HIGH PERFORMANCE

2010 - 2011 Quest 4 Gold

      Quest 4 Gold Athletes

2010 - 2011

Congratulations to the following athletes who have been nominated for a 2010 Quest 4 Gold Ontario card.  Each one of these athletes met the selection criteria as crafted by the Squash Ontario Selection Committee, reviewed and approved by the Squash Ontario Board of Directors and review and approved by the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport. 

The Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport has confirmed that these athletes meet the approved selection criteria:

Nominated Athletes

Ailsa Agnew

Michelle Gemmell

Aylssa Mehta

Hollie Naughton

Alternates

Jillian Baker

Dileas McGowan

Michael McCue

Tyler Osborne

Joshua Sekhar

Ryan Todd

Alternates

Cameron Seth

Sebastien Riedelsheimer

SQUASH ONTARIO

Quest for Gold – Ontario Athlete Assistance Program 2010-2011

ATHLETE SELECTION CRITERIA TEMPLATE

• Quest for Gold – Ontario Athlete Assistance Program 2010-2011 (OAAP) is funded by the Government of Ontario, through the Ministry of Health Promotion (MHP), and operated through the Sport, Recreation & Community Programs Branch.  The overarching goal of the Quest for Gold – OAAP is directly related to the Enhanced Excellence goals of the Canadian Sport Policy – to improve the performance and number of Ontario athletes performing at the national and international level; thereby contributing to the improved performance of Canada at international competitions. Specific objectives of the program are:
• To help athletes continue their pursuit of athletic excellence at the highest levels of national and international competition;
• To encourage athletes to stay in Ontario to live and train;
• To compensate athletes for earnings lost while training;
• To enable athletes to successfully pursue excellence in sport while  fulfilling their educational goals;
• To increase athlete access to improved high performance coaching; and
• To enhance training and competitive opportunities available to athletes.

The program will provide direct financial assistance to Ontario junior-aged athletes through an “Ontario Card” designation.  “Junior-aged athlete” is defined as those athletes who fall within the eligible age range for the Canada Games - 11 to 22 years of age.  A PSO/MSO with a NSO-approved Long Term Athlete Development Model (LTADM) that identifies older athletes in the “Train to Train” and “Train to Compete” categories may apply to MHP for a variation to this 11-22 age range. A PSO/MSO may choose to allocate a maximum of 30% of it’s carding allotment to athletes older than 22 years of age who have been identified as a potential next generation national team athlete by the PSO/MSO’s selection process.

The intent of the OAAP is to provide funding to individual athletes based on their demonstrated commitment to high performance sport, allowing them to pursue athletic excellence at the highest levels of national and international competition.

How does it work?

In accordance with the OAAP guidelines, SQUASH ONTARIO is responsible for developing sport specific selection criteria and forming a Selection Committee that will apply the criteria to select those athletes who will be awarded Ontario Card status in 2010-2011.  The Selection Criteria are approved by the Board of Directors and reviewed by MHP staff.  Nominated athletes will be required to sign and comply with an Athlete Agreement between the athlete and SQUASH ONTARIO.  Carding status will be for one year starting April 1, 2010 ending March 31, 2011.

In 2010-2011, the MHP allocated a certain amount of OAAP Ontario Cards to each eligible Provincial Sport / Multi-Sport Organization (PSO/MSO). SQUASH ONTARIO has been allotted a total of 8 Ontario cards (split evenly as 4 male and 4 Female Cards).

The Selection Committee, which has been approved by the Squash Ontario Board of Directors is comprised of the following members:

Robert Brooks, Chair {past president Squash Ontario}

Patrick Ryding, Level 3 Coach, current Canada Games coach

Nicole Pirko, Level 3 Coach, current Canada Games coach

Jessica DiMauro, Level 4 Coach, current Canadian Junior Women’s Coach

Richard Yendell, Level 3 Coach, Learning Facilitator

Mark Sachvie, Level 3 Coach, past Canada Games Coach, current President Squash Ontario

How much funding is available?

The exact level of funding for the 2010-2011 carding year will be determined by the Ministry after the total number of athletes nominated for Ontario Card status has been determined.  Funding will be released prior to March 31, 2011.

How will SQUASH ONTARIO Selection Committee decide who receives funding?

