back Photos: Katie Steenman Images page 15 2

16 VISION To be the leading rowing nation in the world MISSION To BUILD, DRIVE and INSPIRE growth and excellence within Canada s rowing community. VALUES As members of Rowing Canada Aviron, we recognise the following principles to guide our decisions and behaviour: EXCELLENCE We are committed to do our best in all we do. INTEGRITY We are honest, respectful and accountable. COMMUNITY We are a community of partnerships that is connected and passionate about the sport of rowing. Photo: Men s Four at World Rowing Championships with K. Langerfeld, C. McCabe, R. Gibson, W. Crothers. page 16 Credit: Katie Steenman Images 3

17 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT I am pleased to be able to introduce Rowing Canada Aviron s 2014 Annual Report, the first since my election as President in January It has been a busy first year, chairing the Board of Directors and a number of Rowing Canada Aviron Committees, representing our sport at home and abroad, and trying to take in as many events as possible. In working with the Rowing Canada Aviron Board of Directors, we have developed five areas of Board focus on advancing the vision, mission and strategic plan of Rowing Canada Aviron. These five areas include: A World Class Athlete Training Environment; A National and International Event Strategy; Fundraising and Revenue Growth; Membership Growth and Participation Development; and Rowing Canada Aviron s System of Influence. These areas are where the Board feels it can make the greatest difference and you will be hearing more from us through regular updates in future reporting. At the international level I attended the annual Congress of FISA (the international federation of rowing), which coincides with the Senior World Championships in September every year. Canada is an important rowing nation and I was quick to appreciate the terrific international reputation developed over the years by Canadians involved in FISA, making it easy to represent Rowing Canada Aviron and Canada with a strong voice. The recent good news of three new seats on FISA Commissions for Canadians means that Rowing Canada Aviron s influence will continue to grow internationally. And speaking of World Championships, I m very happy to see that our High Performance program remains on track for 2016 and beyond. This year we saw many impressive performances, and medals won at every international event in which Canada participated. We are very fortunate to have an page 17 incredible team of Coaches and Staff who create this High Performance system, which continues to be recognized by organizations such as Own The Podium as a leader amongst the summer Olympic sports. Since January, I have also had the privilege of travelling to many events across Canada, beginning with la course de Canots à glace in Montreal in February and ending with the Edmonton Rowing Club Annual Banquet in November, going from Antigonish, NS to Victoria, BC. Through these travels I ve been very impressed with the vibrancy and passion for Canadian Rowing, from touring marathons to the National Rowing Championships. I wish to thank those who warmly welcomed me at each stop and who are too numerous to list here. You have shown me that rowing in Canada is in very good hands, with the Rowing Canada Aviron Staff who nurture and support domestic growth and the thousands of committed volunteers keeping our member clubs and associations running and organizing a wide variety of events and programs, from local club activities to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. It has been an honour to serve as President of Rowing Canada Aviron this past year and I look forward to continuing to work together with the Rowing Canada Aviron Member Clubs and Associations, our Staff, and many Volunteers toward achieving our vision to be the leading rowing nation in the world. Mike Walker President, Rowing Canada Aviron 4

18 Nicolas Pratt (B) and Alex Walker, LM2x, World Rowing Championships Katie Steenman Images page 18 5

19 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO As the National Sport Organisation for rowing, we are working hard to write a new chapter in our history one that builds on our tradition of excellence and ensures our long-term success. Our plans are centred on our strategic priorities: Excellence, Participation and Sustainability and above all, we are focussed on creating a sport environment that enables all rowing and potential rowing enthusiasts to experience and enjoy their involvement in the sport of rowing to the extent of their abilities and interests and, for increasing numbers to perform consistently and successfully at the highest competitive levels. Membership is vital. To be successful, we need every rower or former rower in Canada to share a sense of responsibility to help move our sport forward. To this end, we continue to work to strengthen our relationships with current members across the country, serving our rowing community and communicating the important role that membership plays in helping to grow our sport. The recently conducted Membership survey that went out to 20,000 plus rowers, all of our Member organisations and our Provincial Rowing Associations along with our current review of our membership structure is landmark for this Association and important to the growth and, the success of our sport. Our High Performance programs at the national and provincial level have undergone a significant transformation with an unwavering focus on building our champions of the future. Whether through our emerging talent development programs, coaching support, sport science support or financial support Rowing Canada Aviron, while bringing on substantial change, has not waivered from our commitment to excellence and with the investment in this area we are seeing new and promising roots take hold. Our new work on the Athlete Pathway is drawing on experts who deal with all aspects of our sport. The Pathway project is building on a page 19 solid base of science and evidence to assist coaches and athletes in developing them to their true potential. It will be foundational to all of our Coaching and Athlete development programs moving forward. This project requires a tremendous amount of work on the part of many staff, sport science experts and volunteers but what this can contribute to sustainable programs and results in the future is worth this time and effort. As I reflect on the past few years, from a leadership perspective there have and, continue to be many challenges, however, I have come to recognize that this is such an important part of who we are and why we have been successful. As I travel through Canada, meeting Canadians who make our sport happen, I am energized by your passion for our sport, your fearless drive and energy and by your hopes for the future of Canadian rowing. That is truly what keeps us moving forward that shared vision of what we can be! I am truly lucky and proud to be associated with Rowing Canada Aviron and all of the amazing people who are part of it. To that end, I would really like to recognize all of those volunteers that are the lifeblood of rowing and to thank you all for giving so tirelessly of your time, supporting our athletes and growing our sport. A particular thanks to those Organising Committee chairs and members who did a fabulous job in hosting our National Regattas, to our Umpire Committee, and to our Provincial Rowing Associations for your unending support. I sincerely thank all of you who are reading this report for taking the time to care, share your voice and, give us your energy to keep Canadian rowing powerful and strong. Donna Atkinson CEO, Rowing Canada Aviron 6

20 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Walker President Brian Lamb Director, Treasurer Jon Beare Athlete Director Rick Crooker Director Debbie Sage Director Joel Finlay Director Matteo Cendamo Provincial Director page 20 7

21 YEAR IN REVIEW The Canadian rowing community had a busy year in 2014 with many noteworthy successes at every level of our sport. After a year of many program and leadership changes, we are pleased overall with the progress made in year two. Results from the 2014 World Rowing Cup Series and the 2014 World Rowing Championships appear to be on track in terms of the program targets set for this quadrennial. This past summer was one of the busiest on record with over 100 athletes, 15 coaches and seven umpires racing and officiating under the Canadian rowing banner at World Rowing regattas around the world. Canadian rowers were on medal podiums at the World Rowing Senior, U23 and Junior Championships, the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, the FISU World University Rowing Championships, the 2014 Commonwealth Regatta, the Pan American Sports Festival and the CanAmMex Regatta. Gains are being realized from the new resources and priorities that have been placed on our high performance development programs and seven of the ten provinces are now active partners in the athlete recruitment and talent development programs being led by Rowing Canada Aviron s Peter Shakespear. Photo: Women s Eight, Silver Medallists at World Rowing Championships with C. Nurse, L. Roman, R. DeBoef, N. Mastracci, S. Grainger, C. Roper, A. Brzozwicz, L. Wilkinson, L. Thompson-Willie. Credit: Katie Steenman Images page 21 8

