…Club president describes 2022 as challenging but rewarding

THE Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has lifted the suspension which was placed on the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC) for use of its school grounds in 2022, following allegations of unsavory conducts by players.

This statement was greeted with some amount of relief, following the announcement by OMSCC President, Orin O’Neil, at last Sunday’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), held at the Malvern Community Centre, Ontario, Canada.

The Guyana-born O’Neil, however, cautioned members to exercise civility in their dealings with both the TDSB and City officials moving forward, since any recurrences can lead to further suspensions.

O’Neil described 2022 as a challenging but rewarding year, while congratulating the various winners – Toronto Blizzards in the Over-50 Division, Rebel Masters in the Masters Over-40 (A Division) and Car-Tec Masters in the Masters Over-40 (B Division).

The president also lauded the efforts of the umpires and pointed out that he felt there was improvement in the standard in 2022 while extending warm welcome to the Past President, Azeem Khan, former executive members, current board members and the general membership.

The meeting saw a significant amendment to the Constitution. Article 6.12 formerly stated that “no elected official from another cricket organization in Ontario shall be nominated for an Executive and or Committee position of the League.” Following a unanimous vote on Sunday, the article was removed, paving the way for elected officials from other organisations to be elected to the OMSCC board.

It was also unanimously agreed that the post of Player Management/Statistician be changed to League Administrator and that presidents or captains of teams shall release or transfer players via the OMSCC website. These releases should be completed one day before the cut off day (Wednesday) when the player is being transferred to another team and participating in the next scheduled games. All team rosters are locked at 9.00 pm on the Wednesday prior to the next scheduled games.

Apart from O’Neil and Treasurer Kim Sue, whose positions were secured for another year, based on the Constitution, all the other executives’ posts were up for grabs. Amit Bacchus, who was elected Secretary in 2022 and was recently relieved of his position after accepting the Vice-president post in the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL), was returned as Secretary following the removal of Article 6.1, as previously stated.

Hardatt Ramcharran, who was appointed Vice-president in 2022, got the nod to serve in the same post for another term; former OSCL president Azeem Khan returns to the fold as the Over-50 Co-ordinator while Frederick Halley, who was previously appointed Secretary and served for one year in 2021, is the new Umpires Co-ordinator. Following the meeting, the executives decided to appoint Terry Mathura as the League Administrator.

The incumbent, Indira Singh, who did not seek re-election, received plaudits for her role as the Player Management/Statistician. The new Disciplinary Committee members – Mohan Singh, Indira Singh and Troy Gobin – were elected on Sunday, joining Bobby Ramlagan, Patrick Shivrattan and Rabindra Diaram who still have another year remaining in their posts.
A new team, Tropical Rebels, will make their debut in the Over-50 Division when the new season bowls off in the last weekend of May.

Meanwhile, the post of Assistant Secretary/Treasurer remains vacant since no one accepted nominations. (Frederick Halley).