2022 Call for Nominations & Motions

The Nominating Committee of the Ontario Basketball Association (OBA) is notifying every Active / Affiliate / Honourary Member (“Voting Member”) of the Call for Nominations (candidates) for directors to serve on the Board of Directors for Ontario Basketball and the Call for Motions for the Annual Meeting of Members (AMM) on Saturday, February 25, 2023, to be held virtually.  Please note the following:

• Four (4) directors’ positions are open for election on Saturday, February 25, 2023;

• The Executive Director (Dave Stockton) will collect Nominations on behalf of the OBA Nominating Committee.

At this time, Ontario Basketball is placing particular emphasis on candidates with the following skills:

• Accounting and Financial Management
• Not-for-Profit Governance
• Change Management
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion implementation
• Risk Management
• Marketing and Partnerships

Candidates with other competencies as outlined in Section 5.3 of OBA By-Law 1 are also invited to apply.  Ontario Basketball welcomes applications from members of racialized minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of various sexual orientations and gender identities, and others with the skills and knowledge to help Ontario Basketball engage productively with diverse communities and contribute to the mission of the organization.

 

Board of Directors Nomination

Any individual interested in seeking election to the Board of Directors must be eligible as per By-Law 1 of OBA, and must complete a Nomination & Nominee Profile Form [.pdf], Director’s Agreement [.pdf] and a current CV / resume.  Please submit your completed forms via email to Executive Director, Dave Stockton at dstockton@basketball.on.ca

Nominations will be accepted until 4:00 p.m., on Monday, January 9th, 2023.

As required by the Ontario Corporations Act, elections will be held at the Annual Meetings of Members. Please note, however, nominations from the floor will not be accepted.

 

Governance of Ontario Basketball

The governance of Ontario Basketball is the responsibility of a Board of Directors and is currently comprised of seven (7) Directors-at-Large, elected by the membership at the Annual Meeting of Members.  The Board of Directors is a “policy” or “governance” board, focused on establishing strategic direction, adopting appropriate policies, and applying effective oversight to ensure the organization is advancing toward its goals. Day-to-day operations of Ontario Basketball are the responsibility of a full-time Executive Director who reports to the Board of Directors. The Executive Director and full-time OBA staff work with various volunteers, committees, and technical experts and advisors to develop and implement programs that achieve the organization’s objectives while complying with the board’s policy framework.

 

Eligibility Criteria to be a Director-at-Large

To serve as Director-at-Large on the Board of Directors of Ontario Basketball, one must:

• Be an Active Member at the time of his or her election or appointment or become an Active Member within ten (10) days of such election or appointment
• Be at least eighteen (18) years of age
• Be a resident of Ontario
• Not be an undischarged bankrupt
• Not be a mentally incompetent person(s) as determined by a qualified medical practitioner licenced to practice medicine in the province of Ontario
• Other criteria established by the Nominating Committee based on section 5.2.1 of OBA Bylaw-1

To ensure that members of the Board of Directors understand their duties and obligations, Ontario Basketball has adopted a Directors Agreement which all board members must execute. A candidate for election to the board must submit a signed Directors Agreement with their candidate documents, and the agreement will take effect only if they are elected to the OBA Board.

As a volunteer board member, you will be encouraged to participate in a variety of developmental opportunities. Opportunities to engage in governance training, Safe Sport, Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders, and Making Head Way in Sport are a few of the developmental pieces that OBA board members will be encouraged to participate in.

 

Expectations and Commitment

Members of the Board of Directors of Ontario Basketball typically spend an average of 5-8 hours per month on board-related activities, but this may increase if they hold a position such as President or Chair of a Committee.  Quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors take place in November, February, May, August of each year.  Additional board meetings may be requested by the Executive Director and/or President if warranted.  The meetings are typically on a weeknight, held via Zoom and may last up to two (2) hours. Briefing materials are distributed one week in advance of the meeting and members are expected to have read and considered the material in advance of the meeting.  The February meeting is part of an annual board retreat which typically takes place over 2 days on a weekend and is held in Whitby at the OBA Head Office in the Abilities Centre.

Some roles, such as the role of President or Chair of a Committee, will from time to time require engagement during business hours and candidates for these roles should have this flexibility in their schedule.

Board members are not compensated for their position on the board but will be reimbursed for preapproved expenses directly related to board activities, including, but not limited to, accommodations, travel and meals.

 

Qualifications and Competencies

Effective board members will be those whose life and work experience and background equip them to contribute in a meaningful way to setting Ontario Basketball’s strategic direction and priorities, evaluating, and adopting appropriate policies, overseeing financial performance relative to expectations, and delegating operational responsibilities to the OBA Executive Director & staff while holding them accountable for achieving results while complying to policy.