22 Photo: photo finish at National Rowing Championships with new Lynx timing system On the domestic front, modest gains in member participation were realized at a time when national youth participation in sport and overall fitness participation of Canadians is actually declining. Rowing participation is stable and with the results of extensive surveying of our members from the individual level to the club and Provincial Rowing Association level we look forward to using this information to attract new and retain current participants in our sport. At our Canadian National Regattas, this year s results were tremendously exciting with participation gains in all three of our major regattas: the RBC 2014 National Rowing Championships, Rowing Canada Aviron s Canadian Masters Championships and the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Local organizing committees hosted top quality events and introduced several new features including live streaming with the support of ViaSport BC and photo finishing with a new Lynx timing system. With the transition to Rowing Canada Aviron s new governance structure in its final year, we will be seeing the final stages of this in Rowing Canada Aviron s new Annual Meeting and online voting system this month. New Committees have been struck at the Rowing Canada Aviron Board level to focus on strategic priorities and accountability and, Rowing Canada Aviron operational committees and working groups have been extremely active in the areas of umpire curriculum re-development, designing a new national event strategy, reviewing our current Masters events and re-designing Rowing Canada Aviron s Awards and Recognition Program. The number of volunteers and the countless hours of their contributions to Rowing Canada Aviron s success cannot be overstated. We are a very lucky sport to have so many passionate and experienced leaders willing to give their time and expertise to keep us moving forward. Other important highlights of the year are those initiatives and awards that have seen many Canadian rowers and leaders recognised for their outstanding achievements and commitments. These include the induction of the Beijing 2008 Men s Eight Rowing Crew into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and the election of Tricia Smith as Vice President of FISA. Photo: Over ten cameras were deployed by ViaSport Productions to live stream the RBC 2014 National Rowing Championships. page 22 9

23 St. Michaels University School / Victoria City Rowing Club, M2x E, Canadian Masters Championships page 23 10

24 GOAL ONE: WIN GOLD MEDALS AT THE OLYMPICS, PARALYMPICS AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The goals for our Senior and Para National Teams, as set out after London 2012, and reported to Own the Podium remain unchanged: to win at least four medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic and 1 medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. These are hefty goals with tough competition getting tougher every year. However, the results achieved in 2014 have shown that these goals are clearly within our reach. At the 2014 World Rowing Championships, the Women s Eight (W8+) and the Lightweight Women s Double Scull (LW2x) led the Canadian charge, winning silver medals. An additional two A-final performances came in the men s four (M4-) and the women s quadruple sculls (W4x), finishing 5 th and 6 th respectively in difficult weather conditions. Coupled with strong performances at the World Rowing Cup series, the National Senior Team is progressing on target and, along with the incredible team of coaches, sport science, medical and support staff, are unfailingly focused on this goal. Photo: Lightweight Women s Double Scull, Silver Medallists at World Rowing Championships with L. Jennerich, P. Obee page 24 Beyond 2016, the future looks bright with the National U23 Team and National Junior Team performing exceptionally well in From the World Rowing U23 Championships three medals were brought home which included a gold in the men s coxed four (BM4+) and two bronze medals in the women s four (BW4-) and the lightweight men s pair (BLM2-). At the World Rowing Junior Championships, 2014 was the first time in our history that Canada won two medals. Coached by Paul Beedling, St. Catharines Rowing Club s Dan de Groot won silver in the junior men s single scull and the junior women s pair of Caleigh Filmer (Victoria City Rowing Club) and Larissa Werbicki (Saskatoon Rowing Club) were coached by John Haver to also win a silver medal. Two weeks later, these same crews brought home Canada s first rowing medals from the inaugural rowing regatta of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Photo: Junior Women s Pair, Silver Medallists at World Rowing Junior Championships with L. Werbicki, J. Haver (Coach), C. Filmer 11

25 Of note and worth highlighting was the CanAmMex Regatta that took place this year in Lochaber, Nova Scotia. We were fortunate to receive a Sport Canada Hosting Grant for this event to assist Row Nova Scotia in the continued development of this location, ensuring the Atlantic region is home to a fullbuoyed 2000-meter course. Investment was also made into supporting the local organising committee, as well as utilising the hosting of an international regatta to provide on-water training for associate and licensed umpires from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. This investment has already paid off with St. Francis Xavier University recently being awarded the hosting of the 2015 Canadian University Rowing Championships on Lochaber Lake. In addition to the CanAmMex Regatta, Canada competed at several international development regattas as a means to ensure our up-andcoming athletes and coaches gain the experience of international competition. As we look towards being able to sustain medal results at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and World Championships, we will continue to invest in and develop more opportunities to help us achieve and maintain the performance goals we set year after year, quadrennial after quadrennial. Photo: Andrew Muth, Katie Griffin and Patrick Cody (Coach) with CanAmMex trophy. Important to this objective, and numerous others, are our working partnerships with our ten Provincial Rowing Associations. For example, the Row to Podium programme continues to gain momentum across the country, with many more coaches learning about the traits, testing methods and training processes that are yielding results. In 2014, Pascal Lussier and Kristin Bauder both competed for the National Senior Team, while recent Row to Podium graduate Tim Schrijver was part of the gold medal-winning coxed men s four (BM4+) at the World Rowing U23 Championships. This past year has been a re-building year within the Para Rowing program and program Manager Paul Hawksworth with the support of a number of provinces and the Row to Podium program are now seeing some very promising results. A number of provincial championships this year had multiple para-rowing entries and the 2014 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta received a record level of entries in its paraevents. Melissa Pavlicic (Victoria City Rowing Club) posted an official 1000m World Record on the ergometer in the Leg, Trunk, Arms physical disability (LTA-PD) class and several other talented athletes have come together to make up our national team. Starting in January, these athletes will centralize their training in Victoria to focus on qualifying for the Paralympics at this years 2015 World Championships. Photo: Loren Pearson wins Henley Gold in the men s arms, shoulders single. Credit: Renate Hodges page 25 12

26 Consistent with our objective to advance the development of our Canadian coaches at the high performance level, this year presented significant opportunity in this area that we absolutely looked to maximize. Through new regional Row to Podium camps, mentoring opportunities were abundant and the number of international competitions were capitalized on to ensure that many of Canada s talented and developing coaches were able to gain valuable experience at this level. Supported and mentored by our National staff, these coaches rose to the challenge and delivered some impressive results. Considerable work has been accomplished this year in the review of our coaching education and certification processes, the result of which is now clear progression pathways for each level of coaching certification. New on-line Coach Portfolios enable better tracking and monitoring of our coaches and their career paths and stronger support systems are being put into place. Over the next year, curriculum content will continue to be a focus and with a newly appointed Coached Education Development Committee, significant outcomes are planned for the year ahead. Ensuring we develop and maintain a worldclass pool of umpires continues to be a top priority. With the 2015 Pan American Games has come the opportunity to train and certify FISA Umpires. The extensive course got underway at the 2014 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and the selected candidates will continue to study and train ahead of sitting their exam at the Pan Am Games regatta in St. Catharines. Once certified, these FISA Umpires will be available for nomination for FISA regatta jury duty. This opportunity would not be possible without the focused dedication of the Umpires Committee who continue to be successful at building and maintaining a solid pool of FISA Umpires for selection to international juries. In the area of High Performance and consistent with our number one priority of Winning Medals, our eyes remain firmly on the prize and great strides have been made in 2014 towards the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond. Photo: Men s Quadruple Sculls, Bronze Medallists at World Rowing Cup II with W. Dean, M. Buie, H. Campbell (Coach), M. Braithwaite, P. Lussier page 26 13

