OCAA highlights from general meeting in the Sault

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

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OCAA AGM HIGHLIGHTS North York, ON -- The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) from April 31 - May 5 at the Holiday Inn Waterfront in Sault Ste. Marie, ON as Sault College and Algoma University College teamed up to host OCAA delegates from across the province.

Athletic Directors, coaches and administrative College staff representing the 30 member institutions traveled from across Ontario to attend the weeklong event.

"We had a very productive week of meetings," commented OCAA President Ray Sarkis about the six-day AGM. "It gave us the opportunity to celebrate the 2005-06 OCAA competitive season and to prepare our members and the association for the upcoming season. A significant item to come out of the AGM is the approval to work with Rogers and launch a televised 'OCAA Game of the Week' to raise the visibility of our student-athletes."

The following are highlights of developments, decisions and announcements from the meeting:

Strategic Plan

The OCAA membership approved a four-year strategic plan for the association. Highlighting the strategic plan is the development of an ad hoc committee to review the competition structure with the intent of developing a model that achieves balance and equity.

New Sport Convenors

Three new sport convenors were named during the AGM. Men's Basketball will now be convened by Ernie Durocher of Fanshawe College while Women's Basketball convening will be done by Jim Buck of Loyalist College and Joan Healey of Centennial College is set to be the Badminton Convenor.

Leagues

Continued growth in our league sports is still taking place across the association as St. Lawrence Brockville enters men's soccer, George Brown College enters women's volleyball and Loyalist College has entered the men's rugby program.

After 27-years of tournament action, Touch Football has been suspended for one year in the OCAA due to lack of participation.

Awards

The OCAA is proud to announce that in the future all Athletes of the Year award winners will receive a $500 bursary. The Awards Committee passed the motion for the reason that it would give more recognition and appreciation to the student athlete award winner's hard work and achievements over the year.

Marketing & Sport Development

The OCAA membership approved an exciting new marketing initiative for the 2006-2007 season. Next season will feature the launching of a television strategy designed to raise the visibility of student-athletes through a weekly OCAA Rogers 'Game of the Week'.

Directors Award

New to the association this year is the 'Directors Award', a special recognition award that goes to a deserving athletic director whose College athletic program delivered consistency, sportsmanship and leadership in past years. This year's 'Directors Award' recipient was Doug Fox, Athletic Director at Humber College. In seven of the past ten years Humber has qualified for all OCAA Men's and Women's Basketball, Volleyball and Soccer Championships. This past season Humber qualified for six of the seven league sports they compete in and brought home two OCAA Championship titles in Men's Basketball and Women's Volleyball.

The OCAA governs intercollegiate sports and promotes physical activity in its member institutions through quality athletic and campus recreation programs. It offers sixteen varsity sports to thirty member institutions throughout Ontario. For more information on the OCAA visit www.ocaa.com.

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