GENERAL COMPETENCIES

• Prior Not-For-Profit volunteer or board experience is an asset
• Awareness and understanding of the duties and responsibilities of a director of a governance board
• Experience working in an executive, managerial, or oversight capacity
• High standards for personal integrity
• Collaborative, constructive working style
• Good communication skills

SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES

The Nominations Committee of the Board of Directors has assessed the skills and competencies that would be of particular value to Ontario Basketball at this time. These skills are:

• Financial Literacy & Operational Controls (Financial designation ideal)
• Not-for-Profit Governance
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion implementation
• Change Management
• Risk Management

Other competencies of value to the board are enumerated on the candidate information form, and candidates are encouraged to document their qualifications on each of these dimensions.

 

EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

Ontario Basketball works to promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the sport of basketball, and we seek also to make the leadership of Ontario Basketball diverse and inclusive. We welcome candidacies from members of racialized minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of various sexual orientations and gender identities, and others with the skills and knowledge to help Ontario Basketball engage productively with diverse communities and contribute to the mission of the organization.

The Ontario Basketball Association is dedicated to ensuring open, accessible, equitable and respectful environments, and is committed to reflecting the diverse communities it serves. We encourage applications from members of our diverse communities, including Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, women, persons from racialized groups,2SLGBTQ+ persons, those who are able to speak fluently in other language(s), and anyone committed to a rewarding experience as a Board Member with Ontario Basketball. The Ontario Basketball Association supports equity, diversity, inclusion and will provide accommodations in all stages of the selection process, as necessary. If you require accommodation in order to apply to this advertisement, please advise dstockton@basketball.on.ca.

 

Nomination Process

Anyone seeking to be a candidate for election to the Board of Directors of Ontario Basketball must submit a fully completed Candidate Package no later than January 9th, 2023.

A complete Candidate Package includes:

• A completed Nomination & Profile Form outlining the candidate’s professional experience, governance experience, basketball/sport experience, NFP experience, etc.). The information on this form will be made available to the membership in advance of the Annual Meeting.
• A signed Directors Agreement, emailed to the OBA Executive Director, Dave Stockton at dstockton@basketball.on.ca with subject line: Candidate Directors Agreement. Submission of a signed Directors Agreement indicates your willingness to stand as a candidate, and your agreement to comply with the duties and obligations of a director if you are elected.
• Current CV or Resume

To ensure that there are sufficient well-qualified candidates for consideration by the membership, the OBA Nominating Committee may seek out and nominate candidates in addition to those nominated by the membership.

A candidate’s nomination by the OBA Nominating Committee merely admits them to the process of evaluation by the committee – It does not represent an endorsement of the candidate. The nominating committee’s report to the Membership reflects the Committee’s final recommendations following careful evaluation of all the candidates eligible to stand for election at the close of nominations. The purpose of the OBA Nominating Committee evaluation process is to identify those candidates that are best suited to meet the needs of Ontario Basketball, given their knowledge, skills and experience, and other attributes and their understanding of the duties and obligations of a member of a governance board.

Following the close of nominations, the OBA Nominating Committee will evaluate the nominees and select a short list of nominees to be interviewed. Following deliberations, the OBA Nominating Committee will develop a list of candidates to be recommended to the membership at the Annual Meeting of Members.  The OBA Nominating Committee will advise all nominees of the list of those recommended by the Committee at least 14 days prior to the date of the Annual Meeting and at least 3 days before the committee’s recommendations are published to the membership.

 

Motions

Please submit all motions in writing to Dave Stockton by Thursday, December 22, 2022. The Motion Form [.pdf] has been included. Please note, motions from the floor at the Annual Meeting of Members will be for discussion only.

 

Timelines

Task Description	Date
Call for Nominations & Motions is posted	December 9, 2022
Deadline to submit at Motion.	December 22, 2022
Call for nominations (candidates) closes. All Applications MUST be received by the deadline to be considered by the OBA Nominating Committee	January 9, 2022
OBA Nominating Committee shortlist nominees to be interviewed.	January 20, 2023
OBA Nominating Committee completes interviews.	February 6, 2023
Nominees are informed whether they will receive a recommendation to the membership from the OBA Nominating Committee	February 10, 2023
OBA Nominating Committee report is published to the membership, along with resume information for all nominees on the slate for election.	Feb 15, 2023
Board members are elected at the Annual Meeting of Members	Feb 25, 2023

 

Contact

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity in greater detail, please contact Dave Stockton, Executive Director, at 416-477-8075 ext. 202.

 

Forms

• Nomination & Profile Form [.pdf]
• Director’s Agreement [.pdf]
• Motion Form [.pdf]

 

Please note: Ontario Basketball recognizes that the contact information for Active Members is subject to change during the course of the membership year. In order to ensure that Ontario Basketball provides appropriate notice to all its Active Members, this notice will be posted on the Ontario Basketball website during the period of the Call for Nominations.