27 2014 RBC NATIONAL ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS SENIOR CHAMPIONS Men s Pair (M2-) Men s Single Scull (M1x) Women s Pair (W2-) Women s Single Scull (W1x) Lightweight Men s Pair (LM2-) Lightweight Men s Single Scull (LM1x) Lightweight Women s Single Scull (LW1x) Arm, Shoulders Men s Single Scull (ASM1x) Arm, Shoulders Women s Single Scull (ASW1x) Trunk, Arms Men s Single Scull (TAM1x) Trunk, Arms Women s Single Scull (TAW1x) Leg, Trunk, Arms Men s Double Scull (LTAM2x) Leg, Trunk, Arms Women s Double Scull (LTAW2x) Martin Barakso and Tim Schrijver National Training Center BC Rob Gibson National Training Center BC Jennifer Martins and Susanne Grainger London Training Center Carling Zeeman London Training Center Brendan Hodge and Eric Woelfl London Training Center Mark Henry London Training Center Lindsay Jennerich London Training Center Loren Pearson Rowing BC Elsa Lalonde ROWONTARIO Cameron Sinclair ROWONTARIO Shafiq Felicia Rowing BC Richa Herlinveaux and David Blair ROWONTARIO Alexa Meiklejohnv and Lianne Gibson ROWONTARIO page 27 14

28 Julien Bahain M1x, National Rowing Championships page Katie Steenman Images

29 GOAL TWO: GROW PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT OF ROWING AT ALL LEVELS The sport has welcomed new participants this year and nationally, continues to see gradual growth in overall numbers. The largest gains in participant numbers were achieved in Québec, due largely to the addition of Ice Rowing members and the launch of a more aggressive participant recruitment strategy through new provincial government funding sources. Rowing BC has made changes to its membership structure and these changes are paying off in terms of being able to more accurately reflect its individual participants. Row Nova Scotia continues to grow and strengthen its membership base and the development there has been very encouraging. In 2014, we welcomed a number of new Member Clubs into our Association, expanding the reach of our sport and giving rowing greater profile in new regions throughout Canada. ROWING CANADA AVIRON REGISTRATION As of MARCH 31, 2014 While our sport and our community increasingly diversifies, we need to ensure our membership structure reflects that diversity and engages with our community members in a meaningful way. In 2014, the Membership Working Group has been conducting a thorough membership structure review that is probably the most comprehensive review in our organisation s history. To inform that review, the Working Group conducted a community-wide consultation as well as seeking advice from other Canadian National Sporting Organisations and other National Rowing Federations. The data collated from this review is incredibly valuable in terms of informing our membership structure, our services, our membership database but perhaps most importantly, informing how best to support Clubs wishing to grow their numbers. Province March 31, 2014 March 31, 2013 Variance Percentage Growth/ (Loss) Alberta (5.45%) British Columbia % Manitoba (13.70%) New Brunswick (7.06%) Newfoundland % Nova Scotia % Ontario (4.47%) Prince Edward Island (46.84%) Quebec % Saskatchewan (23.24%) Total 13,892 13, % page 29 16

30 The Working Group s next step forward will be to present the findings and membership options to the Rowing Canada Aviron Membership at the National Conference in January After seeking feedback from our Member Associations and Clubs, the Working Group will then work on bringing forward a proposed membership structure with a detailed implementation strategy for final approval. Regardless of any membership structure changes, the consultation process has helped prioritise improvements to our online registration system. With consideration towards both the continuous evolution of technology and the advancement of our sport, Rowing Canada Aviron is continually investing in both short- and long-term strategies to ensure a system that works at all levels of the sport. This investment continues to identify Rowing Canada Aviron as a market leader amongst National Sporting Organisations, evidenced by Speed Skating Canada recently adopting our system. Our volunteer resources are incredibly important to the success of our sport and there is no more important subset of these volunteers than our umpires. The Umpires Committee has been incredibly active over this past year and have made some milestone achievements against their annual plans, including having seven Canadian FISA Umpires selected for FISA regattas jury duty. The Committee continues to make great progress on the new curriculum for umpire training and development and are already looking ahead to put in place the approval processes that will be needed for umpire licensing and certification, and planning for full implementation of the new education program. This new program is key to the overarching goal of attracting, training and retaining new umpires with a more attractive and rewarding system that makes it easier for newer volunteers to engage in umpiring. Coach education and development continues to be a top priority for the organisation. Regardless of external pressures, there is a collective recognition from our coaching community of the fundamental importance of formalising and aligning our coaching pathways and ensuring our curriculum educates Canadian coaches to a worlds-best standard. This year has been a year of transition in which a full program review was undertaken. The National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Locker is undergoing an audit to ensure it is accurate for future tracking of our coaches progress in achieving and maintaining certification, and guidelines for continuing education and maintenance of certification have been developed. An extensive review of the RCA Learn to Row Instructor and the RCA Performance Coach pathway and curriculum has been undertaken in 2014 with the finalisation scheduled for early Much has been accomplished but there is still considerable work to be done to move our Coach Education and Development programs to the standards we aspire to. Informing the curriculum modifications has been the ongoing work on the Athlete Development Pathway. An extensive amount of work, both in terms of quantity and quality, has gone into better defining and aligning the skill and competency progression for rowing at all stages of the Athlete Development Pathway, ensuring the development of thoroughly training and well-rounded athletes at all stages of their career. Already many of our athletes, young and old, are enjoying a successful and enjoyable journey through our sport. This is supported by several projects and initiatives that continue to bear fruit. 17 page 30

31 Skills Events are being staged across the country for new rowers and these continue to grow in popularity. These events are an important component to introducing new rowers to the competitive elements of our sport and can play a valuable role in participant retention and engagement. Skills events have been incentivised through inclusion as a funded component of the irow Club Grant Program and clubs participating are adding to the valuable inventory of resources being shared online. For the past six years, the irow Club Grant Program has been focused on building awareness and increasing grassroots participation among youth in rowing. Since the program s inception, we have distributed almost $250,000 in support to new youth rowing projects to over 40 clubs across Canada. In 2014, eight Member Clubs were recipients of irow Grants made possible through the support of Sport Canada. In 2014, the recipients of the IROW Club Grants were: Central Alberta Rowing Club, AB Fort Langley Youth Rowing Society, BC Hanlan Boat Club, ON Kenora Rowing Club, ON Lachine Rowing Club, QC Nanaimo Rowing Club, BC Sudbury Rowing Club, ON Winnipeg Rowing Club, MB Of particular note is the aboriginal partnership that has been developed by Kenora Rowing Club (ON). With this partnership, Kenora Rowing Club is demonstrating how, with the right approach, our sport can easily reach out to engage new target audiences. Photo: New rowers at Kenora Rowing Club, ON page 31 18

32 The three recreational fleets with a welcome addition this year of 5 Edon 1x s are currently located at Hatchets Training Centre (ON), Lunenburg (NS) and Lloydminster Rowing Club (SK) where these are being used to support club development. The fleet program has been a proven success in supporting new clubs getting started, or providing the impetus for new program development within existing clubs. Clubs supported through the fleet program have demonstrated the ability to sustain these programs well beyond when the fleet is eventually moved on to support another program. Interest and participation in different formats of our sport are increasing both in Canada and internationally. FISA is taking notice and beginning to make strategic investments into these newer forms of rowing as part of their international development strategy. Within Canada, we continue to foster development in coastal rowing, and in 2014 supported the Hanlan Boat Club (ON) to add coastal rowing into one of their pre-existing regattas by providing Euro Diffusion coastal shells for competitors. Alma Rowing Club (QC) hosted their annual coastal event and witnessed increased interest and participation from other rowing clubs, with many rowers making a temporary transition from the fine-boat and into the broader coastal hull. This event continues to grow in popularity for both competitors and spectators alike, which this year led to significant television coverage of the event. Special mention must also be made of Club Locarno (BC) who formed in 2014 and held their first event, a coastal row into the Vancouver Harbour. Along with indoor rowing, ice rowing, coastal rowing, and traditional rowing, Rowing Canada Aviron will continue to utilise our insights and resources to support our Clubs across the country to grow and prosper. Photo: Coastal rowing with Club Locarno, BC page 32 19