The SQUASH ONTARIO Selection Committee will use both the Ministry of Health Promotion & Sport Eligibility Criteria and the Sport Specific Selection Criteria detailed below to determine which athletes will be nominated for Ontario Card status in 2010-2011:

Ministry of Health Promotion Eligibility Criteria:

All athletes must meet the Ministry of Health Promotion’s minimum athlete eligibility criteria:

• Athletes who have achieved Canada Card status are not eligible for Ontario Cards.
• Athlete must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant.
• Athlete must be a permanent resident of Ontario for one year prior to his/her nomination for carding status.
• Athletes must be living in and continuing to train in Ontario. Exceptions may be made on a case specific basis by the PSO/MSO Selection Committee providing that the athlete can substantiate in writing at the time of application/nomination for carding status that:
• He/She cannot receive the required level of training in Ontario and is out of the province temporarily during the year (i.e. due to lack of facilities, coaching, competitions);
• He/She must attend a post-secondary institution out-of-province because the course of study is not offered by an Ontario institution;
• It is more financially feasible to attend a post-secondary institution out-of-province, or other extenuating circumstances that require the athlete to be out of the province;

The onus is on the athlete to demonstrate that he/she needs to be out of province.  This information must be received by the SQUASH ONTARIO Selection Committee by no later than 1 December 2010 in order to be considered. 

• Athlete must be a member in good standing with PSO/MSO and NSO where applicable;
• Athlete must have entered into a Sports Organization - Athlete Agreement with his or her PSO/MSO and must be in full compliance with the terms and conditions of that agreement;
• Athlete must have met all terms and conditions of any previous Quest for Gold Sports Organization – Athlete Agreements to the satisfaction of the PSO/MSO in order to be eligible for consideration in 2010/2011;
• Athlete must demonstrate a commitment and dedication to a proper training and competitive program;
• Athlete must be instructed by a coach who has been trained and certified in the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Level 2 or equivalent;
• Athlete must not be under a sanction that prohibits competition as per the Canadian Anti-Doping Policy;

• Athlete must be attending an educational institution full-time (i.e. elementary and secondary schools):

• Exceptions will be made provided that the athlete can substantiate that his/her training will not allow for full-time attendance or if an athlete requires special needs that preclude full or part-time attendance (e.g. Athlete with a disability (AWAD) athlete);

• Athletes who have completed their area of study at the secondary level (i.e. high school) and who continue to train towards participation in major national or international competitions will also be considered;
• If eligible, the athlete must compete, and continue to compete solely for Ontario and/or Canada for one year from the date of the Minister’s letter informing the athlete of acceptance into OAAP program, at Canada Games and other national competitions involving provincial team competitions;
• Athlete must not receive financial support from any other provincial/territorial athlete assistance program.  This does not include academic scholarships, bursaries, student grants, student loans, social assistance, disability pensions, and other forms of financial assistance that have nothing to do with competitive sport.
• Eligibility will be limited to Ontario junior-aged athletes, ages 11-22 (“junior-aged” refers to chronological age, not a sport’s specific age category - only exception is for PSO/MSOs using 30% of Ontario Card allotment for athletes older than 22 years of age who have been identified as a potential next generation national team athlete by the PSO/MSO’s selection process.

Residency Exemption for Military Families:  The one-year Ontario residency requirement is waived for any Ontario Card or Canada Card applicant who is a spouse or dependant of a: Regular Force member of the Canadian Forces; or Reservist currently deployed by the Canadian Forces into active service and who takes up residence in Ontario during the fiscal year.   This means that eligible military family members now qualify for OAAP funding immediately upon becoming residents of Ontario.  Please see the 2010-2011 Quest for Gold Athlete Handbook for details of this exemption, including a list of documents needed to verify eligibility for this waiver of the one-year Ontario residency requirement.

Important Notes:

• To be deemed a potential next generation national team athlete, the athlete must be age-eligible to compete on the national team in the year following receipt of Ontario Card funding.

