A Year in Reflection

The OTA is now well into their four-year strategic planning cycle and I am proud to say the organization continues to strengthen its financial commitments to important programs, and to human resources and partnerships needed to lead the growth of tennis in Ontario and across Canada.

Financially, OTA is well positioned, having reached a $2M budget milestone this past fall when the 2015 budget was finalized by the board. Since 2011, the OTA's budget has increased an incredible 35% thanks to the hard work of OTA's Executive Director Jim Boyce and his staff. During this same period, government grant support has increased an astonishing 98%! None of that success would be possible without the strong support by OTA member clubs who recognize the leadership and benefits OTA brings to tennis in their community and across Ontario.

Volunteerism

The year 2014 was another standout year for volunteerism in the province. Throughout the year the OTA provided over 40 recognition certificates to clubs and regions who honoured outstanding volunteers in communities across Ontario. As we've done for the past 12 years, we saved our highest recognitions for late October with the  Distinguished Services Award dinner. The award for 2014 went to two deserving recipients: Julio DiCresce from Bolton Tennis Club and Renate Crizzle from Heron Park Tennis Club. Congratulations to both Julio and Renate for their high level of contributions over so many years.

 

On a larger scale, the OTA hosted the 9th annual Presidents' Day session during Rogers Cup on August 4th. Club executives from about 90 member clubs attended (200+ participants) and it is our way of recognizing the hard work of all member club board volunteers in the province. A continental breakfast was served, followed by remarks from incoming Tennis Canada CEO Kelly Murumets,  and concluding with a short Q&A with special guest and up-and-coming player Brayden Schnur of Ontario. Most of the interview was captured and put up on the OTA's YouTube station, so take a look on our website if you haven't already done so.

 

Fundraising

The OTA participated this year for the first time in the 3rd annual Raonic Race-For-Kids fundraising event organized by Tennis Canada. Our team, the "OTA Future Stars", raised over $9,000 for the charity, with the total amount raised across 16 teams coming in at $130,000. Our celebrity team captain was ATP and Canadian Davis Cup tennis star Frank Dancevic, who gave every challenge great energy and enthusiasm. More information can be found at The Milos Raonic Foundation website.

Governance & Risk Management

The OTA continued to progress priorities from our governance and risk management plan. A small board committee worked with OTA staff in 2013/14 to develop a draft of a comprehensive Volunteer Policy including background check requirements for OTA employees, coaches, officials and volunteers. This initiative forms part of the OTA's overall Risk Management Plan that has been in place since 2009.  The policy has been approved and includes details such as the role of the volunteer to the success of tennis in Ontario, volunteer rights and expectations, volunteer training and orientation and volunteer recognition. It also includes new requirements for conducting various levels of police background checks (PBCs) for OTA volunteers, employees and other paid positions such as coaches and officials. Background checks take affect Jan 1, 2015 and will be required for all officials and coaches and select volunteers. These and other policies can be found on the CLUBSTRONG resource centre.

Tennis Canada / OTA Partnership

The Provincial Tennis Association (PTA) Presidents meet regularly through the Council of Provinces (COP) and in 2014 we focused our efforts to continue building a stronger relationship with the provinces and Tennis Canada. For the first time, Tennis Canada met with all the provincial Presidents and their Executive Directors in Toronto in late October to focus discussion on how to best grow tennis participation in Canada. This was an historical first step simply because it was the acknowledgement by all involved that in order for us to succeed we must all have consensus and buy-in to the programs in which we invest. Everyone left the two-day meeting feeling that their ideas mattered and that the action steps identified will make a strong impact to growing tennis participation in Canada over the long term. More meetings of this kind will take place in 2015 including coverage of other important areas such as Marketing and High Performance. This is a new way of working together collaboratively with Tennis Canada and the provinces and I for one am extremely happy we are taking this direction.