33 GOAL THREE: BUILD A DYNAMIC AND SUSTAINABLE ORGANISATION 2014 has been a very active year for our Board, our staff and all of our committees and working groups. With new bylaws approved at the January Annual General Meeting, there has been much work behind the scenes on the part of the Rowing Canada Aviron Board, our new Secretary and our Scrutineer in preparation for this year s new Annual Meeting and Semi Annual Meeting formats. This year will mark the first Annual Meeting with new electronic (online) voting procedures for the election of Rowing Canada Aviron s newest Board members. With all of our Member organizations across the country being given the power to vote even if not in attendance at the Annual Meeting, this engagement of our voting members is unprecedented. The Board, has targeted immediate efforts on the transition to a strategic and policy oriented Board and moved quickly to activate a number of Board Committees including the Nominating Committee, Audit Committee and the Human Resources Committee. All three Committees are fully engaged and have contributed to a variety of policy initiatives around the new nomination, election and online voting process, the audit review, a review of employee compensation and the development of a Human Resource Manual and Workplace Health and Safety guidelines for Rowing Canada Aviron. With leadership from several experienced board members, we also took advantage of resources from Sport Canada to develop risk management guidelines and reporting mechanisms and to educate key staff in this area. The Provincial Advisory Council, comprised of the Presidents of our ten Provincial Rowing Associations has maintained a strong and important role through these transitions and with the support of the CEO has activated several working groups to examine areas of our domestic competition agenda through the national and Masters event strategies. The opportunity for provincial Presidents to come together, share learnings and provide their views on critical subjects is important to the strong relationships with our Provinces that we are extremely proud of and, committed to maintaining. The Board is now focussed on a number of strategic priority areas that align to the long-term vision set out by our members. In particular, our National Training Centre facilities underwent a preliminary review last year. Canada is far behind other leading rowing nations with respect to the size, scope and quality of the daily training environment provided for our high performance athletes and coaches. Rowing Canada Aviron must look far into the future and determine what world s best needs to look like and begin working now to ensure this future vision is achieved. Also through the leadership of the Board, partnerships that are necessary for longer term, sustained fundraising have been established and/or re-activated. Through greater alignment with both the Canadian Rowing Foundation and the Canadian Olympic Foundation, new roads are being paved in this area. page 33 20

34 Succession planning has also been high on this list of priorities. This includes ensuring that our leadership at the Board and Management levels remains strong by projecting gaps and developing recruitment and succession planning strategies to address these. This also includes ensuring that we maintain or enhance Rowing Canada Aviron s strategic positions of influence at both the national and international level within those organisations that have the ability to impact our sport and, our ongoing success. To this end, we were extremely pleased to have recently been informed that three Canadians have been selected to FISA Commissions. Firstly, as appointed by the FISA Council, Bill Schenck, Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, has been named to the FISA Events Commission. Secondly, Rebecca Thomas Orr has been named to the FISA Para- Rowing Commission. And finally, Rowing Canada Aviron s Director of High Performance, Peter Cookson, has been named to the FISA Competitive Rowing Commission. Along with Tricia Smith, now the Vice President of FISA, Dr. Mike Wilkinson, member of the FISA Medical Commission, and Iain Brambell, member of the FISA Athletes Commission, we have six representatives at an international federation level. In addition to this, Andréanne Morin was recently appointed to a second term as athlete representative to the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Photo: Andréanne Morin visits Rame de Quebéc (QC) in support of their RBC Sports Day event. 21 page 34

35 At the national level, the key funders of Rowing Canada Aviron include Sport Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Coaches Association of Canada. As a targeted sport, we have been fortunate with the level of support towards our high performance programming. But, funding from government can change very quickly. This year, we experienced this when Sport Canada had to pull back on some of the project funding that had been available to sports in prior years and the Coaches Association of Canada revised its funding formulas and priorities. Although we have adjusted accordingly, these small changes serve to highlight why we have and must continue to focus on the area of business development and revenue generation. Our partnership with Immunotec Inc. directly funded four winning Clubs to host a visit from a National Team Coach and Athlete, supporting clubs in driving participation, inspiring young rowers and connecting club coaches with National Team coaches. With contributions from some new and continuing donors, we were able to provide further support to our current and potential National Team athletes. This year was the inaugural year of the Future Athlete Bursary, made possible through an individual donor, that provided funds to six promising young athletes who continue to pursue their elite training at Canadian Universities. Lastly but perhaps one of our most important assets is those athletes, leaders, influencers and volunteers within our sport who keep our sport at the forefront. We need to recognize and thank those who have contributed so many hours to this and through changes to the Rowing Canada Awards and Recognition program we are working to do a better job of this. Next year will see a freshly branded program and a new approach to our National Awards Banquet giving our awards and our winners higher profile and enhancing the quality of this event. We are also working with a small group out of St. Catharines to see the launching of a new National Rowing Hall of Fame come to fruition over the next few years. Photo: Peter Shakespeare and Jennifer Martins visit Argonaut Rowing Club (ON), Powered by Immunocal. page 35 22

36 Vancouver Rowing Club ASM1x, Spring Trials (West) page 36 23

37 MESSAGE FROM THE TREASURER The March 31, 2014 audited financial statements for our Association are attached within this Annual Report and as they reflect, we enjoyed another solid year from a financial standpoint. I would like to draw your attention to two highlights reflected within the financial statements: 1. As set out in note 7, during the year, the Board moved to establish a Sustainable Organization Reserve Fund in recognition of our long standing goal of moving toward financial self-sufficiency. While much remains to be done, the establishment of this reserve fund reflects modest progress toward that goal. 2. Also during the year, the Association entered into an agreement with the Canadian Sport Institute (Ontario) and ROWONTARIO. Rowing Canada Aviron received funds from the Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative (OPHSI), which are directly expended as certain milestones are met, towards ROWONTARIO high performance initiatives. The revenue from the OPSHI funding is reflected within Sports Associations and Foundations and the offsetting expenditures are reflected with High Performance expenses. Respectfully submitted, Brian J. Lamb, CA Treasurer, Rowing Canada Aviron Photo: Volunteer at the RBC 2014 National Rowing Championships hosted by Victoria City Rowing Club. Credit: Katie Steenman Images page 37 24

38 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INDEPENDENT AUDITOR S REPORT To the Members of Canadian Amateur Rowing Association, We have audited the accompanying financial statements of Canadian Amateur Rowing Association, which comprise the statement of financial position as at March 31, 2014 and the statements of operations, changes in net assets and cash flows for the year then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information. Management s Responsibility for the Financial Statements Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations, and for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. Auditor s Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our qualified audit opinion. page 38 25

39 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INDEPENDENT AUDITOR S REPORT (Cont.) Basis for Qualified Opinion In common with many not-for-profit organizations, Canadian Amateur Rowing Association derive~ revenue from donations the completeness of which is not susceptible to satisfactory audit verification. Accordingly, verification of these revenues was limited to the amounts recorded in the records of Canadian Amateur Rowing Association. Therefore, we were not able to determine whether any adjustments might be necessary to donations, excess of revenues over expenses, and cash flows from operations for the year ended March 31, 2014, current assets and net assets as at March 31,2014. Qualified Opinion In our opinion, except for the possible effects of the matter described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion paragraph, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Canadian Amateur Rowing Association as at March 31, 2014 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations. Victoria, BC September 23, 2014 Hayes, Stewart, Little and Company Fort Street Victoria, BC, V8W 3E9 Tel: Fax: page 39 26

