Evan Daum, Canada West Communications
Highlights:
- The Canada West Annual General Meeting wrapped up Thursday afternoon in Kelowna
- Curling and golf were added as Canada West sports, with a CW curling championship beginning this season, while golf will become a conference sport during the 2019-20 season
- Fraser Valley is set to host the 2019 CW Wrestling Championships
KELOWNA, B.C. – The Canada West Annual General Meeting concluded Thursday in Kelowna, as the conference’s 17 members made several key decisions over the course of the five-day meetings.
Among the highlights from the AGM, which was hosted by UBC Okanagan, was the addition of curling and golf as conference sports, along with Fraser Valley being named the host of the 2019 CW Wrestling Championships, and clarity around the men’s volleyball schedule for the 2018-19 season.
Curling, golf added as Canada West sports
Two sports were formally added by the conference, as both men’s and women’s curling (beginning with the 2018-19 season), as well as men’s and women’s golf (beginning with the 2019-20 season) will now host Canada West championships.
The sports become the first fully sanctioned sports since 1999-00 when women’s wrestling and rugby 15s first awarded Canada West titles. Rugby 7s is currently a CW pilot project sport, and will enter its third season during the 2018-19 season.
Canada West joins Atlantic University Sport (AUS), and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in offering conference curling championships. U SPORTS has hosted a national championship in collaboration with Curling Canada since 2007-08.
The dates and host of the 2019 Canada West Curling Championships will be announced at a later date.
Along with curling, golf was also added as a new Canada West sport, bringing the total number of CW sanctioned sports to 20 (eight men’s, nine women’s, three combined) beginning with the 2019-20 season.
Details around the first Canada West Golf Championships, which will be hosted in the fall of 2019, will be determined by an ad hoc committee, in collaboration with CW sport committee.
Fraser Valley to host 2019 CW Wrestling Championships
The Fraser Valley Cascades will now host the 2019 CW Wrestling Championships (February 8-9). The championships were previously set to be hosted by the Regina Cougars, who announced late last month that men’s and women’s wrestling, along with men’s volleyball, had been removed from their athletics program.
2018-19 CW men’s volleyball schedule
In response to Regina’s removal of men’s volleyball, the conference approved a revised men’s volleyball schedule, which will see a bye in place of Regina on the schedule for the 2018-19 season.
Canada West sport committee will now be tasked with exploring 12-team scheduling options for the 2019-20 men’s volleyball season.
New managing director, conference president
After serving as Canada West Acting Managing Director for the past season, Rocky Olfert was officially unveiled as the conference’s permanent Managing Director.
Olfert, who was previously CW Associate Director of Sport, will continue to lead the conference’s full-time staff, and spearhead the updating of the CW strategic plan.
On the CW Board of Directors, Clint Hamilton is set to take over from Ian Reade as President.
Hamilton, who is the Director of Vikes Athletics & Recreation at the University of Victoria, was previously CW President from 2008 to 2010 and officially begins his two-year term in June.
Reade spent the previous four seasons as CW President, helping to lead the organization’s ongoing professionalization of the office staff, as well as the continued development of Canada West TV.
CW advancement meetings
For the second time this year, advancement staff from Canada West members came together for two days of meetings, as the conference looks to enhance collaboration and best practice sharing in the areas of alumni and donor relations, among others.
The conference previously brought together advancement staff at the Canada West meetings held back in February in Richmond, B.C.