OTA's Annual General Meeting

This year's AGM was held on Saturday, April 11 with a full house of attendees from over 48 member clubs. After the business of the AGM completed, we had guest speakers from Sterling Backcheck (Ron Modi) and Altruvest (Robert Harris) provide insight into police background checks and board governance. This was followed by some time on the courts for those who signed up, allowed us to demonstrate a number of the programs that get delivered to communities throughout the  year. Thank you to all our supportive clubs for attending, voicing their opinions, networking with other members and enjoying the food and seminars.

AGM Attendees Enjoying the Smashcage

Sneak Peek at 2014 Priorities

On behalf of the OTA board and staff I wish you a Happy New Year! With any new year comes the desire to reflect on our successes and challenges in the past year, while looking forward to new goals in the coming year.

If you recall last year's OT Magazine Yearbook review, I spoke about the completion of OTA's four-year Strategic Plan. I also wrote a three-part-series (March, April, May 2013) in my President's Blog providing more detail on how the OTA will translate that plan into more specific programs and steps necessary to meet those expectations.

For the upcoming Yearbook review I will cover a number of Strat Plan highlights from 2013 covering each of the four goals in that plan. Many of them, such as the new ranking system implementation and the piloting of the new "Raise the Net" program for community clubs, will carry over into 2014 and directly benefit competitive players and member clubs. Please watch out for that edition coming out in late February.

To kick off this year, let me review a few priorities our board and staff will be working on your behalf.


GOAL #1: Attract More People to Play and Support Tennis on a Sustained Basis

• Work has begun on the development of OTA's digital strategy with the goal of identifying some key priorities that can be implemented over the coming years and includes improved use of website with improved content, targeted use of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, more video content (OTA TV) and the development of an OTA mobile app for access to apps like the OTA Club Card and the new Ranking & Tournament Management System.
• The Club Connection news releases which first began in June of 2012 are published six times a year and are packed with useful information for member clubs. Look for the first 2014 edition coming out shortly with a link to the new OTA Raise the Net online resource centre.
• By having our regional committees work with municipal park and rec staff, we expect progress to be made on updating and improving the Tennis Club Policies for both Toronto (including Scarborough and North York) and Markham. This will benefit all clubs operating in those cities.
• Further develop and expand our club member base in the Ottawa region by delivering more programming that directly benefits the clubs (eg: Raise the Net, Little Aces). As well, our STF region will have an official Little Aces launch this year. The OTA has also submitted an application through Trillium's regional stream for Capital Kids, an Ottawa-based project aiming to broaden access to tennis by providing cost-free tennis lessons for 8500 kids over 4 years.
• The OTA will partner with Wilmington Tennis to deliver The Sunshine Project, which will provide 900 elementary students in the northwest region of Toronto with subsidized tennis lessons. Thanks to the Ontario Trillium  Foundation for funding this project over 3 years

GOAL #2: Provide opportunities for players to improve at every level

• Go live with the new provincial ranking system and tournament management system in the April timeframe
• Increased member club participation for Year 2 of the U9 Champions program
• Continue to grow and maintain and active competitive structure. In 2013 there were over 2200 registered players
• Continue to grow and maintain high level coaching certification training. In 2013, 223 people took the instructor course alone

GOAL #3 & 4: Encourage and support volunteerism at the provincial, regional and local levels. Ensure accountability and relevancy of OTA programs and services

• We encourage all member clubs to send representatives to the OTA's 2013 AGM to be held on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at the Rexall Centre player's lounge. Along with the business portion of the meeting, we will be having our official launch of the Raise the Net program and provide details in the form of a group breakout session. Stay tuned for more information. Highlights of last year's AGM can be viewed on YouTube
• Our volunteer policy along with background check guidelines will be published this year and will be made available to member clubs
• Recognizing volunteers in our community continues to be a top priority. Clubs can call the office directly to get award certificates printed to present to club volunteers in recognition of their outstanding contributions. As well, Distinguished Service Award applications will be accepted until the end of April, so please take the time to submit your special candidate. If chosen, they, with close family and friends by their side, will be honoured at a banquet in October at the Toronto Cricket Club. Highlights of last year's event can be viewed on YouTube
• The Council of Provinces (COP), of which OTA is a member, will continue to work co-operatively with Tennis Canada to align our plans and programs for the betterment of tennis across Canada. With the recent announcement of TC's new CEO, Kelly Murumets, we at the OTA are especially excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead for both organizations.