• All athletes under the age of 18 must have their parent or legal guardian sign their OAAP application form. Cheques will be processed in the name of the eligible athlete.
• Athletes who are attending any foreign post-secondary educational institution (including NCAA    institutions) and are receiving an athletic scholarship in any sport are not eligible to receive OAAP support.
• An athlete that received Sport Canada Carding during any part of MHP’s fiscal year April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 and/or any part of fiscal year April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011 and is no longer in receipt of Sport Canada Athlete Assistance shall not be eligible to receive Quest for Gold funding during fiscal year 2010-2011 (April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011.) The intent of this rule is to prevent athletes whose performance levels and rankings no longer qualify them for Sport Canada carding from taking an Ontario Card from a future national-level athlete.  However, exceptions may apply and will be considered by the Ministry on a case-by-case basis.  Exceptions may include, but may not be limited to logistical or administrative changes (ex. reduction in Sport Canada carding allocation), injuries, etc. 
• An athlete can only be nominated to receive Quest for Gold funding in one sport.
• The onus is entirely on the athlete to determine the impact of accepting OAAP funding on current or future NCAA eligibility and to decide whether or not to accept OAAP funding. The athlete will be required to acknowledge this onus and responsibility when signing the OAAP Ontario Card application form and agreeing to the related terms and conditions of the program.  Athletes are strongly encouraged to contact the NCAA Eligibility Center to determine the impact of Quest for Gold - OAAP funding on current or future eligibility for a NCAA scholarship or on eligibility to compete in a non-scholarship NCAA sport.

National Collegiate Athletic Association                     www.ncaa.org

NCAA Eligibility Center mailing address:

NCAA Eligibility Center
P.O. Box 7136
Indianapolis, IN 46207
  
Customer service hours - 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday.
 Toll-free phone number (U.S. callers) - Customer service line – 877-262-1492
 Phone number (international callers)  - Customer service line – 317-223-0700
                                                                Fax number - 317-968-5100

• In the event of a conflict or inconsistency between the MHP eligibility requirements detailed in the MHP binder provided to PSO/MSOs and duplicated in the Athlete Handbook provided to each nominated athlete and the eligibility requirements listed in the PSO/MSO Athlete Selection Criteria Document prepared by the PSO/MSO, the MHP Binder/Athlete Handbook shall prevail.

Squash Specific Athlete Selection Criteria:

The following squash specific athlete selection criteria will be utilized in the identification, ranking and selection of athletes for Ontario Cards:

• The 8 cards will be allocated equally between male and female – 4 cards to the males and 4 cards to the females.
• Selection prioritywill be given to eligible athletes on the national junior squads.  If more than 4 male or more than 4 female Ontario athletes are on the national junior squads, the athletes may be selected based on overall Ontario junior rankings as at 1 December  2010.  The athlete must be a member in good standing of the current (2010-2011) national junior squad as named by Squash Canada. 
• If the quota for all 4 male and 4 female cards is not filled through selections from national squads, the overall Ontario junior rankings may be used for selection * and an athlete must be age - eligible to participate in the 2011 Canadian Junior Closed Championships, the date of which is April 28 – 1 May 2011.

          *These rankings will be as of 1 December 2010 which will have been updated to include results of junior sanctioned events between:

                             1 September 2010 and 30 November 2010. 

These would include 2 Gold high performance events and the 2010 Ontario Junior Closed Championships.

To be eligible for selection, athletes must participate in the following 3 events (Gold # 1 which is being held on October 15 – 17, 2010, Gold # 2 which is being held on November 5 – 7, 2010 and the BMO Ontario Junior Closed Championships which are being held on November 26 – 28, 2010.

Failure to Meet Selection Criteria for Health-related Reasons

Athletes who, for strictly health-related reasons, have not achieved the standards required for nomination of carded status may be considered for nomination under the following conditions:

• The athlete has fulfilled all reasonable training and rehabilitation requirements aimed at a speedy return to full high-performance training and competition during the period of his or her injury, illness or pregnancy and, despite making every reasonable effort to attain the applicable carding standards during the year in which the injury, illness or pregnancy occurred, has failed to do so, in the view of the PSO/MSO, for reasons strictly related to the injury, illness or pregnancy.

• SQUASH ONTARIO, based on its technical judgement and that of a SQUASH ONTARIO team physician or equivalent, indicates in writing the expectation that the athlete will achieve at least the minimum standards required for carding during the upcoming carding period.

The athlete has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate his or her long-term commitment to high-performance training and competition goals, as well as his or her intention to pursue full high-performance training and competition throughout the carding period for which he or she wishes to be renewed despite not having met the carding criteria

·             In the case of injury or illness, a medical certificate will be required. Squash Ontario must be notified of the injury immediately. The medical certificate must include, but not limited to, the date of injury, diagnosis, treatment plan, and expected date to return to training/competition.

