Branch Report for
DanceSport Western Australia
Prepared for
DanceSport Western Australia
and
DanceSport Australia Annual General Meeting
Prepared by:
Linda Brown
Executive Officer DSWA
20th September 2015
DSWA Annual Report
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DanceSport Western Australia
Branch Report
20th September, 2015
The DanceSport WA board is comprised as follows:
Office Bearers:
Chairman:
Derek Gatley
Vice Chairman:
Judith Williams
Executive Officer:
Linda Brown
Treasurer:
Tegan Short/Jan Hunt
Coach Representatives
Linda Brown
Jan Reilly
Competitor Representatives
Grete Kasi
Peter Hegarty
General Representatives
Derek Gatley
Judith Williams
Richard Morrissey
Barry White
Daele Fraser –December 2014
Anna Di Vincenzo – August 2015
Jan Hunt – July 2015
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The DSWA board meeting has met on a monthly basis, with a full quorum
present at all meetings.
Office Bearers:
Derek Gatley, Tegan Short and Linda Brown continued in the roles that they
previously held; being Chairman, Treasurer and Executive Officer, respectively.
Joseph Di Rocco continued to be our MPIO although we have not required his
services this year. As a board we decided that we needed to have a vice
Chairperson, as a route of succession to our current Chairman. This role was
accepted by Judith Williams.
Operational Plan:
As in previous years, the DSWA board has operated from a very clear
Operational Plan and this is addressed in very specific agenda items at each
meeting, forward planning within the operational plan is adhered to. The
Strategic Plan continues to remain in place and is followed closely as we
progress through the outcomes. Derek has met frequently with our DS&R
contact to ensure that our Strategic and Operational Plan are in line with the
requirements of the DS&R.
Education and Training:
An integral part of our Operational Plan is a focus on Education and Training.
This year, as well our Xplo we have also offered a ‘What can you do day’ Latin, delivered by Linda Brown and glen Brennan, and a ‘What you can’t do
day’-Latin and Standard. Both workshops were well received as they gave our
members a wealth of information with regard to the accepted syllabus. The
‘What you can do day,’ will continue with a Standard version in October, 2015.
It has been suggested that these lecture days, are the type of workshop that
could be a part of the Coach and Adjudicator modules in the future.
Ethics and Compliance:
The Ethics and Compliance Committee is comprised of the complete board and
was not required to hear any complaints this year.
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Rules Committee/Invigilating/Ranking Committee’s:
The Rules Committee is comprised of Jan Reilly and Linda Brown. Jan and Linda
have continued as invigilators, of whom one is present at all championships.
Jan Reilly and Anna Di Vincenzo correlate the points awarded via our ranking
system from which the State Team is decided.
Finance Committee/ Marketing Committee:
The Finance Committee is comprised of Derek Gatley and Tegan Short (now
Jan Hunt), with considerable input from Peter Hegarty in the marketing sector.
DSWA Awards:
DSWA did not present awards this year as they are presented biannually.
Website:
Web carer Anna Di Vincenzo has continued to work tirelessly on the DSWA and
DSA websites. Grete Kasi has supported Anna throughout the last few years as
the Dancescene website has been created. This site has enabled a considerable
amount of socialisation and interactive capabilities with our members, as well
as creating an additional platform for new members. This site obtains a couple
of hundred hits per week.
Information desk/Information Booklet:
The DSWA information desk has continued to operate. This year the WA board
members were once again placed on a roster to ‘man’ the desk at all
Championships throughout the year. The desk facilitated the registration
process and has been successful in maintaining the DSWA presence. In line
with this, DSWA has joined again with DSNSW and other states in producing
the information booklet; this was funded with support from all of the states.
The booklet is distributed to all members on their registration renewal and is
available at all events. The feedback from our members is very positive.
