Take 2 - WCTA/STC Partnership Agreement Renewal
By Jerry Rousseau
This past July, we reported that the partnership agreement between Sports Turf Canada and Western Canada Turfgrass Association, enabling discounted STC member dues for BC and Alberta WCTA members, educational event co-production initiatives in BC and AB, and recognizes STC as the national body for the promotion of better, safer sports turf in Canada, among other things, was extended through July 2027.
In fact, while STC had presented a revised version to the WCTA, the agreement was not executed, has since been revised and was fully executed on April 11, 2023.
The original announcement was premature and definitely a little like spiking the ball on the goal line but admittedly, WCTA priority and focus at the time was preparing for the Kamloops Field Day, our first since 2019. Hopefully that doesn’t sound like an excuse but the simplest explanation is that it fell through the cracks.
It should have been turned around and while the agreement is important, urgency was not really necessary for a simple extension of a decade old document, revised only for a name change to the American sportsfield manager association from STMA to SFMA.
Unfortunately, by the time the WCTA Board met in the fall, enough time had passed that it was felt the term needed to be modified from five to two years. In turn, the STC Board needed to meet and discuss the change, prompting further questions about the structure of the agreement.
Over the winter, several meetings took place aimed at improving and streamlining the agreement. The silver lining is the delay created an opportunity to make some positive changes, which it has, most notably, making it easier for potential members to join both groups when looking at attending educational events. In addition, the five-year term was removed in favour of an ‘annual review and discussion approach’ (see excerpts below):
8. *NEW The STC and WCTA will work together to offer a discounted membership rate for those in AB or BC for their initial year of membership, to those who are not currently members of either Association, who are attending joint educational events and interested in membership.
9. *NEW The STC and WCTA will work together to offer a discounted membership rate for those in AB or BC for their initial year of membership, to those who are not currently members of either Association, who are attending STC courses/workshops and interested in membership.
10. The term of the Partnership Letter of Understanding between the STC and WCTA will be three (3) years. It is required each association’s Board of Directors review this agreement annually.
CLICK HERE for the full document.
Moving forward, WCTA Directors feel strongly about our continued mutual support for sportsfield managers, both nationally and regionally, recognize there is always room for improvement and thinks maybe, things sometimes happen for a reason!
