RECENT NEWS
London divers heading to Olympic Trials
The Forest City Diving Club is very pleased to announce that Celina Toth has been invited to compete at the Olympic Trials to be held in Victoria , BC from June 20 - 22, 2008.
Congratulations to Celina, and her coach Ioana Marinescu, on this amazing accomplishment.
In addition to Celina, two other alumni - Lacey Truelove (presently diving on a scholarship at the University of Houston ) and Danielle Williams (presently diving on a scholarship at Michigan State University ) - will also be attending and representing the Forest City Diving Club at the Olympic Trials.
All three London area girls will be vying for an opportunity to represent Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing , China in August.
Congratulations and Good Luck to these amazing athletes - Celina, Lacey & Danielle.
2008 Syl Apps Award for Volunteerism - Mary Ann Cormack
Mary Ann has been involved with the sport of diving in Ontario for the past 15 years.
She is a Senior National Official, Intro to Competition evaluator, and is also certified as a level 3 coach. In this time Mary Ann has been involved with diving in various capacities.
She acted as a coach with the Kitchener/Waterloo Diving club for a number of years and produced some very good athletes. She also served on the Board of Directors for 6 of those years in various capacities (Director, Officials Chair and Treasurer)
During this time Mary Ann has shown that she has a true passion for our sport. She ensured that all board members were accountable in their positions when she was the Director of Finance and helped to keep our organization financially stable. She truly kept us on our toes.
At various times Mary Ann was also the Director of Officials and today is still involved with the officials committee, ensuring that the plans set in place each year are followed. As a volunteer in this area, Mary Ann has mentored and trained many new officials into our sport. She ensures they all receive the training, confidence, practical experience and technical knowledge that is required to create a great experience for our athletes.
As a senior official she ensures the competitions run smoothly so that the athletes are allowed to compete to the best of their ability.
We at Dive Ontario would like to recognize all of the time and effort Mary Ann has dedicated to our sport. She does it with compassion and dedication that goes above and beyond and truly cares to see our athletes and coaches move to the next level.
Etobicoke Diving Club receives Trillium Grant - April 08
"I am very pleased to inform you that the Etobicoke Diving Club was successful in acquiring funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation based on a grant application that was submitted in November, 2008. We are the recipients of $74, 300 to be used primarily to purchase equipment for the Etobicoke Diving Club. Some of the equipment to be purchased includes a new trampoline, a new 1M diving board, mats, technology, etc." - S. Unterlander, President
Forest City Diving Club receives Trillium Grant - April 08
"We are delighted to announce that the Ontario Trillium Foundation has approved a grant to the Forest City Diving Club in the amount of $15,000.00, which is the maximum amount available under the Small Capital Grant Program. This Trillium grant will make it possible for the Forest City Diving Club to purchase a much-needed dryboard, overhead rigging and harness and related dryland training equipment for use at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre in London." - B. Olanski, President
2007 Syl Apps Award for Volunteerism - Mike Lang
Mike has been coaching diving in Thunder Bay for more than the past ten years. During this time, he has focused his attention on local kids of all ages and abilities, in support of building a healthy community for them and their families. Mike has also offered countless hours of his time to enhance the performance of Ontario provincial athletes and beyond.
Mike Lang is a Level 3 Certified Coach (working on tasks for level 4) as well as a Level 3 Course Conductor and Competition-Introduction Learning Facilitator. He is motivated to create a positive, success-oriented atmosphere to help kids in the development of skill acquisition. To that end, he has produced nationally certified instructors and athletes in Thunder Bay and in other major centers within the province.