Department of Sport and Recreation:
Our funding as a recognised State Sporting Association is in place until June
2016, with our grant being $13 000, which is paid out at the end of each
financial year. This grant provides for various funding ventures within the
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branch, including educational seminars and workshops, marketing and awards,
newsletter, website maintenance, State Team travel expenses, as well as fees
for the website manager, executive officer and treasurer. Recognition is given
to DS&R at all fund supported events. DSWA has resolved to work closely with
DS&R in future to fully utilise their training courses and to establish better
pathways to access available grants and funding. Our members are encouraged
to access courses, through our WA website.
The DS&R also award a grant to sporting individuals aged between 13 and 21
(not inclusive). The money is for official representatives state and international
and the WA official team members. The board of DSWA has ensured that
information is available to all members including phone calls to ensure that all
possible recipients are informed.
Promoters Meeting:
The promoter’s meeting enables all promoters in WA to come together and
organise dates and book venues. At the meeting each promoter came
prepared with a list of their championships and competitions, and their
preferred dates and venues. This enables the WA calendar to be planned and
the implementation of a balanced programme to be created.
DanceSport Development:
DSWA had continued to work towards DanceSport development. Sub
Committees are looking at developing public displays. WA has a Masters
formation team who perform at various functions. Each society is exploring
and discovering new and suitable venues for events. DSWA has continued to
work with the three societies in WA to hold the WA Open Championships, the
only joint venture of this kind in Australia.
Electronic Scrutineering System:
DSWA continue to supply the system to our promoters for a small fee. We
have changed our invoice practise, invoicing ahead of usage. Unfortunately the
modem was not powerful enough for some of our larger venues, so we have
had to purchase a new modem. Once again the system has been managed by
Lauren Chisholm, who has done an outstanding job, setting up the system and
dealing with any issues at Championships.
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Dance Xplo 2015:
Dance Xplo was held for the 8th consecutive year. As in previous years, it was
held at the South of Perth Yacht Club, a stunning venue with amazing views of
the Swan River and the City of Perth. Unfortunately this year we were not able
to obtain funding for the event, so we did lose a small amount of money. We
were able to secure outstanding lecturers with; Pamela McGill (from the UK) –
Latin, Anthony Hurley – Standard, Peter Todd – New Vogue. The Xplo itself was
held once again on a Sunday with a turn out in excess of 100 people. The
barbecue was moved from the end of the lecture series to lunch time, and was
enjoyed by all. All lectures were warmly received and involved a great deal of
member participation. As in previous years, the day offered a chance for
socialisation as well as the opportunity to increase our knowledge.
This year we also held a junior development day on the Saturday. This was
sponsored by DSWA with all of our junior and juvenile competitors, including
recreational, being invited to participate free of charge. A one and a half hour
lecture was given by Anthony and Pam. The parents of the students were very
pleased that we had offered this opportunity to our younger members.
The organising committee was; Linda Brown, Richard Morrissey, Barry White
and the finances handled by Tegan Short. The lecturers have been booked for
2016 and are; Rosa Filipello and Akardi Bakenov, Alan Shingler and Malcolm
Batty.
Sausage Sizzle:
DSWA under the auspices of Anna Di Vincenzo and Richard Morrissey have
continued to hold fund raising sausage sizzle ventures at Bunning’s
Superstores. The stall is manned by board members, competitors and parents,
who give up a couple of hours to man the location. The days are a lot of fun for
those involved (although copious amounts of work for Anna and Richard who
order and ensure that all needs are catered for). These events are an excellent
fund raiser and generally raise in the vicinity of $1500 to $2000 clear profit.
The money raised is split in two, with half going to the State Team fund and
half going to the futures fund. This is an excellent venture and WA can’t
recommend it highly enough.
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Adjudicators:
DSWA are pleased to note that we have had four candidates complete their
level 1 standard exams this year, bringing new blood to adjudicating in our
state.
Recreational Events:
Private promoters have held dedicated recreational events with entries in
excess of 100. The recreational division is boosting the entry numbers at all
registered Championship events.
OAM
DSWA are pleased to confirm that Daele Fraser, a member of the board of
DSWA was granted an OAM this year.
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