So You Think You're Busy? Part 1

by Dennis Duncan

In this segment, I have asked for, and received, the permission of our Provincial Coach, Maitre Seguin, to publish the section of his contract that deals with his duties and obligations.

It is a long list. Just recall you are dealing with a professional.

SCHEDULE "A"

• CAMPS
• Plan and conduct training camps for potential Canada Games athletes and the Canada Games Team.
• Plan and conduct training camps to prepare Provincial Squad and elite athletes for national and international elite competitions.
• CLUBS
• Organize proper training methods in all clubs in the province for Canada Games, Provincial Squad, Elite and other athletes.
• Be available to provide individual lessons to Canada Games Provincial Squad and Elite athletes
• Organize, instruct and designate assignments for part-time coaches.
• COMPETITIONS
• Assist in travel arrangements for national and international events.
• Attend national and international events with the athletes whenever possible.
• Attend as many local competitions as can reasonably be expected to monitor athletes.
• Review athletes' National, Elite, Junior and Cadet Points in order to evaluate progress and determine needs.
• Select the best competitions for athletes to attend from the standpoint of the Canadian, Elite, Junior and Cadet Ranking Systems.
• ATHLETE SELECTIONS
• Attend SFA Technical Committee meetings where reasonably possible.
• Conduct talent identification.
• Provide statistical evaluations and personal input during athlete selection process for Provincial Squad, special teams and funding.
• Offer input for the technical development of the sport.
• Offer input in quadrennial planning.
• Evaluate the performance of athletes as reasonably required by the Technical Committee.
• BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• Attend meetings and offer input as the Technical Advisor whenever reasonably possible.
• Outline coaching development to the Board.
• Assist in the budgeting of funds for the needs of athletes and part-time coaches.
• COACHING DEVELOPMENT
• Submit a plan for development of coaching in Saskatchewan and update the plans progress.
• Plan and conduct coaching clinics for NCCP certification as necessary.
• Plan and conduct skills upgrading clinics for part-time coaches as necessary.
• Supervise and apprentice suitable candidates for Level I through Level III .
• TRAINING
• Devise physiological and psychological training programs for Canada Games, Provincial Squad and Elite athletes.
• Give individual lessons to Canada Games, Provincial Squad and Elite athletes at training camps as necessary.
• Supervise dry land and technical group training of Canada Games, Provincial Squad and Elite athletes.
• Devise competition programs for Canada Games, Provincial Squad and Elite athletes.
• Travel to centres other than Saskatoon as agreed with the Board of Directors to provide supervision and coaching to Canada Games, Provincial Squad and Elite Athletes.
• RETIRING ATHLETES
• Be available to the retiring athlete for counselling and integration into society.
• Be available to the athletes in providing honest and quality letters of reference.
• Assist athletes in continuing in the sport in areas such as officiating, administration, or coaching.
• Encourage athletes throughout their athletic careers to attain a reasonable standard of education and/or formal training in preparation for the future job market.

So You Think You're Busy? Part 2

Most fencers think that we get little recognition and even less respect from the general public. Our Promotions Coordinator, Carol-Lynne Mould has been extremely busy this past Fencing season trying to change all that.

I had asked her permission to publish her report to the Board of Directors at the Annual General meeting. She agreed, but I discovered it is over 8 pages long! She HAS been busy!

In the interests of brevity, some details have been deleted but the full report is in the SFA office or on disk at the Editor's residence.

Report of the Promotions Coordinator to the SFA Board of Directors - May 4, 1996

Several ideas originated with me or were given to me which were acted on, and which I list here:

