27 February 2023

By Göran R Buckhorn

At a Special Meeting last Wednesday, a majority of members of Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) voted against the motion to remove the RCA Board.

HTBS wrote on 23 January that some member clubs of Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) were unhappy with how the RCA Board was running the federation. As five per cent of the member clubs have sent RCA two motions, including the removal of the RCA Board, there would be a Special Meeting to address the motions on Wednesday 22 February.

The two motions were 1) to remove the RCA Board (other than the Athlete Director who is elected by the National Team athletes), and, if the RCA Board was removed 2) to hold an election to reconstitute the Board (other than the Athlete Director and the Provincial Director).

The Wednesday meeting was chaired by Lindsay Bergen, Athlete Director, the only director not impacted by Motion 1. Prior to the vote, the other RCA Directors had the opportunity to speak, and then there was a chance for the members of the clubs to comment and ask questions. There were 131 member organisations registered to vote with 306 weighted votes, and 108 member organisations voted at the meeting casting 264 weighted votes. This was a secret ballot with votes being cast electronically.

The results for Motion 1 were 152 (57.6%) weighted votes against the motion, and 112 (42.4%) weighted votes in favour. This means that the RCA Board was not removed, and there was no need to vote on Motion 2.

It is now time for the RCA Board to try to win back the trust of those member clubs who wanted to eliminate them, and to face the challenges ahead. In a statement the Board wrote:

As a Board, our desire is to bring together all members of RCA to address the impact this journey has had on our organization. We are committed to improving communications, improving our governance structures, and being more accessible to our members so we can work together towards sustainable solutions.