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Dressage Canada
For Immediate Release
Rockwood, Ontario
Dressage Canada Interim Board members met July 14th and 15th,
to continue the work towards a functional organization for 2001.
"I would like to say that I'm happy with the way the DCIB Board is
getting on with the job. Earlier in the year we were just people
representing our own shareholders....Cadora, DMC ,NDC ,CEF,
and CIDRA. This meeting has seen real progress in addressing
the needs of the future and a relinquishing of personal positions. I
think we're a real unit now.", said Dressage Canada Chairperson
Lorraine Stubbs. "Our goal is clearly in sight and personalities and
positions are being left out of the equation. Every member left
feeling energized and positive, and considering the size of this
undertaking this is a valuable asset ..", she added.
The Board members spent considerable time working with the draft
structure that was presented to and approved by the CEF in May,
to further define the responsibilities of the various committees and
the programs that Dressage Canada will foster. Board members
also worked on budget issues, to integrate, simplify and codify the
revenue and expense streams associated with the sport.
Delineation of the program areas and initiatives of the Sport
Development committee, which will have responsibility for Team
management as well as rider and horse development, was a major
task for the Board. National Dressage Committee (NDC) Chair
Elizabeth McMullen attended the meeting to provide insight, advice
and an overview of the NDC activities and responsibilities, all of
which will become part of Dressage Canada. Current Dressage
Management Committee (DMC) Chair Sharon Brooks also
attended the Saturday afternoon session of the meetings to provide
the Board with information about current DMC programs and
initiatives. The structure of the Sport Development committee
provides for a Team Advisory Council, which will bring
recommendations forward to the Board on all Team issues,
including Teams for Young Riders, Juniors and Ponies, and FEI
Young Horses, as well as the Senior International Teams. The
Team Advisory Council includes a technical consultant, whose
main role will be planning, prioritization and logistics, and a Team
Trainer, who will work to identify, develop and promote listed riders
through their personal trainers and coaches. An FEI judge, FEI
veterinarian and an elite athlete representative will complete the
advisory council.
"I am very pleased with the composition of this advisory council,",
said Liz Steacie, who is currently the elite athlete representative on
the Interim Board. "I feel that the reporting structures proposed
and the technical support that is built into this council will be of
great benefit to riders at all levels who represent Canada in
international competition. There is fairness, representation and an
emphasis on planning and support for the athletes, as well as a
system which will promote accountability and openness in the
Team management. I think the riders will like the checks and
balances that are built in to the system.", she added.
The Sport Development committee will also have responsibility for
programs aimed at the "grass-roots", including special programs
for Adult Amateurs, and a sub-committee for ParaOlympic
programs.
The other technical committees (Coaching, Finance and Marketing,
Officials, Competitions) will have responsibilities similar to existing
committees within the current National Dressage Committee. A
sixth committee, Communications, will be responsible for the flow
of information to members and dressage enthusiasts, as well as
internal communications between committees of Dressage
Canada.
One of the common threads that became evident in the Board's
discussions was the need for more complete and effective
communications, both with members and local clubs as well as
between the various committees of Dressage Canada. Many of the
committees will have responsibilities that overlap with other
committees and sub-committees, so internal communications was
identified as an important area of concentration where procedures
and protocols must be developed and maintained.
The Board also did some work on the transition plans that will
enable the current National Dressage Committee (NDC), the
Dressage Management Committee (DMC) and possibly Cadora to
smoothly transfer responsibilities to the Committees of Dressage
Canada. Although both NDC and DMC will be dismantled at the
end of 2000, it is vital that the programs and initiatives of both
groups should not be negatively impacted by the transition. Should
Cadora elect, at it's November annual general meeting, to dissolve
itself and merge with Dressage Canada, plans are now taking
shape that will allow for a transparent transfer of membership and
assets. Two very successful programs, the Dressage Omnibus and
the National awards program, both of which are currently
administered through Cadora, will be supported by Dressage
Canada, and a transition proposal for these two programs is being
prepared for presentation to Cadora.
Broad budget plans and finance objectives are now quite clear for
Dressage Canada. Until the CEF restructuring is complete,
however, fine detail planning for revenues and expenditures will
remain incomplete. One of the factors delaying a firm decision is
that CEF has not yet defined the membership and funding model
that will be implemented for it's Sport Division.
Dressage Canada will propose to hire and maintain an independent
membership secretary to handle all membership related matters.
Dressage enthusiasts all over the country clearly stated that one of
their concerns was a simplified membership process; Dressage
Canada will handle all memberships with one fee. It will become
the responsibility of the membership secretary to apportion fees to
CEF, the provincial associations and local riding clubs, and to
handle all the associated administration. It is the intention of
Dressage Canada to support a structure in which local clubs and
provincial associations that currently exist will remain in place, and
members will continue to join their local dressage club.
Although CEF retains a certain percentage of Sport Canada funding
to dressage for "administration", Board members are still working
with CEF to clearly define what will be covered by this
administration holdback, and how the relationship between CEF
and Dressage Canada will work, relative to the anticipated
holdback percentage. CEF representative to the Board, Sue
Holtby, will be working with CEF Board members and staff to
determine and clarify the key issues, and points for negotiation.
The next major task for the Interim Board is the development of job
descriptions for committee chairpersons. It is hoped that these job
descriptions will be in place by late August, and that Committee
Chairs can be identified and recruited by the end of October, 2000.
The Board will make a detailed presentation to the Executive
Board of the CEF in October. The Board is planning to meet again
in August and October to prepare information for dissemination to
the public and for the presentation to the CEF.
Dressage Canada is an autonomous committee of the CEF,
mandated to govern and administer the sport of dressage in
Canada from January 1, 2001. The Interim Board is made up of
representatives of Cadora, the National Dressage Committee, the
Dressage Management Committee, the CEF and an elite athlete
representative. Information and working documents are available
on the Dressage Canada website: http://www.cybertap.com/dcib.
For additional information, please contact Liz Steacie, Telephone:
613-342-0371 Ext. 1230.
Distributed by the Canadian Equestrian Federation for the Dressage
Canada Interim Board.
