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DURHAM REGION SENIOR GAMES MEETING NORTHVIEW COMMUNITY CENTRE , 150 BEATRICE ST., OSHAWA MAY 12 /10 – 1:00 p.m. ATTENDEES: Bob Taylor (Chairman), Linda Spadaro (Games Registrar), Ruth Vdovich (Games Coordinator), Don Chase (Mun. Rep.-Uxbridge), Andrew Goss (Comm. Support-Oshawa), Angela Adams (Comm. Support- Clarington), Nathan Gardner (Physical Activity Coordinator – Brock), Tony Atkins (Municipal Rep. – Oshawa), Cathy Jordan (Comm. Support – Whitby) 1. Moved by Don Chase seconded by Linda Spadaro that the minutes of the Apr.7/10 meeting be approved as distributed. Carried. 2. The treasurer’s Report showed receipt of sponsorship money and registration fees. Expenditures included petty cash, printing and advertising. In addition bowling lineage for the tournament, lunch at the Claremont Legion (Euchre) and equipment (Softballs and Pickleballs) bills were paid and a $16 registration fee was rebated. A further downpayment on the Actifest jackets was made. Further petty cash items (business envelopes, a logo stamp, banner hanging supplies and markers) totaling $133.10 were verified by Andrew Goss and approved for payment. Sponsorship money totaling $900 is still outstanding (reminders will be sent out) and OSGA fees of $2500 pending 3. Correspondence - Those who helped sponsor our This Week “schedule” advertisement have been thanked and correspondence was received from Rick Pillsworth of We Care stating they were glad to help and he, personally, would be willing to assist at any one of our Games if needed. Loretta Fernandez-Heaslip emailed to advise that Brock would be unable to host our June meeting on the date discussed due to a previous commitment. Snap Clarington indicated a photographer was unavailable for our Shuffleboard tournament and asked for any photos we might be able to provide. Photos were provided and discussions are on-going as to those pictured in the ones to be used. The new Certificate of Insurance was received from the OSGA and an amended copy naming the Municipality of Clarington as being covered for the use of facilities for the slo-pitch tournament was requested and received. A request from Service Canada to set up a table at our events to promote their Outreach Program and Hire A Student Program was forwarded to Actifest2010 since most of our events would not be suitable. An email was received from Terry Knox of Deer Creek golf course verifying their agreement with Kevin Sheridan to affix our logo to their golf carts. The logo sticker was displayed and met with general approval from those present. An on-going exchange of emails with Forever Young (Metroland Media) regarding the publishing of our winners as a lead-up to Actifest2010 resulted in a request to refrain from using Capital letters as they had to be retyped in their program. Unfortunately, that would mean retyping them from our website result listings and both of my typing fingers threatened to go on strike if I agreed J. Email to Actifest2010 committee suggesting qualifiers would be looking for information on their website that was not yet available. 4. New Business a) Trillium Grant - The Trillium Foundation has requested and received definitive numbers for the indicators of success. We have indicated a 10 percent increase in awareness of and participation in our Games is expected in the first year and a further 15% in the second year. As well, the number of new participants has been added as a third indicator with similar percentages expected. They have indicated that our request for funding has survived the first cut of 50% of the requests and reminded us that the funding is not retroactive – only expenditures that occur on or after the Grant is verified by phone (mid-June) is eligible for reimbursement. b) Pickleball – An email from Wayne Roswell was read which summarized the problems caused by the change in the serving rule. Basically, the scoring of the game is to a large extent dependent on court rotation which in turn is governed by rules involving the serve and loss of serve. The wording is such that the serve could go back and forth between partners with the opposition not getting a serve. To negate this possibility and follow the intent of the new serving rule would require further rule changes. Due to the confusion involving the rule and the fact that it will be difficult to implement, Leslie Choo – Wing, our convenor, has been instructed to run our tournament using the rule of his choice. Of greater concern is the disregard the OSGA has shown its Districts in dealing directly with the participants, informing them and Actifest of the rule change while Districts have yet to be informed. This is in direct opposition to their stated policy of working more closely with the Districts, seeking their opinions and keeping them informed of items under discussion. c) Review of games completed – A few problems occurred with the Euchre event. Ruth was the listed convenor but Lenora McKenzie from the Claremont Legion was in fact running the event and didn’t get the message that it was to be Progressive Euchre this year. Consequently, Progressive Euchre was not played. Survey results pointed out the inadequacy of the facility for those with limited mobility – second floor with no elevator and additional stairs