from our president

Dear Members,

I trust that 2025 has gotten off to a great start! As I mentioned in my holiday message, 2025 is going to be another great year for the Navan Curling Club. It has already started off well with the successful Diresco Mixed Bonspiel and the sold-out Ladies bonspiel just around the corner. League play is heating up as we push towards the final round before heading into ‘playoffs’ to determine the teams that will play in the Championship weekend. Lots of great curling ahead!

Please allow me a few minutes of your time to inform you about some of the work done by the Board. I know, this is not exactly ‘exciting news’, but it is important for us to be transparent about changes that have been approved to strengthen the governance and operational efficiencies of the club.

Let’s start with changes to the Registration Policy!

The Board approved the Governance Committee recommended changes to the registration dates and definition of a returning team. The recommendation to move up the registration dates was to improve the registration process, ensuring returning members were given the opportunity to register first prior to opening up registration to new members. The recommended change was informed by research conducted on curling registration from other clubs in the region.

The change to the definition of a returning team provides greater clarity and less ambiguity on what constitutes a returning team.  

Here is a summary of the notable changes:

Registration Policy (revision): IMPORTANT CHANGES!

=       Registration dates for returning members and teams will open on April 1^st and close on April 30^th. Registration for Returning Members wishing to join a different league in the year immediately following the previous curling season will be processed after June 1^st.

=       A returning team is defined as having at least the returning member associated with the team’s name in the same league in the year immediately following the previous curling season and one returning member or three returning members in the same league in the year immediately following the previous curling season, irrespective of position played. 

Next, the Board approved changes to the club’s bylaws.

As many of you know, the members approved minor changes to the bylaws at the last Annual Meeting in April 2024 to ensure the Navan Curling Club was compliant with Ontario’s Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA). This was a requirement to maintain our corporation status. 

While we met the minimum requirements, the Board acknowledged the importance of conducting a comprehensive review of our bylaws to reflect current day standards and norms, ensuring to provide greater clarity on the governance of the club – this was something we heard at the Annual Meeting last year and in our continued conversations with the members. 

We decided to wait until Curling Ontario approved their new bylaws to use them as a template. In taking this approach, we leveraged bylaws that were prepared by subject matter experts and reviewed and approved by the members of Curling Ontario. That said, I am pleased to confirm the Board, in accordance with section 12.2 of the previous bylaws, passed amendments, with immediate effect and that will be presented to the members for approval or revocation at the 2025 Annual Meeting.
 

Here is a summary of the notable changes:

=       Definitions – this is a new section to promote understanding of the use of key words;

=       Duties of Directors – provides greater clarity of the duties of Directors and Officers;

=       Nomination and Elections – more information on how nominations and elections are conducted and aligns with the club’s Nomination and Election Policy;

=       Quorum for Board Meetings - more details on how these meetings operate and changed quorum from requiring 2/5s (40%) to 60%;

=       Finance and Management - greater clarity on the role and authorities regarding finances and the management of the club; and

=       Amendment and Fundamental Changes – new sections providing details on how the bylaws can be amended.

Again, the amended bylaws will be tabled for a vote at the 2025 Annual Meeting – you will receive more information on the Annual Meeting in a separate correspondence. 

And lastly, the Board approved a new Sparing Policy and made revisions to the Board Nomination and Election Policy. We encourage you to take the time to read the policy manual to familiarize yourself with the policies of the club.

Sparing Policy (new)

• Elaborates on the importance of findings spares to play games and the rules around finding a spare, always keeping in mind that the purpose of curling etiquette and rules are to ensure the game is played in an orderly and fair manner.

Board Nomination and Election Policy (revision)

=       Nomination process includes a nomination deadline and a nomination form. The list of nominees will be shared with members in the Annual Meeting package.

=       Board positions (other than the ‘chair’ positions) are staggered and the term is now for two-years. This year will be a transition year, meaning some of the positions will be up for election again next year until we get into the established election cycle. More information about Board Nominations will be sent to the members in the next few weeks. 

That’s it…for now! 

Good governance requires continuous monitoring and review of policies to assist the Board with effective decision-making, ensuring that decisions are made and implemented appropriately, and most importantly, that we are effectively representing the members. After all, this is a club built by the members, for the members!

Thank you for taking the time to read this email and I encourage you to read the bylaws and policy manual attached for your ease of reference or you can find the documents in the member’s section on the Navan Curling Club website. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me directly at President@navancurling.ca. 

I wish everyone continued success on and off the ice!

Greg

Gregory M Lagacé, MSM

President

Navan Curling Club


Previous Message:

The 2024/2025 season is just around the corner! 

On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to welcome back our returning curlers and a warm welcome to all the new curlers to the club. This year, the Navan Curling Club is celebrating our 40th anniversary. This is an amazing accomplishment and I would like to recognize and thank all members past and present for contributing to the long and rich history of the club.

As we honour our past, your board of directors is focused on the future of the club. With our priorities focused on making capital enhancements to our facility, we have started to make improvements. This starts with the project to replace our aging ice plant over the next few years, including the addition of a new building to hold the ice plant and the acquisition of the ice plant itself. This is a significant investment to ensure the long-term viability and sustainability of the club. I am grateful to the steering committee for their outstanding work to ensure proper oversight and success of this important project.

Near-term, the board has supported a number of purchases that you will see, and hear, this year. This includes new curling rocks, security cameras and a new sound system. As we continue to focus on the future of the club, I invite our members to engage with the board of directors with their thoughts and ideas on how to improve our club.    

A big thank you goes to the dedicated volunteers and staff. Your outstanding contributions foster a strong club! I encourage members to consider contributing to the success of our community club by volunteering your time; we are, after-all, a club that is run by members, for the members. There are many ways to get involved such as helping out at events and activities; joining a committee; or maybe you can donate a few hours to support short-term projects. See any of our board members for more information.

Have a great curling season!

Your President,