The Thunder Bay Diving Club, through Mike’s leadership, is a strong supporter of the Positive Recreation Opportunities Kids program (P.R.O. Kids) that provides more accessibility to recreation organizations for low-income families. Mike’s philosophy is hinged on building a solid community through individual personal growth within the sport of diving. Provincially, he has donated countless hours to technical meetings to foster ongoing communication on rules and regulations up-dates that come from our national diving body. Mike is also the chair of the National Rules Committee and a member of the Diving Plongeon Canada Technical Committee. He has helped advance the cause for a national certification system under the new NCCP regulations within the province of Ontario. As a facilitator, he has encouraged the upgrading of all coaches within the province and offers his expertise as mentor to those working towards their advancement in coaching certification.
Mike is a recipient of a DCP President’s Honour Roll Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the activities and the initiatives of Diving Canada. His has gone beyond his role of a coach and mentor to provide leadership and be a positive role model to all our membership including athletes, coaches and administrators.
We at Dive Ontario would like to recognize his involvement in diving, a contribution to Ontario sport and society that extends outside his day-to-day responsibilities as head coach of the Thunder Bay Diving Club.
Amateur sport is one gift that keeps on giving back
By JAMIE FERGUSON
Sun. Dec 16 - 4:46 AM
The Chronicle Herald
Jim Meek’s Dec. 12 article raises an interesting and much discussed issue in the amateur sport world: the charitable status of sport organizations.
To clarify the standing of sport organizations as it currently pertains to charitable status, it is important to realize that although sport organizations are not recognized as charities, national sport organizations (such as Tennis Canada, for example) do have the opportunity to be recognized by the Canadian Revenue Agency, Taxation – Charities Division as a Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Association (RCAAA).
Once recognized as an RCAAA, national sport organizations are eligible to issue official tax receipts for donations, as long as all Canada Revenue Agency regulations are respected. In the case of Sport Nova Scotia, we are a provincial chapter of the Canadian Council of Provincial and Territorial Sport Federations, which is recognized as an RCAAA.
This recognition is what allows us to operate the Nova Scotia Amateur Sport Fund, which was established to assist and promote the development of athlete-centred amateur sport in Nova Scotia by making financial assistance available to individuals and organizations within the sport system. Since its inception in 1999, the Sport Fund has given over $700,000 in support of amateur sport across the province.
Allowing donations to sport organizations helps create more opportunities for Canadians to take part in sport activities. Sport Nova Scotia and our members recognize how important it is to provide opportunities for sport participation, and we’re not alone. The 2003 United Nations Task Force Report on Sport for Development and Peace states "the practice of sport is vital to the holistic development of young people, fostering their physical and emotional health and building valuable social connections . . . Sport also provides healthy alternatives to harmful actions, such as drug abuse and involvement in crime . . . When applied effectively, sports programmes promote social integration and foster tolerance . . ."
These are powerful statements that illustrate the broad scope of benefits that sport provides. To understand the important role sport has to play at a more local level, one need look no further than the provincial government’s recently announced Child and Youth Strategy, a collaboration between the departments of Health, Education, Community Services, Justice and Health Promotion and Protection.
It is an accepted truth that people who participate in sport are much more likely to be healthy, and less susceptible to chronic disease. What is less well known, but just as true, is that children who participate in sport are less likely to break the law, and more likely to do well in school, than those who don’t participate. (Supporting evidence of these and other "sport facts" can be found by visiting http://www.sportnovascotia.ca/contents/advocacy/sport_facts.htm).
Sport has a vital role to play not only in the area of health, but also in the areas of youth justice and education. At Sport Nova Scotia, we are committed to providing more opportunities for Nova Scotia children to take part in sport, and gain the benefits it provides.
Jamie Ferguson is CEO, Sport Nova Scotia
Click here to read the December issue of the Fulcrum - Dive Ontario's Alumni Newsletterl
ONTARIO AQUATIC FACILITIES NEEDS ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY
In 2006, The Aquatic Federation of Canada partnered with the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association to undertake a needs analysis of aquatic facilities in Ontario. To review the January 2007 Final Report, click here. (PDF)
NEWS ARCHIVE
George Tinnerman III receives the Syl Apps Award
