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September 2003 In attendance: Levon, Robert, Miriam, Robbie, Leslie, Gordon, Jill (Absent were Shawn and Tony) Athletes elected a chair person (Levon) for this meeting. Athletes then reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting. Current Business: Some responses from Marcia… Marcia gave us a copy of the recent Community council meeting minutes to review. The budget meeting that was discussed in the last meeting minutes was actually the Community Council meeting. Present at these meetings are representatives from fundraising, the treasurer, athletes and club representatives. Marcia would like to have one rotating member from the Athlete’s Committee attend Community Council meetings (so that everyone gets a chance to attend the meetings). Goodlife Fitness (located at Queen and Yonge Streets) is offering free access to Toronto Special Olympics athletes who would like to participate in power-lifting. Marcia would like some feedback as to why there has been little interest in this club. It has been advertised in the Newsletter twice now. Responses generated by the committee were that possibly: The location of Goodlife Fitness is not convenient. Power-lifting is not something that people are interested in doing. Athletes may not realize that this kind of training may be valuable to them. Some athletes may be concerned about getting injured. Some athletes already participate in too many sports. There will be an upcoming Healthy Athletes Seminar. A nutritionist will be running this seminar. In addition, pamphlets are currently being developed to promote healthy lifestyles for athletes. In response to concerns about the budget (brought about at the last meeting), Marcia stated that Special Olympics has received recognition as a charitable organization for putting funds towards the athletes/clubs. Marcia will try to get the Athlete’s Committee a copy of the budget to review in the meeting. There will be an upcoming Rubber Ducky Race fundraiser. In addition, entertainment booklets are an excellent idea for fundraising. The Athlete’s Committee may be interested in raising money as a group (possibly to contribute to other clubs/events). o Committee members feel that they already do a lot of fundraising. They are unsure as to whether they want to do anymore at this time In response to a concern brought about at the last meeting, all regions must do fundraising. There are actually three baseball teams in Region 11 (as opposed to two – item 26 from August 11th meeting). Marcia suggested that there be competitions with teams from other townships. She is in contact with Head Coaches about this. o Athletes are concerned that the Gallaway Sliders can’t play against the other teams at the same level. Athletes suggested that they already play other townships at the regional level. In addition, members expressed concern that the C-team can’t play against Etobicoke all of the time. Marcia wanted feedback about what to do about poor sportsmanship (item 30 from August 11th). Members proposed these ideas: Poor sportsmanship needs to be taken care of at the team level before it reaches the point where it has to go to the office (and an athlete may end up getting suspended). Athletes should sit down and talk to their coaches. If necessary, they may be given a warning. If an athlete does it again, Marcia should be informed. If the behaviour continues, Glen should be informed. Suspension from a sport may have to occur for up to a year. All occurrences should be dealt with differently, however, depending on the incidents. There have already been two training sessions for athlete speakers, and there will not be any more in the near future (there are too many athlete speakers and not enough engagements). However, Marcia is working on making sure that those who would like to participate in speaking are getting the chance. Marcia is wondering if athletes are using the Athlete Phone Line. The next phone line script may contain directions to events (to assist athletes in getting to events). o Athletes feel that people are using the phone line. They find it useful as it gives a little more information. Athletes will promote both the phone line and information that they get from the newsletter. Marcia discouraged putting personal e-mail addresses on the website due to vulnerability issues. o Members of the committee agreed. At the provincials in Barrie, hearing tests were available. The empowerment task force is working on pulling together a website for athletes. Head coaches received a copy of all concerns from the July 7th meeting to address their sports clubs. Marcia informed specific clubs of any issues brought up at the meetings. Marian O’Neill sent a reply regarding her opinion about sharing uniforms. Athletes agreed that since uniforms are purchased with club money, and since some athletes may not return for the next season, it can become very expensive to keep buying new ones. Additionally, they agreed that they do not want to put athletes who cannot afford to buy uniforms in an awkward position. They appreciated Marian’s response to their concern. Athletes took turns bringing up issues which were then discussed by committee members as a group: Upcoming Events/News/Updates: 1. Many people did not show up to the Community Council meeting last month. Robert will discuss budget concerns of the athlete’s committee at the upcoming community council meeting (Wednesday September 10th, 2003). 