40 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION MARCH 31, 2014 ASSETS CURRENT Cash and cash equivalents $ 900,034 $ 1,022,316 Accounts receivable 275, ,968 Prepaid expenses 104,682 73,586 1,280,279 1,382,870 EQUIPMENT (Note 4) 596, ,249 $ 1,876,933 $ 1,964,119 LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS CURRENT Accounts payable and accrued charges $ 706,263 $ 757,105 Government remittances payable 9,590 45,417 Deferred revenue (Note 5) 77, , , ,998 DEFERRED CONTRIBUTIONS (Note 6) 7,776 12, , ,937 NET ASSETS Invested in equipment 588, ,310 Internally restricted (Note 7) 206,165 6,165 Unrestricted 280, ,707 1,075,845 $1,876,933 1,032,182 $ 1,964,119 page 40 27

41 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 REVENUE EXPENSES Canadian Olympic Committee $ 100,001 $ 432,225 Canadian Paralympic Committee 7,742 25,000 Competition and camp registrations 172, ,170 Donations 30,379 42,163 Interest earned 11,016 11,768 Membership fees 344, ,230 Miscellaneous 30,730 29,807 Regattas, events and fundraising 115, ,676 Sponsorships 7,000 15,500 Sport Canada 5,268,500 5,289,300 Sports associations and foundations 334,931 47,581 6,422,842 6,485,420 Bad debts (recovery) (517) 3,540 Communications and marketing 105,319 94,578 Memberships benefits 158, ,855 Governance and National Operations (Schedule 1) 445, ,204 High Performance (Schedule 2) 5,091,818 5,033,623 Domestic Development and Recreation Participation (Schedule 3) 553,778 6,354, ,900 6,295,700 EXCESS OF REVENUE OVER EXPENSES FROM OPERATIONS 68, ,720 Loss on sale of equipment (24,356) (8.241) EXCESS OF REVENUE OVER EXPENSES $ 43,663 $ 181,479 page 41 28

42 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 NET ASSETS BEGINNING OF THE YEAR Excess of revenue over expenses Purchase of equipment (net of $87,690 disposal) Interfund transfers (Note 7) NET ASSETS END OF YEAR Invested in Equipment Internally Restricted Unrestricted $ 568,310 6, ,707 1,032, ,703 (125,032) - 168,695 43, , ,600 - (145,600) ,000 (200,000) - - $ 588, , ,802 1,075,845 1,032,182 page 42 29

43 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, OPERATING ACTIVITIES Excess of revenue over expenses $ 43,663 $ 181,479 Items not affecting cash: Amortization of equipment 130, ,187 Loss on disposal of assets 24,356 8,241 Amortization of deferred contributions (5,163) (3,219) 193, ,688 Changes in non-cash working capital: Accounts receivable 11,405 83,667 Accounts payable and accrued charges (50,839) 289,553 Deferred revenue (39,017) (91,653) Prepaid expenses (31,096) 150,006 Government remittances payable (35,827) 17,162 (145,374) 448,735 Cash flow from operating activities 47, ,423 INVESTING ACTIVITIES Purchase of equipment (233,290) (301,495) Proceeds on disposal of equipment 63,330 74,582 Cash flow used by investing activities (169,960) (226,913) INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH FLOW (122,282) 508,510 Cash beginning of the year 1,022, ,806 CASH END OF YEAR $ 900,034 $ 1,022,316 page 43 30

44 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, PURPOSE OF THE ASSOCIATION Rowing Canada Aviron is the operating name of the Canadian Amateur Rowing Association Association Canadienne d'aviron Amateur (the "Association") which is a not for profit organization incorporated under the Canada Not for profit Corporations Act. As a not for profit organization, the Association is exempt from the payment of income tax under Section 149(1) of the Income Tax Act. As a Registered Amateur Athletic Association it is authorized to issue receipts for tax purposes for the donations it receives. The Association's principal activity is the development of the sport of rowing in Canada and it is recognized by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national governing body for the sport of rowing. 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of presentation The financial statements were prepared in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not for profit organizations (ASNFPO). Revenue recognition The Association follows the deferral method of accounting for contributions. Restricted contributions are recognized as revenue in the year in which the related expenses are incurred. Donation revenue is accounted for when received. Unrestricted contributions are recognized as revenue when received or receivable if the amount to be received can be reasonably estimated and collection is reasonably assured. Restrictions on Net Assets Funding from Sport Canada is externally restricted to approved expenses. Any part of the funding unspent or not spent in accordance with the conditions must be repaid. page 44 Net assets that are internally restricted have been designated by the Association for specific uses. Internally restricted resources can be made available for other purposes. Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents consists of cash on hand and balances with banks. Equipment Purchased equipment is stated at cost less accumulated amortization. Contributed assets are recorded at fair value at the date of contribution. Equipment is amortized over its estimated useful life on a straight line basis at the following rates: Adaptive equipment 5 years Domestic equipment 5 years Mechanical equipment 5 years Rowing equipment 5 years Motorboats and accessories 5 years Facility improvements 10 years Office equipment 3 years Trailers 10 years Vehicles 3 years Financial Instruments Policy The Association's financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued charges. Financial instruments are recorded at fair value when acquired or issued. In subsequent periods, financial assets with actively traded markets are reported at fair value, with any unrealized gains and losses reported in income. All other financial instruments are reported at amortized cost, and tested for impairment at each reporting date. Transaction costs on the acquisition, sale, or issue of financial instruments are expensed when incurred. 31

45 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 Measurement uncertainty The preparation of financial statements in conformity with Canadian accounting standards for not for profit organizations requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Such estimates are periodically reviewed and any adjustments necessary are reported in earnings in the period in which they become known. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The Association's material estimates include the collectability of accounts receivable, deferral of revenue, accrual of accounts payable, and the useful life of equipment. Contributed Materials and Services Donated equipment and rent is recorded at fair value when received if fair value can be reasonably determined. The Association is dependent on the voluntary service of many members and others. Since these services are not normally purchased by the Association, and because of the difficulty of determining their fair value, donated services are not recognized in these financial statements. 4. EQUIPMENT Cost Accumulated 2014 Net 2013 Net amortization book value book value Adaptive Equipment $ 115,434 $ 57,281 $ 58,153 $ 53,703 Domestic equipment 80,368 29,903 50,465 56,682 Rowing equipment 303, , , ,840 Motorboats and accessories 138,099 79,976 58,123 56,769 Mechanical equipment 197, ,689 87,089 50,933 Facility improvements 22,411-22,411 - Office equipment 204, ,378 34,376 16,388 Trailers 78,166 21,890 56,276 38,236 Vehicles 70,728 30,296 40,432 45,698 $ 1,210,744 $ 614,090 $ 596,654 $ 581,249 page FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS The Association is exposed to various risks through its financial instruments and has a comprehensive risk management framework to monitor, evaluate and manage these risks. The following analysis provides information about the Association's risk exposure and concentration as of March 31, Credit risk Credit risk arises from the potential that a counter party will fail to perform its obligations. The Association is exposed to credit risk from members. An allowance for doubtful accounts is established based upon factors surrounding the credit risk of specific accounts, historical trends and other information. The Association has a significant number of members which minimizes concentration of credit risk. Currency risk Currency risk is the risk to the association's excess of revenue over expenses that arise from fluctuations of foreign exchange rates and the degree of volatility of these rates. The Association is exposed to foreign currency exchange risk on accounts payable held in U.S. Dollars and British Pounds. The Association does not use derivative instruments to reduce its exposure to foreign currency risk. 32