              Medical certificates will only be accepted from a list of Squash Ontario appointed physicians, chiropractors or physiotherapists. This list will be provided to the athlete by Squash Ontario upon notification of injury or illness.

Breaking a Tie:

              If two athletes are tied in the rankings, the Committee will use head to head results between the two athletes in the tournaments being used for ranking purposes.

Alternates:  SQUASH ONTARIO will also nominate alternates to those athletes nominated for Ontario Card status.  Alternates will be those athletes who are ranked directly behind those athletes nominated for the allotment of Ontario Cards in a particular category/discipline.  The names of alternates will be published along with the names of nominated athletes.  If an athlete drops out or is removed from the OAAP an alternate will be substituted into that athlete’s position, provided that:

• Alternate is substituted within 2010-2011 fiscal year;
• An alternate is available from the same category/discipline/card level (Full/Half);
• Funding for athlete being substituted is still available within fiscal year (e.g. full funding for card has not already been paid out to athlete no longer in program).
 

To Apply:

All required information must be submitted no later than 1 December 2010 to:

Name:  Robert Brooks

Email: c/o sfunston@squashontario.com

Address: 3 Concorde Gate, Toronto, ON  M3C 3N7

Phone number, Fax number 416-426-7202; 416-426-7393

The Sports Organization – Athlete Agreement will only come into effect if an athlete is selected and accepts carding status through the OAAP program.

SQUASH ONTARIO will publish or make known the athletes nominated for Ontario Card status by no later than 14 January 2011.

Appeals 

Appeals will be allowed from athletes who have not been nominated by a PSO/MSO for Ontario Card status.  Appeals will only be accepted directly from athletes (or from their parent/guardian for athletes under 18 years of age).  Appeals will be dealt with by an Appeals Committee comprised of representatives from the sport community and chosen by the Ministry.

Grounds for appeals will be limited strictly to issues related to:

A) Whether or not the PSO/MSO has completed the selection process in accordance with their own published selection criteria and related procedures;

B) Whether or not the selection criteria applied by the PSO/MSO were fair, objective, transparent and free from discrimination or conflict of interest. 

After hearing an appeal the Appeals Committee will have the authority to:

• Direct the PSO/MSO to redo the selection process using the correct criteria/process and submit a new list of nominated athletes;
• Deny the appeal; or
• Allow the appeal and nominate the appellant for carding status. 

Appeals will only be accepted on the MHP-provided template (typed or hand-printed, no hand-written entries) through regular post, registered mail, courier or delivered in person.  

Appeals must be received by MHP by 5 p.m. on the deadline day as posted below.  Appeals that are delivered personally or by courier shall be deemed to be received on the date of delivery.    Appeals submitted by e-mail or fax will not be accepted.  The Appeals Committee will discuss all appeals at once, after PSO/MSOs publish their list of nominated athletes.  Appeals received in advance of the PSO/MSO announcing nominees will not be reviewed until after the Appeals deadline.

The deadline for athletes to submit appeals to the Appeals Committee is January 26, 2011.

Appeals must be completed on the template below and will be directed to:

Quest for Gold Ontario Athlete Assistance Program Appeals Committee

Ministry of Health Promotion & Sport

 777 Bay Street, Suite 702

Toronto, Ontario M7A 1S5

2010/2011 Quest for Gold – Ontario Athlete Assistance Program
 Appeal Template

The deadline for athletes to submit appeals to the Appeals Committee is  January 26, 2011 for Cycle 2. Appeals will only be accepted on the MHP-provided template.  Please refer to the appeals section of your PSO/MSO’s Athlete Selection Criteria document prior to completing this form.

Full Name: 

Address:                                                                                                               City:

Postal Code:                                                  Phone:                                Email:

Sport / PSO:               

Reason for Appeal (Check one only):  

Whether or not the PSO/MSO has completed the selection process in accordance with their own published selection criteria and related procedures;

Whether or not the selection criteria applied by the PSO/MSO were fair, objective, transparent and free from discrimination or conflict of interest. 

Provide a two-line summary of the reason for the appeal: 

In the space below (continue on to next page as needed), provide a detailed account of the situation to allow the Appeals Committee to understand the basis of the appeal (please submit additional pages/supporting documentation if necessary): 

Print Name of Appellant                      Signature of Appellant                                      Date

Any/all information provided to the Appeals Committee may be shared with the athlete’s PSO by the Appeals Committee.

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