2. Raffle tickets are being sold at St. Lawrence Market to raise money for the floor hockey teams going to P.E.I. The amount of money that needs to be raised is $25,000. 3. The Toronto Express Soccer Club will begin its indoor soccer season practices on Sunday October 19th, 2003. It will be at the same time and place as last year (Centennial College – Warden Woods Campus, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.). Athletes are unsure if the cost will be the same or not ($40.00) or if it may be a bit more. Requirements are for B and C competitive (must have some ability in playing the game). Subway directions : Take the #69 bus from Warden Station to Centennial College. Enter the gymnasium from the parking lot. 4. Five-pin bowling started on Sunday September 7th. Not many athletes showed up because they did not know that it started yesterday. 5. Ten-pin bowling started last Saturday and only five people showed up out of 14. Ten pin bowling has one new bowler this year. Additionally, it is the same price to register ($5) and $10 to bowl each Saturday (except tournaments). This team will be getting new bowling shirts which will cost $25 each. 6. Bowlers are getting ready for the Ten-pin bowling October qualifier; Athletes are just bowling for averages right now. 7. There will be a five-pin bowling tournament on September 21st. 8. Swimming practices will begin on Mondays starting this month. The athlete committee will adjust dates if necessary depending on member availability for Mondays. Other athletes have practices for other sports on different days. Budget/Cutbacks/Fundraising: 9. Athletes suggested that those who attend provincial or national tournaments must bring their own spending money, whereas if you attend an international tournament, you receive spending money. 10. Some athletes did an annual mailing for the Executive Director and Subway Sandwiches promotions. Athletes will get paid for their work. Athlete Numbers and Recruitment: 11. There was some confusion surrounding item 26 from the last meeting minutes. Athletes at the C-level in Region 11 baseball folded this year. This is why Grand Ravine and Etobicoke ended up playing against each other. When the athletes folded, they either went to Etobicoke or Grand Ravine. Baseball is now considered to be a multi-sport club. 12. Six new athletes joined starting last week. Other Important Issues: 13. Leslie discussed the issue of a lack of D players for the Toronto East Soccer Club with Beverly (the Head Coach of this club). Marcia had e-mailed Beverly about the committee’s concern. Her responses were as follows: B&C teams are competitive teams but that the D players are still considered members of these teams. D players are welcome to play with the B and C teams or they can play with Scarborough Zurry if they want more playing time. Scarborough Zurry has more coaches familiar with D level players. However, D players do not place a strain on the coaches for Toronto East Soccer. The club is flexible in working out ways to ensure D players get the chance to play. In addition, the Toronto East Express Soccer Club was developed so that B and C levels had more opportunities to play. 14. Leslie brought in a copy of the Special Olympics Rights and Responsibilities (still under review and in the process of being finalized). She read this for committee members. 15. Leslie also mentioned the Provincial Wide Code of Conduct (being developed by the Strategic Planning Committee). Twelve have been developed so far. This is also a work in progress. The next retreat for this committee will take place in London Ontario in either October or November. 16. One member has been following weather forecasts. Forecasts say that this winter shouldn’t be as bad as last winter. This will not be a concern for skiers as the places where they ski create artificial snow. 17. Athletes can participate in two sports at regionals this year, but next year it will only be one. 18. Contact information between the facilitator and athletes was exchanged. Athletes will contact Jill with any concerns/questions regarding this meeting and vice versa. The next meeting will take place on Monday October 6th, 2003. Home || Sports || Events || Volunteering || Donations || Links || Contact Us |
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