In May 2005, Council approved the Markham Sport Council report which provided financial support for the part-time Sport Council Coordinator, office space located at Rouge River Community Centre for the time period of September 2005 to August 2006. Within the report two-year key priorities for the Sport Council Coordinator were identified.

The Markham Sport Council structure consists of an executive of 6 members.

Paul Jurbala, Chair
Stephen Harrott, Vice-Chair
Joe Petrosino, Secretary-Treasurer
Cathy Wayne, Chief Officer
Liz McManus, Director
and the late Dave Morrison, Director

There are fifty-five (55) Markham sport organizations and individual members. The Sport Council Executive meets on a monthly basis and addresses the following issues.

Membership recruitment
Membership need identification
Training
Funding
Special events
Website development
And community sport issues as they relate to events in Markham.

The following highlights the status of the Year One Key priorities.

Status of the Year-One Priorities

Year One Priority

Status

Membership Recruitment

· Improve coordination of resources and efforts with Community partners

· Further develop links with Boards of Education, York Region Public Health, York Regional Police and the Markham business community through the Markham Board of Trade.

· Recruit members from sport organizations; identify the benefits of being a member.

November 2005, The Markham Sport Council " hosted the Mayor’s Sport Roundtable session which launched the Markham Sport Council and membership recruitment.

In 2005 membership was free and today the Council has 59 new sport organizations and individual members.

As of January 2006, membership fees were introduced, fees are:

$50 for an organization and
$30 for an individual ,
Free to youth 16-21 years and Affiliate members, i.e. A ratepayer group.

To date the Council has 61 members.

Hosted three monthly membership forums

Facility Access – January 9
True Sport Community - February 6
NCCP Coaching Certification Program - March 6

Developed a strong working relationship with the Economist and Sun and have had regular articles written in the paper.

Provided assistance to York Region in the collection of “sport” data as needed

Participate in community sport meetings at a regional and provincial level to ensure Markham input is received and we continue to stay informed on matters that relate to our organization.

Financial Sustainability

· Apply for Trillium Funding to assist with the projects identified and to work towards building a stronger sport council.

· Address the implementation of membership fees to assist in recovering the necessary expenses to operate the sport council

Applied for a two year Trillium grant to set up a Club Development System in which all Markham sport groups will be able to access training as needed in order to become the best provider of sport for their participants. Club Model consists of a type of ISO rating system for sport organizations. Organizations will register on-line, complete a simple audit process, and over a period of months participate in a guided series of educational and development activities for Executive, coaches and officials to improve their skills and attain accreditation. Accredited organizations will be promoted to the public via the Sport Council’s and Town’s media, increasing parent and participant confidence and ultimately creating more stable, effective sport and recreation organizations. In particular a multi-language website will be used to help attract sport participation from across Markham’s culturally diverse population. The end result will be a better, safer environment for sport and recreation participation in Markham. This is the first initiative of its kind in Canada for community sport.

Successful applicant to host a Canada Games Day grant. The event will be held on September 9, 2006 as part of the Milliken Childrens’ Festival

Service Provider

· Coordinate training opportunities for sport.

April, 2006 - Hosting a National Coaching Certification Program - Introduction to Competition courses for the Markham sport community

Hosting a FREE Level 1 coaching course to youth 16-21 years as part of Ontario Coaches Week - April 22 and 23

Sport Directory

· Create an online directory of sports clubs and sport development opportunities across the Town. Ideally the site would be translated into other languages. The site would include a map to identify the steps of progression through the amateur sport system.

Continue to develop the Markham Sport Council website which is currently found at www.markham.ca/markhamsportcouncil . At this site all Markham Sport Council contact information, meeting dates, sport groups can be found. This site is currently being revised to include past meeting notes, CD presentations, and an upcoming events section. A substantial portion of the Trillium funding request is for further development of this site into multi-language and to be interactive.

Link with Character Community Program

· Promote fair play in sport, which highlights the coach, administrator and participant roles in building respect and responsibility within the area of sport.

Town of Markham passed a resolution to be a True Sport Community one in which sport is conducted in a FAIR and INCLUSIVE manner where participants have FUN and are able to achieve EXCELLENCE

Markham Sport Council nominated the Town of Markham for a True Sport Award for 2006.

One of the three recipients of the Bell True Sport Award for 2006 presented at the Canadian Sport Awards, Friday, March 31, 2006.