Strat Plan Part 3

OTA Strategic Plan Part 3

Last month I covered the second goal of the OTA's strategic plan, covering the competitive structure and all the activity around offering a robust and active tournament environment for players of all levels.

This month, I'd like to cover the last two goals of the plan:

GOAL #3: Encourage and support volunteerism at the provincial, regional and local levels

 

GOAL #4: Ensure accountability and relevancy of OTA programs and services

 

 

Summary of Strategies

 

• Support the recruitment and retention of volunteers
• Adequately recognize and retain volunteers for their strong contributions
• Practice sound fiscal management and governance
• Assess effectiveness of programs, services, board and staff
• Monitor and promote OTA insurance program
• Maintain effective partnership with Tennis Canada

Examples

• OTA has over 1800 volunteers in Ontario
• Three honourees received the OTA’s Distinguished Service Award (DSA) in 2012 (Betty Webster, Jimmy Wong, Meg Fletcher)
• Networking opportunities (Presidents’ Day during Rogers Cup, attending OTA AGM and breakout sessions, attend regional meetings & volunteer on regional committee to improve programming)
• Contact OTA office for information, club certificates
• Enhance recognition and awards programs (to be developed)
• The OTA provides youth employment and routinely takes in 1-2 interns every year as part of the HR government grants received
• Tennis Clubs are responsible for their own hiring and are encouraged to employ youth – eg: Many clubs hire monitors every year (aged 14-16) and pay them minimum wage for the summer months. The club pro also hires youth to assist with tennis camps
• Clubs are encouraged to provide volunteer hours for youth looking to meet their minimum 40 hr requirement for graduating high school in Ontario. These youth may end up coming back to the club as future volunteers on the executive if they have a positive experience
• Industry-leading, competitively priced Club Property & Liability Insurance, Directors’ & Officers’ Insurance and Abuse Insurance (Marsh) – 132 clubs obtain general liability insurance, 95 obtain D&O
• Support member club applications for grants (letter of support)
• Continue to solicit member input via online survey
• Strong fiscal management combined with effective and efficient allocation of resources to the right programming         
• Governance priorities for 2013: volunteer policy, player development policies for player disciplinary action and rankings

I hope this series of summaries provides you a reasonable understanding of what the OTA is all about and where it provides benefit to clubs and players across Ontario. Please feel free to send your feedback to the OTA office at ota@tennisontario.com, or complete our online survey any time: OTA online survey.

Strat Plan Part 2, AGM, Sport Awards

2012 AGM Comes to a Close

Many thanks goes out to all those member clubs who attended the 2012 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the Rexall Centre Player's Lounge. We had one of our highest attendances in years, with 117 people representing 49 clubs. The full business conducted was videotaped and posted on the OTA's YouTube Channel OTATV1 in case you missed it. In addition, you'll find the most popular seminar, "How to attract and retain new members at your club", on our YouTube channel, and all the seminar presentations posted on the OTA Resource Centre on google drive (check with Jay Neill at the office if you don't already have your link). Also posted there is the 2012 Annual Report.

I'll be looking over the AGM survey forms shortly and report back on some of the feedback in May, especially on recommendations for future seminars.

2012 AGM

Pictures from the day can be viewed on our Facebook page.

2012 Ontario Sport Awards Held April 18, 2013

Another exciting evening for coaches, athletes, volunteers and sponsors at the 2012 Ontario Sport Awards held at the Marriott Airport hotel. I counted 40 tables so there were likely between 350-400 in attendance. The OTA nominated Sharon Arnold for a Syl Apps volunteer award for tennis and was honoured along with 29 other volunteers at this event last night. For a full list of all the winners, visit http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/sport/sport/awards_winners_2012.shtml.