1. STV was called and given the opportunity to produce an "STV Kids' TV" segment. At no cost to the SFA, this segment was produced at the Saskatoon Salle and featured John Brunning, Dawn Hurion, and Luc Prefontaine discussing the ins and outs of fencing. It ran for several Saturday mornings. If anyone would like to view it, I have an archival copy.
2. An SFA Web Page is currently in production. Sheila ffolliott and I have arranged to set up this page on the Internet. Contact numbers for all centres will be listed along with the provincial office.
3. Claude Seguin's Summer Fencing Camp was listed on a free advertising page for "other" sports camps on the Internet. The I-address was not recorded but is under the Fencing headings. If Anyone comes across that address, please note it down and contact me.
4. Letters are ready to be sent out to dozens of businesses to solicit sponsorship. Copies of the letter and the enclosure are attached to this report.
5. A letter was sent to Bronwyn Eyre of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, as in one of her articles she bemoaned the fact that there was no modern way to fight a duel. She was invited to come to the Salle and watch.
6. A letter was sent to Chatelaine, Good Housekeeping, Modern Woman, McCall's, and Sassy expressing a desire on my part to write an article for them regarding fencing and its benefits for women of all ages. I have enlisted the aid of Micheline Burnham, a fencer from the beginner class who is enthusiastic about this article. My idea is to present fencing from three vantage points - youth, university, and middle-aged recreational fencers. No reply has been received to this date.
7. This letter has been slightly altered and sent to Shape, Western Living, Health, Health World, Inside Sports, Campus Life, Sport Magazine, Total Health, and Prevention expressing a similar interest in articles regarding fencing's benefits for both men and women as sport and recreation.
8. An article I wrote was submitted to the Sheaf (University publication) which was printed at the beginning of the school year. Response to this article was very good and it gained us several new members at the University level. Next year the University of Regina's publication should receive a similar article, as well as SIAST publications in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina, and Moose Jaw.
9. Erin Parchello was able to find us a spot in the 1996-1997 Student's Handbook for no charge. This space will contain an advertisement for the University club. This handbook is distributed to all first year students at the University of Saskatchewan. I am looking into similar deals at the University of Regina, SIAST campuses in Regina, Moose Jaw, and Prince Albert.
10. Anna-beth's "Women in Fencing" poster was distributed to numerous places around the province. There are enough copies to include with all my outgoing sponsorship correspondence and high school packages.
11. At the beginning of the season, posters were printed up and delivered to Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert for distribution around town. Moose Jaw and Asquith will be included in next year's distribution.
12. Two highly respected businessmen in Regina were contacted regarding the promotion of the SFA. They feel that mall demonstrations could be very lucrative to the Association and gave several pointers regarding the advertising and general look these demonstrations should have. In particular, if done correctly, we would be a draw for the mall who would get more customers and the Association would get more money. I am trying to co-ordinate some demonstrations now in each of the centres which have a club - and some that don't. We need to play up on the "Provincial Team", "National Team", and "Olympic Team" labels. These businessmen also are willing to critique it for us. They also suggested demonstrations of how a movie fight is choreographed, as this is the main forum through which the public knows "fencing".
13. Mark Barker had an idea along the lines of "Jail 'n Bail". People with a "dispute" of some kind could "hire a duellist" to fight their battle for them. I think this would be a lot of fun and would definitely spread around the fact that we exist. We could also "challenge" media personnel "to a duel" or to duel each other. I am looking into the insurance aspect.
14. Erin Parchello and Amber Bakos suggested an idea for a Fencing Calendar which we could sell for profit and raise awareness of the Association. Val Faul and I are working on pictures and layout. We will take orders for and collect the money for the calendars before we actually order them from the printer, so we are in no danger of losing money.
15. Trent Remlinger arranged for Yuk Yuks at the Park Town Hotel in Saskatoon to donate fifty Yuk Yuks tickets to the SFA. These were sold for the evening of Friday, May 3. I think this would be a good deal to try again next season, when the university students are still in town. I am also looking into similar programs in other centres.
16. Packages are being prepared for distribution to high schools in centres in the province which have a fencing club. These will contain the "Women in Fencing Poster", some pamphlets and new inserts, plus a letter from the Promotions Coordinator.
17. I am looking into community network advertising for next season's membership drives in the areas which have fencing clubs. Also, I feel it would be beneficial to have our local tournaments filmed and broadcast on the community stations. Not many people watch these stations in general, but channel surfers will see it and hopefully stop to watch.
18. Micheline Burnham suggested that we name Allan as the "Sweat King" and beg a deodorant or antiperspirant company to sponsor him. But as this is a recent suggestion and Allan's future is now in Alberta, I am not sure how feasible this is.
19. The telephone book has a section titled "Charitable and Non-Profit Organizations" and asks that a person call the organizations listed to find out how they can help. The current SaskTel strike has delayed my inquiries about the cost of this service.
20. I am also looking into the cost and feasibility of a gift certificate or advertising which could be put in Welcome Wagon packages. Many of the families who call Welcome Wagon have children who may be interested in fencing.
21. Micheline Burnham discovered that the Body Shop will sometimes provide sponsorship to the tune of $20,000.00 to organizations such as ours. I have written for their application form. We will have to wait until October for their decision.
22. Robin Massett informed me about a new sports section in the Star Phoenix which deals mainly with little recognized sports. I did not have the opportunity to utilize that column during this season but I plan to do so this coming Fencing season.

Another suggestion is the creation of a Promotions Committee with the Coordinator as head. Ideas such as those listed above take a great deal of time and one person cannot do it all. This committee could perhaps consist of at least one person from each centre who is dedicated to promoting fencing in Saskatchewan.

As can be seen Carol-Lynne has put a lot of time, creativity and energy into promoting Fencing in Saskatchewan. As can also be seen, there are many good ideas out there. The idea of a Promotion Committee is a good one and deserves support. Talk to your Directors and offer your ideas and support. If we each do our own small bit, we will start to get the recognition and respect we so rightly deserve.

So You Think You're Busy? Part 3

by Dennis Duncan

I have Anna-beth's permission to publish her report to the Board of Directors Annual General Meeting to demonstrate exactly how much work is involved.

Report of the SFA Executive Director

May 4, 1996

Tasks Completed to Date: 1995-1996 Fencing Season

• preparation of 1996-1997 Sport Profile (with Vice President)
• preparation and distribution of documents for March and May Board Meetings (with President)
• responded to letter of grant approval from Jeux Canada Games Foundation and represented the SFA at the media conference to accept grant cheque
• arrangement of airline tickets for Championnat du Quebec, Junior/Cadet World Championships, North American Circuit #4, Nationals (with Technical Committee Athlete Development Coordinator and Provincial Coach)
• Tracking accounts receivable with Treasurer, billing clubs or athletes for non-squad travel, hotel, etc.
• preparation of competition materials for Junior/Cadet Championships, Northwestern, Saskatchewan Open, Funfest, and Wheatland, including medals and facility (Sask Open, Funfest and Wheatland only), entry forms
• Provided Saskatchewan media with current competition results (submitted Sunday of competition weekend)
• day to day mailing, photocopying, trophy updating and repair
• communicating with Canadian Fencing Federation, Sask Sport, SFA Clubs, Board, President, parents, and other provincial contacts on a regular basis
• Participation in 52% Solution - Survey in conjunction with Sask Sport
• distribution of promotional materials to Saskatchewan Zone Councils
• maintenance of SFA office and files
• assisted Manitoba Fencing Association with Westerns preparations
• assisted RA Fencing Club with Nationals preparations

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