Facilities Enhancement Grant
First up we had Patti Wilson (Member Services Manager) present to us on the new grant system we are putting into place to assist court owners in the upkeep of their courts and facilities. At the moment Patti is in the process of nutting out the details in terms of compliance for the grants and drafting up guidelines which she will circulate to the Board for approval. She told us that we have the ability to work in with other grant programs to increase the funding available. The grant system will allow court owners to put forward their request for funds up to a maximum amount, with funds to be matched by court owner contribution. We will likely have several deadlines per year for the grants where submissions entered before the deadline will be considered for that round of funding. Each application will be considered on its own merits and there will be guidelines drawn up for what kinds of improvements/works that will be considered for funding. We are aiming to have the program ready for release in August and posted on the website.
Membership Categories
Next up Patti presented to us the brand new membership categories she is proposing for players and friends of Squash SA.
- Premium - Annual Membership (for pennant players with extra benefits)
- Pennant - 6 month (for pennant players)
- In-house/Country/Junior - Annual membership
- Friends of Squash SA - Annual membership (non-players)
The different membership categories come with whole host of benefits including discounted meals at Racquets, personal accident insurance, monthly squash eNewsletter, Tournament alert emails, member-only discounts at participating venues.
Pathways to Success
John Cranwell (Pathways Manager) presented on the outcomes of the recent SAAS Review and the new proposed program 'Pathways to Success' for taking our young talented players to the elite level. The SAAS review found that many people, even those closely involved with the program did not have a good understanding of how the program worked. This was important feedback and we will ensure that when the new program is released that all information is readily available on the website. We are also determined that any changes will not interrupt the training of our current juniors. There is a plan in place to ensure a smooth transition takes place. I can't give away too many details of the program at this stage as it is still being worked on but I can say that there will a big focus on Grass-Roots participation, juniors will be encouraged and rewarded to stay with their clubs and there will be a team of coaches all aligned to give our players the best chance to develop.
Development Officers
The highly anticipated Development Officer roles are just about to go through the interview process. The DO's will be the people on the ground helping with the delivery of programs in schools, clubs, country areas. They will be the ones implementing all the great ideas and strategies the Board has developed over the past 9 months. We've had 7 very good responses, even one from Egypt! So these are certainly coveted positions. We will have Phil Sinnott (General Manager), John Cranwell (Pathways Manager) and Cheryl Johnstone (Board Member) on the interview panel. Stay tuned for results of the interviews because we want to get the DO's up an running as soon as possible.
Web TV
Okay, so this item is a bit of a teaser as the full presentation had to be deferred to the next Board meeting. But the brief we received from Jane Intini (Marketing Manager) is very exciting. Jane is putting together a business case for creating a full 12 months worth of weekly episodes on the Web TV channel Australia Live TV. Yes, we will have our own squash show! You can check Australia Live TV at http://www.australialivetv.com/. They already host several sporting shows. More on this next month...
New Board Member
At the last Squash SA AGM there was a seat on the Board left vacant when Mark Goldstone became President. That seat has now been filled. Welcome to the Board Sam Abishara. Sam comes from the Racquetball side of the sport and has performed the role of Racquetball development officer in his own time for the last few years. Sam will bring a valuable new perspective to the Board.
Other News:
- Finances are tracking well however gaming has not experienced any growth.
- Committee expressions of interest are being actively flagged on the matrix and promoted to anyone the Board can get hold of :) Come and join a committee and support your sport.
- Squash SA has bought a Ford Territory which will be badged up with the Squash SA logo once the new logo has been finalised.
- A formal agreement is being drawn up to provide a loan to Impact Squash Courts. Squash SA also recently extended a loan to Whyalla Squash club.
- Mark Goldstone (President) attended the President's dinner held by new Squash Oz president. It was a good opportunity to catch up the with other states' presidents in an informal setting and build rapport.