46 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, DEFERRED REVENUE Deferred revenue consists of membership fees received in the 2014 fiscal year for memberships in the 2015 fiscal year, and restricted contributions not fully utilized in the fiscal year. 6. DEFERRED CONTRIBUTIONS Contributions received for equipment are amortized to revenue on the same basis as the equipment Beginning balance $ 12,939 $ 9,657 Contributions of equipment - 6,500 Amounts amortized to revenue (5,163) (3,218) Ending Balance $ 7,776 $ 12, INTERNALLY RESTRICTED The Association's Board has approved the establishment of a Sustainable Organization Reserve Fund to provide a source of funds in order to withstand unanticipated financial shortfalls. During the year $200,000 was appropriated to this Reserve. Umpire s Sustainable Reserve Organization Total $ 6,165 $ 200,000 $206, CONTINGENT LIABILITY Contributions from Sport Canada are subject to periodic audit by Sport Canada. Contributions are refundable to Sport Canada to the extent that any expense has not compiled with the agreed terms and conditions. Audits have been conducted up to the period ended March 31, 2008 with no unresolved instances of non compliance. 9. TRUST FUNDS Not included in the financial statements are the following funds which the Association administers and invests in the Bank of Montreal Dividend Fund. Amounts are disclosed at cost. Hanlan - Pearce - Keller Guest Changes in the Year: Opening balance $ 5,379 $ 14,286 Seagram $ 10,212 Zasada $ 24,327 $ Total 54,204 Investment income earned ,018 Ending balance Market value of Trust $ 5,480 6,740 14,557 $ 18,088 10,404 $ 12,834 24,781 $ 30,255 $ 55,222 67,917 page 46 33

47 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, COMMITMENTS Commencing in March 2013, the Association entered into a lease for a training facility in London, Ontario. The lease expires March 31, 2017 and has one four year renewal option. Annual payments include base rent of $75,600 plus tax and utilities. Commencing in July 2013, the Association entered into a lease for the exclusive usage of the Erg Centre in London Ontario by Rowing Canada's National Rowing Team towards the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The lease expires March 31, 2016 and has a renewal option. Annual payments of $20,000 include utilities, maintenance and repairs. The Association leases boats throughout the year. Leases are typically one or two years in length. Lease payments are made at the commencement of the lease year. Amounts paid for lease terms extending into the subsequent year end are included in the prepaid balance. At year end, the Association has commitments to lease 49 boats for periods extending into the fiscal year ended March 31, As at March 31, 2014, the Association has lease commitments that will result in lease expenses of $68,983 in fiscal Lease prepayments of $65,990 (2013 $53,632) were made during the year. The Association has signed memoranda of understanding with various groups for Row to Podium/TID initiatives. The Association has committed payments of $46,800 in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015 and $30,000 in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 in support of staff and equipment. The agreements are subject to receiving funding from OTP (Own the Podium) and may be terminated by either party upon 3 months notice. 11. COMPARATIVE FIGURES Certain of the prior year figures have been reclassified to conform to the method of presentation adopted in the current year. GOVERNANCE AND NATIONAL OPERATIONS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 (Schedule 1) National office operations $ 77,814 $ 72,839 National office salaries and benefits 220, ,386 Governance 102,058 93,312 Strategic planning and governance review 24,876 42,691 International relations and domestic associations 20,415 14,976 $ 445,764 $ 458,204 page 47 34

48 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 HIGH PERFORMANCE YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 (Schedule 2) Staffing costs $ 1,414,562 $ 1,488,099 Coaches travel and related expenses 54,711 54,291 Events and camps 1,827,359 1,566,949 Equipment 381, ,100 National training centres 466, ,519 Rowing Canada Aviron athlete support 173, ,321 Equipment amortization 88,371 73,736 Sport science, medicine & integrated support team 573, ,454 National Para Rowing Team 112, ,154 $ 5,091,818 $ 5,033,623 DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENT AND RECREATION PARTICIPATION YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, (Schedule 3) 2013 Coach education and development $ 139,820 $ 118,879 Domestic development support 82,576 90,712 Recreation/Participation support 80,376 63,600 Para rowing 73,728 65,011 Rowing Canada Aviron conference expense 71,188 80,033 Recreation/Participation 51,936 75,212 Umpires committee 48,902 46,820 Safety and events committee 5,252 5,633 $ 553,778 $ 545,900 page 48 35

49 BRING ON 2015! 2015 has been declared as the Year of Sport in Canada and for the first time since 1999, Canada s top rowers will be competing on home waters. The Toronto 2015 Pan American Games will take place on the Royal Canadian Henley course in St. Catharines from July 11 to July 15. With the exception of the Women s Eight (as the W8+ is not included at the Pan Am Games Regatta), all of Canada s top crews will be racing for gold. Shortly after, the 2015 Senior and Para National Teams will head to Europe to compete at the 2015 World Rowing Championships, with qualification for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the line. With this increased level of excitement, we look forward to working with our Provincial Rowing Associations, member clubs and associations, as well as our funders, sponsors and supporters to ensure the increased focus on our sport is converted into greater participation and enjoyment for all. See you on the water! Photo: Brendan Hodge, Eric Woelfl, Evan Cheng compete on the Royal Canadian Henley course. Credit: Renate Hodges page 49 36

50 BRING ON 2015! DATE EVENT LOCATION February 1 Canadian Indoor Rowing Mississauga, Ontario Championships February 8 Carnaval de Québec Ice-Rowing Québec City, Québec March C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints Boston, USA May 8-10 World Rowing Cup I Bled, Slovenia May International Para Rowing and Gavirate, Italy Masters Regatta June 5-7 Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing St. Catharines, Ontario Association Championships June World Rowing Cup II Varese, Italy July World Rowing Cup III Lucerne, Switzerland July TO2015 Pan American Games St. Catharines, Ontario Regatta July World Rowing U23 Championships Plovdiv, Bulgaria July Canadian Masters Championships Kenora, Ontario (TBC) August 2 9 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta St. Catharines, Ontario August 6 9 World Rowing Junior Championships Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 30 World Rowing Championships Aiguebelette, France September 6 September World Rowing Masters Championships Hazewinkel, Belgium October National Rowing Championships Eastern Canada (TBC) October 31 November 1 Canadian University Rowing Championships Antigonish, Nova Scotia November World Rowing Coastal Championships Lima, Peru page 50 37

51 WITH THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS, STAKEHOLDERS AND SUPPORTERS Rowing Canada Aviron would like to thank Sport Canada, Own the Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Coaches of Canada for their continuing support of Rowing Canada Aviron, our programs, our athletes and our coaches. It is with their support that we are able to develop, prepare and race world-class athletes and coaches. We would also like to thank our sponsors who support us on the journey to achieving our strategic objectives. Of particular note, due to the sponsorship of Immunotec Inc. four winning Clubs hosted National Team coaches and athletes with the aim of disseminating their expertise as well as promoting our great sport. Finally, we are grateful for the generous and selfless donations we receive from private supporters. With their donations, we are able to provide bursaries and subsidies to our aspiring athletes and coaches as well as offer cash prizes for our National Champions. While there is always more that we can do, these small rewards go some way to helping our sport be successful. On behalf of all those that benefit from your generous donations, thank you. Photo: National Training Centre Athletes Natalie Mastracci, Mark Henry, Ashley Brzozwicz, Alex Walker and Eric Woelfl. page 51 38