Sharon has been involved with tennis for over 55 years. Early in her career she taught tennis at the U of T and was instrumental in the birth of the Doug Philpott inner-city children's foundation and still serves as secretary and chair of the Program Committee. Sharon received the DSA award in 2004 for her work with disadvantaged youth. Congratulations Sharon! Pictures from the evening are also on our Facebook page.

OTA Strategic Plan Part 2

One of the seminars held after the AGM on Apr 13 was a review of the latest OTA Strategic Plan. The full presentation is posted on the OTA Resource Centre. In my March blog post, I outlined examples for our first Goal and I continue this month with our second goal:

GOAL #2: Provide opportunities for players to improve at every level

Summary of Strategies

• Support competitive opportunities for players with an active competitive structure
• Promote player development
• Maintain an effective ranking system
• Assist member clubs in attracting  top tennis pros
• Encourage enthusiasts to become instructors and officials
• Continue with OTA charitable fundraising in support of junior development

Examples

• A strong partnership with OFSAA to deliver province-wide tennis competitions for high schools, culminating in a large playoff event at Rexall Centre in June - 310 players competing in 10 events
• The NEW U9 Champions initiative and tournament. Club events will be held over the summer with a final tournament Nov 8-10, 2013 at Rexall coinciding with a charity/fundraising dinner at the Cricket Club on Nov 9th.
• Maintain an active competitive structure with sanctioned competitions year-round – bonus for clubs and academies to promote tennis, attract players and generate additional revenue – Ontario has 2208 registered players, 360 sites with 841 events
• Promoting online software to streamline club operations and programming (eg: Visual Reality (VR) Tournament Planner for sanctioned tournament management, 3^rd-party offerings)
• Launch of the new rounds-based ranking system in late 2013 using VR system
• Coaching certification through OTA office – 212 new instructors and 40 upgrades in 2012. Is your tennis pro registered with the Tennis Professionals Association (TPA)?
• Tennis Canada provide officials training twice annually – roving, chair umpires, line umpires for Futures events, Rogers Cup, etc. – important to maintain strong pool of officials to promote fair play at tournaments – 24 new umpires certified in 2012
• OTA offers an active Job Line for Club pro hiring and even hiring of club monitors and assistant pros

Strat Plan, Davis Cup and More

Only one month has passed us by and already we have some exciting news to share regarding the Ottawa tennis scene. OTA Executive Director, Jim Boyce and I spent a day in sunny (and relatively warm) Ottawa on Jan 10th to attend a joint NCTA AGM and Presidents' meeting. We had some lively topics for the Presidents’ meeting, with a great turnout of clubs with at least 15 in attendance. We started with City Park & Rec manager Ward Cosman discussing the role the city has in administering insurance, programs and activities on city-owned property, followed by the OTA (Jim and I) presenting and gathering feedback on a value proposition which would see most if not all the Ottawa area clubs (about 26) joining the association, something that has never happened in the history of the OTA. This topic took the bulk of the meeting, and in the end, lead to very positive support for joining the OTA. We will get full confirmation on how many clubs plan on joining by mid March, but we remain optimist that this could be a banner year for tennis in Ottawa with a strong partnership with the OTA. Many thanks to NCTA President Sean Sweeney and the entire NCTA board for supporting this effort; it has been a long time coming but we can see the light now.

