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February 2004 In attendance: Levon, Robert, Robbie, Miriam, Leslie, and Jill. Regrets: Tony, Gordon, Shawn. Athletes elected a chair person (Robbie) for this meeting. Athletes then reviewed the minutes from January 5th. Some adjustments were made to January¡¦s minutes. Current Business: 1) Bayview Village has availability in March to do promotions for one day (perhaps a Saturday or Sunday). - Athletes could do rotating shifts to help out with this. Saturdays are bad days for some athletes, while Sunday does not work for other athletes. - Athletes decided that Saturday would be o.k. as more athletes would be available. - Robert will obtain promotional material from Marcia. - Jill will make arrangements with Bayview Village. 2) The newsletter article was sent to Marcia for her review. 3) Geri Rockstein had a response January¡¦s meeting minutes: - Regarding empowerment issue #14: Speaking on behalf of the Toronto Seals, Athletes were selected on the basis of : Commitment to S.O.; who was believed to have benefited the most; three athletes chosen at three different levels. Time that an athlete has been a part of S.O did not factor. All coaches were asked for their suggestions. There will always be disappointment when not everyone can participate. If an athlete doesn¡¦t understand why they have not been selected, Geri suggests they should talk to their coach privately. - The response from committee members was that athletes should find out the qualifications necessary to attend events from their coaches of each individual sport as this may vary. 4) The RCMT had a response to the suggestion that the 2004 summer Regional Games be a two day event: The RCMT feels that this isn¡¦t feasible due to transportation and lodging issues. Also, at a provincial level or higher, athletes will be required to choose one sport. An alternate idea would be to go back to having individual sports host and plan their own regionals. 5) Monica Verma is doing a radio report for an academic project at Ryerson. She is interested in looking at Special Olympics. Marcia has suggested that she look at the Athlete¡¦s Committee. Jill contacted Monica by e-mail. She is very interested in sitting in on one of the meetings to get an idea about Special Olympics. Her schedule is very busy right now (she is focusing her documentary on Ashley May right now and trying to go to PEI for Nationals. Athletes took turns bringing up issues which were then discussed by committee members as a group: Upcoming Events/News/Updates: 1. There will be a bowling tournament on Saturday March 27th from 1:00p.m.to 5:00p.m. at Newtonbrook Bowlerama at Newtonbrook Plaza (5837 Yonge Street). There will be both five and ten pin bowling. Athletes who are involved must be there by 12:30p.m. This event will be a fundraiser held by The Chris Bosh Foundation and Toronto Special Olympics. Entry forms can be downloaded on the Toronto Special Olympics website. There is an entry fee of $25 per person (four persons per team). Each member of the team also needs to raise at least $75 in pledges. There will be no fee for Athletes as this will be covered by Ontario Special Olympics. However, athletes should get at pledges of at least $75. There will be team prizes and awards as well as door prizes. Volunteers are needed for this event. Those interested in volunteering should contact Kathy Spence. The media will be covering this event. The event hopes to raise money for the provincials/nationals/internationals. A caterer is also needed for the event. There will be no alcohol consumption at the event. 2. Too many events in one year cost Ontario Special Olympics a lot of money. Canadian Special Olympics has offered to help out Ontario Special Olympics with funds if necessary. 3. In five pin bowling at Newtonbrook, some athletes are being disturbed by people pulling hair. Coaches, parents and athletes are very upset about this. 4. In many sports, athletes are showing up late to practice. This can cause a disruption for other athletes. For instance, in ten pin bowling, there are only two hours available to play three games. When others have to wait for fellow athletes to bowl off, it becomes frustrating. In some bowling clubs, athletes who arrive late must wait until the next game to begin bowling. 5. In some instances, group home staff take athletes home early, and arrive late to practices. 6. Athletes who witness something negative in practices/other events, should report incidents directly to their coaches. 7. The third annual floor hockey tournament for Mississauga was held recently. Mississauga invited teams from across Ontario. Two different divisions were represented (C&D). Everyone did well. A lot of new teams were involved. Everyone involved received a miniature trophy. 8. Staples did an annual fundraising drive. Some athletes were involved. A lot of individual teams were involved. Teams involved will receive a financial reward for their efforts. 