(CCA NEWS RELEASE) The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) was held in Gatineau, Quebec on Saturday, June 21st.

After struggling financially in 2006-07, the CCA is pleased to report that it completed the 2007-08 fiscal year in the black…with a promising financial outlook. The Association has managed to pay off its entire unfunded deficit by generating the largest single year surplus in its history – approximately $1.4 million, enabling the CCA to also start its first ever long-term financial reserve fund.

“We are extremely pleased to have had such a banner year,” said CCA Chief Executive Officer Greg Stremlaw, who assumed his role last October. “While our athlete performances at the world level were outstanding, it was the financial performance of the organization that I’m extremely proud of as well.

“This is a significant financial turnaround for the CCA but everyone realizes there is still a great deal of work to be done to totally stabilize the association for the future. I’m committed to running the CCA as a business and the entire organization is forging ahead with renewed fiscal responsibility.

“What impressed me about this year’s National Curling Congress (NCC) and AGM was the continued spirit of cooperation that was renewed in 2007 with the CCA’s member associations. This collaboration must exist as we work to ensure the continued success of curling in Canada.”

“I would like to offer congratulations to the Canadian Curling Association on behalf of Sport Canada,” commented Jan Meyer, Senior Program Officer with Sport Canada. “The CCA was requested to show more restraint and run the type of operation that would eliminate the debt.

“This was done with good financial performance from staff, management and volunteers who have shown their diligence to live within a budget. The members should know that to have a national organization turn that type of debt around so quickly is nearly unheard of.”

The CCA Board continued its work on the development of the new policy governance model and some of the key points gaining acceptance were:

- The CCA Board of Directors has been changed in name to the CCA Board of Governors.
- All Directors are now Governors.
- The CCA no longer has a President of the Board, but rather a Chair of the Board.
- The CCA no longer has a Vice-President of the Board, but rather a Vice-Chair.
- Voting will be permitted electronically, if required.

Fran Todd of Mississauga, Ontario was elected to the office of Chair of the Board for the 2008-09 season while Graham Prouse of Fort Nelson, British Columbia was voted to the position of Vice-Chair.

In the order of progression, CCA President Al Forsythe of Moncton, New Brunswick retired from the board as did Georgina Anderson of Glenboro, Manitoba. Both had completed their five-year terms.

Newcomers to the board are Laura Lochanski of Edmonton, Alberta and Jim Campbell of Russell, Ontario.

The next two NCC’s and AGM’s will be held in Ottawa, with the dates for 2009 being June 17th – 20th.

The CCA manages a number of major Canadian curling championships, including the Tim Hortons Brier, Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada Cup and M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors, in addition to partnering with the World Curling Federation in hosting the Continental Cup and the Ford World (men’s or women’s) Curling Championship, when staged in Canada.

The CCA also directs the high performance programs for Canada’s national elite athletes and provides various programs and services for the member associations Canada-wide.

Television partner TSN will air more than 220 hours of live coverage in 2008-09 of those curling championships, which comprise the Season of Champions.