 

Ottawa Clubs attend NCTA AGM

 

The OTA Strategic Planning Committee met again on Jan 21 to review all the club input received in December. There were a handfull responses, and those that did respond provided some useful input that we used to tighten up some of the strategy wording and make it a more effective document. I look forward to presenting some of the detail at a seminar at the April 13th AGM, and beginning with my March blog, I will begin outlining some of the initiatives the OTA is taking to achieve the strategies outlined in the plan.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend some Tennis Canada meetings in Vancouver over the Feb 1-3 weekend and also enjoy some great Davis Cup matches. The results were beyond expectations. Milos did a great job against Spain's #2 Ramos to win the first match, but Frank's match against Spain's #1 Granollers was simply amazing. Canada finally clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with Italy (to be played April 5-7) by winning the 4th rubber: Milos vs Garcia-Lopez in an easy 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win! Check out Milos' winning point below:

 



 

 

 

Business wise, a lot of ground was covered, including a review of TC's strategic results from 2012, their 2013 operational plans, and a number of ongoing project updates. A common theme and priority for most provinces is the implementation of the new ranking system, Visual Reality, improved communications with its members and facilities advocacy. More to come on these topics in future blogs.

 

L-R COP Presidents: Stephen Kimoff (BC), Pawan Chugh (NWT), JF Manibal (QC), Scott Fraser (ON), Bruce Waschuk (MB), Glen Scott (AB), Nancy Taylor (NL), Dana Brown (NB), Craig Bethune (NS), Tim Makahoniuk (SK). Missing is Lorne Acorn (PEI)

 

 

December Musings

Tennis Toronto AGM Attendees

Regional News

This time of year has again been busy with Regional AGMs. I've attended meetings for West Central, STF, Tennis Toronto and Southwest regions. All have been very informative and those who attended found the interactions and discussions very helpful. Adrian Baldeo will be stepping down as regional chair in April, along with committee members Rita Lee and Arthur Wolf. Please join me in thanking Adrian and his team for their leadership over the last twelve years and we wish them well in the future. Please also welcome Alan Maguire as the new chair of Tennis Toronto along with his new team of volunteers. Alan has been actively involved on the committee in the past and will be a great addition to our Board.



OTA ED Jim Boyce with STF Board

OTA Southwest Region Chair Wayne Saigeon greets members

West Central Regional Chair Julio DiCresce

Faceoff 2012

For the second year in a row, Canadian superstar Milos Raonic held his Faceoff event at the ACC in front of a crowd of about 6000. I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat at the event...actually an on-court spot right behind the players, as one of 14 line officials trying to track their serves and groundstrokes. The atmosphere was even more electric than last year, and having Andy Roddick and Serena Williams there just added to the excitement. I can't count how many times the fans sitting at court level at either end of the court got hit with serves from Milos and Andy over the course of the evening. It was even more amazing trying to get a good look at where that ball was landing, especially with the bright lights overhead. Overall a fun evening!

 

 

Future Stars Tour

This is the second year of OTA's Future Stars Tour, with over 170 unique competitors in the U9 and U10 age categories. Over 40 stops were held during the 2012  Indoor and Outdoor season. I was happy to attend their yearend recognition event at ORC on Dec 15th. The top 15 players attended and were treated to a hour of tennis drills followed by a tasty lunch and awards ceremony. Thanks to Tennis Canada for helping to sponsor the event - it will be launched Canada-wide in 2013 and of course be run for the third year in Ontario. For more pictures of the event, check out our Facebook Page.

 

OTA Strategic Planning Update

Another key meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee wrapped up recently and I believe we have some important updates to share with OTA member clubs. Thanks to the entire committee for taking the extra time and reflection required to analyze the changing tennis landscape and translate that into some new and fresh initiatives that will lead the association over the next four years. All our OTA club presidents will have a chance to provide feedback this month on the draft plan before the Board approves in March 2013. If you haven't seen a draft copy yet, please contact your regional chair.


On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the Ontario Tennis Association, I would like to wish you and your families a very happy and safe holiday season.

 


Sincerely,

Scott Fraser, OTA President

 

L-R: Rob Nicholls, Liz Wood, Sid Schecter, Dianne Weatherby,

Wayne Saigeon, Jackie Sheehy, Simon Bartram, Scott Fraser,

Michel Lecavalier, Adrian Baldeo, Dale Roberts, Miro Ejem,

Jim Boyce, Julio DiCresce, Steve Andrews

Missing: Dayle Levine