Ottawa Sport Council welcomes new executive director Frances Mercer from Tennis Centre West Ottawa

By Dan Plouffe

With representatives from the local sports community gathered on Saturday at the RA Centre, the Ottawa Sport Council introduced the woman who will become the umbrella organization’s new executive director at the conclusion of the 10th Ottawa Sport Summit.

Frances Mercer, who most recently served as general manager of Tennis Centre West Ottawa, will officially start her new role with the OSC on Dec. 11.

“I’m really excited to meet everybody, talk to everybody, and find out what everyone’s goals and dreams are, and what their realities are, and be able to take that and really set that as the baseline of what we do going forward,” says Mercer, who’s attended numerous past Sport Summits for TCWO.

Mercer will be taking over from Marci Morris, who’s led the OSC as executive director since it was founded in 2013 to represent and support local sports organizations.

Read More: ‘Sport is my life’: Passion fuelled outgoing executive director Marci Morris for 10+ years with Ottawa Sport Council

Mercer fondly remembers the first time she was working on a grant application for TCWO around six years ago. That was a new undertaking for her, so she reached out to Morris for guidance, and received straight-shooting advice (free of sugarcoating) alongside excellent encouragement, and was ultimately successful in receiving her funding request.

Since then, Mercer – like her predecessor – has become passionate about assembling grant applications.

“I think it’s about looking at what is, and what it could be,” explains Mercer, who enjoys connecting the dots between people, resources and collaborators, and highlighting the crucial role sport can play in society.

That philosophy is what drew Mercer back to a career in sports and recreation after working for larger organizations such as the Bank of Canada and General Dynamics. She’d started working in sport as front desk customer service staff and as an aqua-fit instructor before that, roughly 20 years ago.

“I really believed in the community part,” underlines Mercer, who joined TCWO as GM in 2016. “I’ve seen tennis grow and the challenges that it has, and how you can actually replicate that in a lot of different sports.”

Mercer is keen to hear from the local sports community about their desired priorities for the OSC to tackle, but she’s already got a strong appreciation for the fact that the future of sport in Ottawa “has a lot to do with the people, but it also has a lot to do with the places,” she notes.

At TCWO, Mercer was at the helm while the Britannia not-for-profit opened a new $1.5 million dome last year thanks to a partnership involving the province, the city, centre members and the group’s board of directors.

“Without all of [those partners], none of that would have been possible,” she underlines. “That was critical to the future. Now TCWO can step back and say we can solidly be here for another 25 years. So I think we need to kind of do some stuff like that for all different sports.”

Although she’ll be departing TCWO as manager, Mercer says she wants to continue developing her tennis abilities so that she confidently enter low-level tournaments in the future. Ringette is another big interest for Mercer, who’s always loved trying new sports.

“I like to learn, but I’m never the best,” she smiles.

Mercer feels especially grateful to be stepping into her new role with an organization that’s well-established, and that Morris will stay on with OSC to get her rolling.

“It gives me a sense of relief,” Mercer indicates. “Ottawa Sport Council knows what it needs to do, what it wants to do, and it’s been mapped out successfully. I’m just going to hopefully absorb as much as I can, and then move forward at building those relationships and enjoying the ride.”

The 10th Ottawa Sport Summit shared strategies and expertise on how community sports groups can gather and use data to enhance their operations and elevate participants’ experiences.

Read More: ‘Analytics can transform community sport’, Ottawa Sport Council offers on eve of its 10th Summit

Morris received a standing ovation at the conclusion of the Summit as she was toasted by OSC board chair Mathieu Fleury and local sport leaders in attendance.

“It’s been such a delight to be able to work with all of our community sport organizations and just see the sector grow. I have this fundamental belief that sport builds people and sport builds community,” Morris, who plans to remain involved in local sport as a volunteer, said to the crowd. “I am just so, so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with all of you.”

Fleury saluted Morris for her excellent leadership, for fostering relationships and establishing clarity on the OSC’s direction, and ultimately building a stable organization that can continue to thrive under new leadership.

“We’re so excited that both Frances and Marci will be able to work together closely over the next while, as we transition,” he added.

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