to washrooms. The lunch also came under criticism due to the lack of a dessert item and we ended up losing money due to a $5 plus tax charge per person. The need for a better explanation of the rules and possibly a written set of rules was also mentioned by some participants. It was recommended that we seek an alternate site next year and, if necessary, increase the lunch fee to at least cover the cost. The Shuffleboard tournament in Port Perry was relatively well received although the stage protruded onto the playing area of 2 courts, forcing a rule change to allow participants at that end to step over the line while playing. A scheduling error caused some confusion and resulted in the tournament running late. Some participants and the convenor noted it was a tiring experience. Some last minute cancelations of both players and scorekeepers caused a problem and some participants noted the lack of “trained” scorekeepers as a problem. Last year, the lack of scorekeepers was noted (players had to record their scores on the scoreboard). This year it was the lack of scoreboards (players had to continually ask the scorekeeper for the score). Perhaps both should be used in the future. 5-Pin Bowling went extremely well receiving high ratings in all areas. One participant did suggest the location be changed each year as local bowlers do have the advantage of being familiar with the lanes. However, there are limited viable options and the success of the tournament in the present location led the committee to decide to retain the present site. It was noted that the stated rule of bowlers requiring a verifiable average was questioned since the rules state that non-league bowlers must use a set average of 170 for men and 150 for women. It needs to be clarified that the verifiable average refers to league bowlers who may be required to have their league secretary verify the accuracy of their average. d) Preview of upcoming events – Ruth and Bob have met with the carpet bowling convenor and other than a shortage of entries, the event seems to be ready to go. Problems with the scoreboard being difficult to follow last year are expected to be rectified. They have also met with the contract bridge convenor and have stressed that only one set of winners are to be announced. Last year both north-south and east-west winners were awarded pins and certificates. The OSGA rules state that the Chicago scoring system is to be used with some modifications. The problem is that the Chicago system itself has been modified in recent years and there are numerous versions of it being used. The version in the OSGA Technical Manual is not one which most players may be familiar – nor is it one which the convenor was intending to use. A handout has been drawn up outlining areas that may be different from what most players are familiar and these will be handed out to players as they register at the site. The lunch will be coming from the Whitby Legion Ladies Auxiliary at 11:30 and coffee is being provided by the Whitby Senior Centre. The convenor is to get in touch with Cathy about the set up of tables and chairs. Loretta Worsley from the Northview Lawn Bowling Club joined us for a discussion about Mixed Doubles Lawn Bowling event. Questions about lunch, rules , etc. will be answered at a meeting with the convenors next week. Pelican Catering is the lunch sponsor for the event and the timing and location of the lunch will be determined by the number of entries. Ruth and Bob have met with the Mixed Triples Lawn Bowling convenor and gone over scheduling possibilities, lunch arrangements, etc. The number of entries will again determine final decisions. Bid Euchre was also discussed. We have yet to meet with the convenor but the event went reasonably well last year considering it was the first year for Progressive Bid Euchre. The convenor did a good job presenting it last year – oral instructions and rules were detailed. It will be suggested that a written set of rules and instructions would be beneficial. Ruth requested that we draw up a petition to be sent to all Districts requesting that the OSGA drop the Progressive nature of the event. Bob intends to pose questions about the rules of many events to all Districts to determine majority opinions on them, but is reluctant to do so in the form of a “petition” where we are requesting a specific rule change. We will put the question to our Bid Euchre players to get their opinion. e) Job Descriptions for the Website Director and Games Registrar were distributed, discussed and approved. It was noted that being responsible for something means seeing to it that it is done – often others may be in a better position to do the task but may require training, assistance or prompting to get it done. 5. Reports – Games Coordinator – Ruth reported that the summer games are progressing well and that she has some convenors lined up for the winter games. Nathan will look into finding a Nordic Skiing convenor as Brock is the most likely site for that event. Also needed is a curling convenor and Don will check with a few people in Uxbridge and also contact Bob Jones who may have someone lined up in Scugog. Ruth also has the lunch tickets and committee members should get their free ticket from her as soon as they are sure they are attending. - Games