52 ROWING CANADA AVIRON S PARTNERS AND SPONSORS IN 2014 PROVINCIAL ROWING ASSOCIATIONS page 52 39

53 Rowing Canada Aviron Interurban Road Victoria, B.C., Canada V9E 2C5 Toll free: rowingcanada.org page 53

54 Membership Dues and Fees Committee Meeting Summary and Committee Recommendation Meeting Date: Sunday, October 5th, 2014 In Attendance: Brian Lamb George Barkwell Brenda Taylor Brian Thorne Darryl de Leeuw Treasurer Notre Dame Rowing Club Victoria City Rowing Club St. Catharines Rowing Club Claremont Sports Institute Rowing Academy (Ex Officio Non Voting) Ontario British Columbia Ontario British Columbia Invited guests: Donna Atkinson, CEO - RCA Regrets: Philippe Colas No nomination Montreal Rowing Club Quebec Atlantic Region Other: Donna Ells Regina Rowing Club Prairie Region (Note: There was a problem with communication of call in details and Donna did not attend the meeting. There was a follow up call with the CEO with a full briefing of all documents and the recommendations of the Committee) 1. Call to Order: Brian Lamb called the conference call meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. PST. 2. Introduction Brian introduced the Committee Members, reviewed the Committee Terms and provided background on the evolution of the Committee. Each Member introduced themselves and provided a bit of personal background. Brian outlined the role of the Committee in recommending to the Membership any fee changes and reinforced that the Board does not bring forward any fee recommendation but that this goes direct from the Committee to the membership. 3. Nomination of Committee Chair Brian noted that George Barkwell had previous experience as Chair of the Dues and Fees Committee as well, as a member of the current Membership Category Review Working Group. Brian asked George if he would be willing to let his name stand again. George agreed. Page 1 of Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 Canada Tel: / (250) ~ Fax: (250) ~ rca@rowingcanada.org Member of: F.I.S.A./Membre de F.I.S.A., Canadian Olympic Committee/Comité Olympique Canadien Canadian Paralympic Committee/ Comité paralympique canadien page 54

55 Brian asked if there were any others who wished have their name stand for the position of chair. There were no others. It was agreed that George would Chair the Committee and George took over the meeting at that point. George provided background to the Committee on the work of the Membership Category Review Working Group. George emphasized the depth of work being done on reviewing membership systems of other FISA rowing countries and other Canadian sports and highlighted that the directions being looked at for 2016 will be substantially different the Committee was thinking well outside the box in terms of membership, how to expand membership, services being provided to members, etc. 4. Review of the Financial Projections and Member Registration Statistics Brian outlined the attachments provided in the report package: 1. Registration Stats for the past two years broken out by Competitive and Sport Rower 2. Projected Expenditures for current fiscal and forecast budget for The Financial projections were reviewed with specific areas covered including: Noting Sport Canada suspension of all over-reference project funding this year that impacted LTAD, Coaching, Risk Management and Official Languages funding no certainty on whether reductions will continue into next fiscal Areas of risk within the budget included, changes to the American Express Cashback and travel points programs change of status in office rent (currently in-kind support) In the expenses, allowance was made for the purchase of extended insurance to provide for legal expense coverage for clubs relative to Human Rights complaints. Donna noted that this change was predicated on experience of the last two years with Clubs that had not opted into the voluntary coverage having to deal with the impacts of such complaints. At the recent Provincial Advisory Council meeting, there was consensus that RCA should look at ensuring that such coverage was in place for all member organizations and the fee should be increased to reflect this increased coverage Questions were raised about high performance funding (OTP funding) explained that OTP targeted funding was under tight control and it was noted that some of this funding was providing some critical overhead relief but RCA was limited in how these funds could be used. It was noted that there had been no member fee increases for over three years and that COLA over these years had not been compensated for. Brian recommended that given the work in progress with the Category Review Working Group that the Committee considers modest increases that essentially support the additional insurance being recommended and that supports the COLA increases that have been absorbed over the past few years. It was noted that this would not balance the projected budget so there would need to be some program reductions. Brian recommended that the Committee consider a $50 increase for Club and PRA Membership (to deal with the insurance question) and to raise the Competitive Rower fee from $47 to $50. Special Associations pay a higher fee currently and it was recommended that that fee stay as is. October 5th, 2014 Rowing Canada Aviron Page 2 of 3 Dues and Fees Committee Recommendation to RCA Members page 55

56 Discussion - Committee members generally supported the recommendation put forward and saw the benefit of the additional insurance coverage as being worthwhile and the proposed increase as being modest and of minimal impact. MOTION: That the RCA Competitive Fee be increased from $47 to $50 and the Provincial Rowing Association Membership Fee and Club Membership Fee be increased by $50 to $700 and $400, respectively. Carried unanimously The meeting was adjourned at 10:15am PST October 5th, 2014 Rowing Canada Aviron Page 3 of 3 Dues and Fees Committee Recommendation to RCA Members page 56

57 ROWING CANADA AVIRON Semi-Annual Meeting Burnaby, British Columbia January 25, 2015 BYLAW AMENDMENTS - MOTIONS FOR RATIFICATION Bylaw Amendment - Sanction As requested by the members, the RCA Safety and Events Committee reviewed the Sanction provisions within the RCA Bylaws (Section 21) and drafted proposed amendments to this Section of the Bylaws. As part of the review the Safety and Events Committee, the Provincial Advisory Council and RCA Board of Directors considered those items that should be addressed in By Laws and those that should be detailed in Policy. Sanctioning is affected by a number of external factors, including Rules of Racing Changes, changes to the types of events being hosted by member organizations and, changes to requirements with respect to participant insurance that is renewed on an annual basis. It is recommended that the CARA Bylaws as they pertain to Sanction, address the definitions, purpose and requirement for sanctioning as detailed in the Bylaw Amendment presented for RCA Member approval. The RCA Sanction Policy will address the details of what is required to be sanctioned, what is required for sanctioning and the process for receiving sanction approvals. The Committee is drafting the Sanction Policy to align with the amended Bylaw and reflect RCA s current practice related to sanctioning. The Committee plans to consult with the members prior to proposing any changes to the Sanction Policy. As per Section 25 of the CARA Bylaws, the RCA Board of Directors has by Special Resolution passed the following motion that changes Section 21 of the CARA Bylaws. This change as approved by the RCA Board of Directors requires ratification by the Membership at the Semi Annual Meeting. Motion 1: Moved: Brian Lamb seconded That the Board of Directors of Rowing Canada Aviron, in accordance with Section 25.5 of the CARA Bylaws, approves the change in Section 21 Sanction Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 Canada Tel: / (250) ~ Fax: (250) ~ rca@rowingcanada.org Member of: F.I.S.A./Membre de F.I.S.A., Canadian Olympic Committee/Comité Olympique Canadien Canadian Paralympic Committee/ Comité paralympique canadien page 57