9. On February 22nd, one athlete will speak at a fundraiser at Madison Street Pub. The event will help to raise money for Special Olympics. The cost is $15 per person. The event will take place from 2-5 p.m. 10. In June, Amber is hosting her first ever Special Olympics Talent Show. This event is for athletes who have musical talent, artistic talent (etc.) and will help to raise money for winter sports. We will get more information on the event as is gets closer. Professional talent will also be there. Subsidized tickets are available for athletes who can afford it. 11. On Monday February 9th, there will be a Strategic Planning Committee Task Force retreat in London (for two days). Budget/Cutbacks/Fundraising: 12. On Friday February 6th, there will be an Athlete Empowerment Committee meeting. 13. The Scarborough Tournament for April 17th has been changed. Scarborough will be finding another location. 14. At least four more bowling tournaments are coming up for 10 pin bowling. On February 14th, there will be a tournament held at Thorncliffe Bowlerama. Also coming up are: the first leg of the tri-regionals, a tournament on March 1st in Kingston, one on April 2nd, and one on May 1st. 15. In two weeks, our B-Team will be in P.E.E for the Nationals for Floor Hockey. People can go down to the airport to wish them luck. Chaperones will assist athletes who have not flown before. 16. An All-Star tournament was held on January 26th. A team with five representatives from Scarborough, Metro and Mississauga played against the B-team that is going to the Nationals. The tournament was held at the East York Community Centre. The B-team won the tournament. Afterwards, ehcibition games were held. Athlete Empowerment Issues: 17. The team is working 4 nights a week to get ready for the Nationals. Other goal tenders are practicing in case they are needed. They practice at East York Community Centre. If they win at Nationals, they may be able to go to Japan. 18. Ontario is sending four teams to the Nationals. There is a special website devoted to the Nationals. There is still bad weather on the East Coast. 19. Bad weather here recently has resulted in cancelled practices. This makes it difficult (missing a practice) for those preparing for tournaments. Often times, athletes are not able to make up for this because the venues are booked in advance. 20. Cancelled practices (due to weather) is very bad for athletes (in terms of accessibility). Unfortunately, there is often nothing that can be done about this problem (there are often other people booked to use the facilities). Skiing may be able to extend practices for a week or two. 21. In tournaments where athletes have to travel long distances, Special Olympics may use a bus with washroom facilities. These busses are very expensive. 22. One athlete wondered why Toronto doesn’t play in tournaments with other regions anymore (ie. St. Catherines). Often times athletes and coaches must travel long distances to get to these places, making it rather inconvenient. Other Important Issues: 23. Sometimes everyone at a tournament receives awards (ie. Ribbons, certificates etc.) even if they don’t qualify in the top three. Many athletes are appreciative of this. 24. Pepsi Cola has tried to compete with Coca Cola to be our sponsors, however Special Olympics has stayed with Coca Cola. They donated free products to athletes etc. at the athlete’s village in Prince Albert Saskachewan. Athletes were very appreciative of this. 25. Many times, items being sold at Special Olympics events are over-priced. Many people decide it is a great time to make money. If you wait until the end of an event, often times you can get a deal on merchandise. 26. Each club spends their money differently. Some aren’t charged for some items (ie. Club shirts) while other clubs are. Many teams have to fundraise due to the costs of renting facilities, equipment etc. Registration fees do not go as far as they used to go. 27. Some people do not bring the required money that they need to participate. Coaches may have to pay for these athletes. Athletes are expected to pay them back. However, something should be done about athletes who do not pay. Many athletes are on limited incomes and may not be able to afford some payments. Not only are there costs to practices, tournaments and uniforms etc. but there is also a cost for transportation (ie. Bus fare to each practice etc.) 28. Athletes are not charged if they miss a practice due to bad weather or otherwise. 29. Sometimes tournaments are held on the same day as other tournaments. Coaches are try to work out a schedule so that this no longer happens. 30. There will be no practice on March 6th before athletes go to Kingston for a tournament. One athlete suggested that those who are participating may want to practice in a group on their own time. 31. At the end of a season, often times the family and friends of athletes are invited to participate in practice (ie . swim with the athletes). The next meeting will take place on Monday March 1st, 2004. 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