Registrar – Linda reported 308 participants registered in approximately 450 events to date. She also mentioned a possible female swimmer who had approached her at the Tosca Show but she has not officially registered as yet. Registration procedures are going well although there are still a number of entrants who are filling out multiple entry forms which makes it a little difficult keeping track of the entry fee owing. The OSGA cards have added to the task of registering participants and Linda noted the need for Slo-pitch and Bocce to get their registration forms completed and in on time this year. - Promotions Director – In his absence, it was reported that Joe’s summer golf leagues have begun and he has made members aware of the DRSG and our upcoming golf tournament and encouraged participation. Please continue to send promotional opportunities to Joe. Although it is getting late to promote our summer games specifically, we need to think about winter games promotions especially in light of our possible Trillium Grant. - Sponsorship Director – In her absence it was reported that Katarina and Bob had met to finalize the sponsorship levels, but Katarina’s submission to the committee for approval is not ready at the present time. It was mentioned that she is working on an agreement with Chartwell that would allow them access to some level of sponsorship despite Amica’s exclusive sponsorship rights in that area. - Website Director – nil report as Andrew was dealing with a computer crash - Municipal Reps – Tony Atkins had a visitor at the Actifest 100 Days Event who was interested in registering for a swimming event but she has not yet contacted us about it. - Don Chase indicated that he has successfully spread the word about our program by talking to people he encounters in Uxbridge. Few of them were aware of the DRSG - Municipal Support Reps – As one of the organizers, Cathy felt the Tosca 50+ Lifestyles Show had been a great success with over 1000 people attending. She also mentioned the Senior Centres as a means of promoting the DRSG, suggesting an on-site presence when information was first available and perhaps at registration time. She will contact Joe to have this added to our promotions list. Cathy also brought us up to date on the new Senior Centre in Brooklin which will now open in October and may provide additional opportunities for event and meeting sites. - Nathan mentioned that he and Loretta had found about a dozen additional distribution sites in Brock and that the Booklets were disappearing quickly from those sites. Bob is to provide additional Booklets. Some sites have expressed an interest in hosting a future tournament and it was felt that this would do much to increase awareness and participation in Brock. They are also trying to recruit a full-time Municipal Rep. but until one is found, they will continue to spread the word. - Andrew reported that all was going well and that the Booklets were in great demand when first available. He felt the 100 Days Event that he and Tony attended on our behalf did a lot to educate the people about the relationship between the DRSG and Actifest. Displays at the Senior Centres that were designed to make people aware that the Games had started and encourage participation would soon be out-dated and need refreshing – he suggested photos of event winners be provided to the winners’ Senior Centre to be used for promotional purposes. Problems in getting a photo of the winners and identifying the Senior Centre that they are associated with would have to be solved. Andrew will try to put a display together for the June meeting using the carpet bowling winners as an example. Andrew also noted a promotional opportunity in the OSCC “Swing into Summer” event to be held June 2nd. Besides encouraging participation in the rest of the summer games, we could start making people aware of the upcoming winter games. We will have to find a free member to man the table as we have a lawn bowling event that day. (Ruth also mentioned the Brooklin Fair Parade on June 5th as another opportunity to promote our Games – more information is needed before we can consider this but it should be added to our list as a possibility) - Angela indicated that there were still some Booklets left at the Beech Centre and they are actively recruiting players to enter a slo-pitch team in our tournament - Chairman – felt the Tosca Show was a success with over 250 Booklets being handed out. Meetings have been held with the convenors of Darts, and Pickleball as well as Carpet Bowling and Contract Bridge. Game results have been sent to Metroland Media for inclusion in their website promotion of Actifest and those Dart players who entered the non-existent 65+ division have been notified that there is only one all-inclusive age group for Darts. Garry Bachman who was our guest at last year’s Award Luncheon has been encouraged to represent Ontario at the Canada Senior Games in Brockville this August. 7. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in Brock Township on June 23rd. Nathan will look into acquiring a meeting location and also a place to accommodate us for lunch so the meeting can begin on time. If all attendees are there for lunch, we could turn it into a luncheon meeting.
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