58 FROM: SECTION 21 SANCTION 21.1 Definitions For the purpose of this section: Sanction shall mean an approval for the hosting of Rowing Regattas (Regatta Sanction). It is also an approval for crews or individuals from within the sport wishing to participate in the sport outside the country (Participation Sanction). Rowing Regatta shall mean any rowing race or races held on the water between two or more Rowing Clubs, or to which individuals or crews are invited who do not participate in rowing activities at the host club. Excluded as Rowing Regattas are internal club meets and interclub training and selection sessions. National Championship shall mean a Rowing Regatta open to participation from every province that is designated as a National Championship by CARA Objectives of Regatta Sanction The objectives of Regatta Sanction are: - Safety of Competitors - Fairness of Competition - A good presentation of the sport of rowing 21.3 Sanctioning of Regattas a. All Rowing Regattas hosted in Canada must be sanctioned by the Provincial Rowing Association of the province in which the regatta is to be held. b. National Championships must also receive CARA Sanction. They are: i. Royal Canadian Henley Regatta ii. National Rowing Championships iii. Canadian Open Masters Rowing Championship iv. Jeux du Canada Games v. Any National Team trial that is presented as a Rowing Regatta vi. Any other National Championship so designated by CARA 21.4 Criteria for Sanctioning Rowing Regattas Sanction of a Rowing Regatta shall only be granted if CARA and the respective Provincial Rowing Association find the following in order: a. Site of Regatta b. Date, time and schedule of events for the regatta c. Regatta Organization Committee d. Rules under which the regatta will be conducted e. Appropriate number of Umpires for the Jury January 25, 2015 RCA Semi-Annual Meeting Page 2 of 3 Burnaby, British Columbia page 58

59 21.5 Objective of Participation Sanction The objective of Participation Sanction is to ensure that participants in foreign Rowing Regattas are Registered Participants with both CARA and their respective Provincial Rowing Association Requirement for Participation Sanction Participation Sanction is required from CARA for: a. All crews or individuals representing Canada b. All crews competing in, or individuals participating in a FISA sanctioned international Rowing Regatta c. All crews competing outside of North America. TO: 21.1 Definitions For the purpose of this section: SECTION 21 SANCTION Sanction shall mean an approval for the hosting of Rowing Events as defined in the RCA Sanction Policy (Event Sanction). Sanction also means an approval for crews or individuals from within the sport wishing to compete in the sport outside the country (Participation Sanction) Objectives of Sanction The objectives of Event and Participation Sanction are: - Safety of Participants; - Fairness of Competition; and - A good presentation of Canadian rowing 21.3 Event Sanction All Rowing Events hosted in Canada and, as defined in the RCA Sanction Policy, must be sanctioned by CARA Participation Sanction Participation Sanction in accordance with the RCA Sanction Policy is required from CARA for any Registered Participant to compete in the sport outside of Canada. January 25, 2015 RCA Semi-Annual Meeting Page 3 of 3 Burnaby, British Columbia page 59

60 VOTING AT THE SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING Absentee Voting If an RCA Member s duly authorized representative is unable to attend the Semi-Annual Meeting of Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) on January 25, 2015 in Burnaby, British Columbia, that member Organization may: 1. Appoint another member of that Rowing Organization who will be attending as the duly authorized representative for the Semi-annual meeting by completing the attached Authorized Voting Representative form; or 2. Appoint a proxy holder to vote on its behalf by completing the two notification forms (attached): the notification to RCA identifying the appointed proxy-holder the notification to the person appointed to be your proxy Appointment of Proxy Holder Voting Members may appoint anyone as their proxy, including the president of RCA if they wish. That person does not have to be a member or a Registered Participant of RCA and there is no limit to the number of proxies a person may carry. A proxy holder has the same rights as the member by whom they were appointed, including the right to speak at the meeting in respect of any matter, to vote by way of ballot and. to demand a ballot at the meeting. Directions on Voting the Member s Vote(s) Members may either; (1) give the proxy holder full discretion in deciding how to vote on the member s behalf; or (2) give specific directions to the proxy holder on how to vote on any of the matters included in the notice of meeting by marking the appropriate boxes on the proxy form under Voting Instructions. An * over the voting box indicates the position that the Board of Directors supports with respect to each motion. Note: In the event that an amendment to an original motion is proposed at the meeting, the proxy form gives the proxy holder full discretion on how to vote on such amendment. Revocation of Proxy A member may revoke a proxy by depositing an instrument in writing revoking the proxy, signed by the member, at Rowing Canada Aviron s registered office before the day of the meeting or with the chairperson of the meeting on the day of the meeting. ALL FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE RCA SECRETARY VIA rca@rowingcanada.org; FAX: ; OR CANADA POST: Rowing Canada Aviron Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 PRIOR TO JANUARY 25, 2015 page 60

61 Semi-annual Meeting - Voting Member Registration Name of Rowing Organization (Legal name of RCA Member Organization) Because our duly authorized representative will not be attending the Semi-annual Meeting of Rowing Canada Aviron to be held in Burnaby, British Columbia on Sunday, January 25, 2015 we hereby appoint the following member of our Rowing Organization as our duly authorized representative for that meeting: Name of Voting Representative (Full name of Member Organization Voting Representative) Signed: Name of Duly authorized representative (Print) Signature of Duly authorized representative Date ALL FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE RCA SECRETARY VIA rca@rowingcanada.org; FAX: ; OR CANADA POST: Rowing Canada Aviron Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 PRIOR TO JANUARY 25, 2015 page 61

62 Notification of Proxy Appointment To: The Secretary, Rowing Canada Aviron We, being hereby appoint, (Legal Name of RCA Member Organization) (Full Name of Proxy Holder) as our proxy holder with full power to attend, act and to vote on our behalf at the Semi-Annual Meeting of Rowing Canada Aviron to be held on January 25 th, 2015 in Burnaby, British Columbia and at any adjournment or postponement thereof. Signed: Name of Duly authorized representative (Print) Signature of Duly authorized representative Date ALL FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE RCA SECRETARY VIA FAX: ; OR CANADA POST: Rowing Canada Aviron Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 PRIOR TO JANUARY 25, 2015 page 62

63 Appointment of Proxy-holder To:, (Name of person appointed as Proxy Holder please print) We, being appoint you (Name of RCA Member Organization) as our proxy holder with full power to attend, act and to vote on our behalf at the Semi-Annual Meeting of Rowing Canada Aviron to be held on January 25 th, 2015 at Burnaby, British Columbia and at any adjournment or postponement thereof. As our proxy holder you have the right to speak at the meeting in respect of any matter, to vote by way of ballot and to demand a ballot at the meeting. Voting Instructions; Please select One (1) of the options below: You may vote as you see fit on our behalf OR We hereby direct you to vote or cast a ballot as set out in the directions below. ALL FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE RCA SECRETARY VIA rca@rowingcanada.org; FAX: ; OR CANADA POST: Rowing Canada Aviron Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 PRIOR TO JANUARY 25, 2015 page 63

64 RCA SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING MOTIONS FOR APPROVAL There are three (3) Motions below for approval at the RCA Semi-Annual Meeting, January 25, Supporting documentation for the motions can be viewed on the following website link: Please mark your vote with an X, FOR or AGAINST (the asterisk* indicates the position recommended by the RCA Board of Directors). MOTION 1: MINUTES OF THE RCA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, JANUARY 26, 2014 Do you approve the adoption of the Minutes of the RCA Annual General Meeting, January 26, 2014? *FOR AGAINST MOTION 2: REPORT OF THE RCA COMMITTEE ON DUES AND FEES Do you approve acceptance of the 2014 recommendations of the RCA Committee on Dues and Fees? *FOR AGAINST MOTION 3: AMENDMENT OF THE RCA BY-LAWS - SECTION 21 SANCTION Do you approve, in accordance with Section 25.5 of the RCA By-Laws, the revisions to Section 21 Sanction? *FOR AGAINST ALL FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE RCA SECRETARY VIA rca@rowingcanada.org; FAX: ; OR CANADA POST: Rowing Canada Aviron Interurban Rd. Victoria BC V9E 2C5 PRIOR TO JANUARY 25, 2015 page 64