AWA Annual General Meeting

Time - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location – north of Calgary at the Basspro Sport Shop just off Deerfoot Trail and north of Stoney Trail in the CrossIron Mills Shopping Complex – 2nd level , 112 - 261055 CrossIron Blvd, Rocky View, map.

All clubs are encouraged to send 2 or more representatives to the meeting to carry their votes and represent their interests. Mileage will be paid ($0.26/km) but individuals/clubs are encouraged to carpool together to keep our  expenses under control.

We have been launching some new initiatives the last few years and we would like to get your feedback on how it is going with:
-    Equipment procurement for clubs
-    Passport to Paddlesports skill development checklist
-    Pools and Schools - Kayaking program
-    Club coaching support program
-    NCCP certification program
-    The new Alberta Freestyle Kayak Association and the provincial freestyle program

New Topics to Discuss:
This year Alberta is hosting for the 11th time the National Whitewater Championships and we have been asked to host the inaugural National Freestyle Kayak Championships along with the Slalom and Wildwater events. The Nationals will be held from July 28th to August 5th at the Kananaskis. There is a lot of work to be done but Alberta with the support of the AWA, Alberta Slalom Canoe Kayak Association, Alberta Freestyle Kayak Association and our clubs has always hosted a top notch event.

Our proposal to acquire the management of the Canoe Meadows campground has been approved in principal. We will be discussing the terms of the lease with Alberta Parks this winter so that we are fully operational by May 2013. We already have some ideas to make the facility work more for paddlers and your ideas would be welcome as we discuss the plans with Alberta Parks.  The critical change will be to camping will be opened up from group only to individual camping except for our major paddling events. The business plan that we have prepared forecasts a break even budget to start with and then small profits in the future that we can put back into Alberta’s kayak programs. We will have facility staff on site through the paddling season to manage the campground and the slalom site.

We have also put together a $500,000 capital project plan for Canoe Meadows and the Kananaskis River with federal and provincial funding that will see some major changes to the river and the campground. It is quite exciting and we look forward to discussing these ideas with you too.

Our Secretary – Kevin Wilson – would like to remind everyone about the Annual Club Reports that we would like to receive to help us wrap up the year-end. Click here for report guidelines.

And of course an Annual General Meeting means that we are looking to find new people to step up into the volunteer positions on the Board. This year a number of our long serving executive are stepping down and we need to find people to step into these key roles.
President - Ken Purcell is stepping down after 3 years
Vice President - vacant
Secretary - Kevin Wilson has moved out of province
Treasurer - Althea Shaw is stepping down after 4 years
Environment Chair - Chip Powell moving over to be President of Alberta Freestyle
               
As you can see we are losing most of our key positions on the Executive and will need help to fill the positions. So if you or someone you know want to step forward to lead Canada’s best whitewater program into the FIFTH DECADE of operations, please let Chuck or someone on the Board know.