By Keiran Gorsky
For Frances Mercer, it has been a genuine delight heading the Ottawa Sport Council since she took the reins from long-time executive director Marci Morris in December of last year. The responsibilities are varied and often changing, but the enjoyment is always evident when she sees hundreds of happy volunteers lending precious hours of their spare time to the support community sport.
“It’s kind of unbelievable when you see it,” Mercer describes. “Our community sport thrives because of our community.”
That doesn’t mean her year has been bereft of challenge. At any and all levels, leadership means playing mediator between myriad competing interests. Even in local sport, organizers must balance all things political with the particular and shifting needs of overlapping communities.
It is fitting then that this year’s Ottawa Sport Summit, taking place on Saturday, Nov. 29, will take the theme of “Leadership Foundations and Risk Management for Community Sport.” Its contents will be of as much interest to Mercer as anyone else.
“If you’re passionate about positive community sport, you’re invited,” Mercer underlines, noting that participants can register for the free event on the OSC’s website at SportOttawa.ca.
The Summit will be held at Bayview Yards for the first time in its 11-year history, easily accessible by LRT and the Kichi Zībī Mīkan parkway, Mercer highlights. The five-hour event will feature dual workshops hosted by facilitators Brian Edey and Daniel O. Livvarcin, both veteran leaders in the sport and non-profit sectors.
The Summit will serve as something of a culmination of Mercer’s first year in charge. Shortly after taking the helm of OSC, one of the first tasks that landed with the former Tennis Centre West Ottawa general manager was nothing smaller than the Future of Sport in Canada. Mercer helped coordinate an Ottawa meeting for local leaders and stakeholders to make their voices heard by the commission charged with improving the Canadian sport system.
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OSC’s submission to the commission noted that “the community sport sector is often minimized, isolated and underrated in their importance in the development of the future of sport.”
Some obstacles are certainly obstinate – the lack of a central decision-making authority in Ontario presents an ongoing challenge. Even so, Mercer maintains, there is a feeling that people at higher levels are genuinely listening.
“What we really want to do and champion to do is just make sure that those conversations are supported and that the organizations can have somewhere to provide that input,” Mercer underlines. “What is being asked of the Future of Sport in Canada Commission is really that we need leadership, we need structure, we need guidance at all levels so that we’re all functioning for the good of sport.”
When the Canadian Sport Policy document for 2025-2035 was released in August, it again brought the need for solid leadership and governance to the forefront. It seemed a perfect time to lend a special focus to leadership for the upcoming Summit.
On top providing the opportunity for individuals and groups from different parts of local sport to come together and network, Mercer hopes this year’s Summit will help embolden volunteers to take up leadership positions.
Edey, a past Pan Am Games swimming medallist who worked in the Canadian sport system for 17 years with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees and Swimming Canada, will deliver a workshop centred around leadership styles and cooperation.
Livvarcin, a professor at the University of Ottawa a consultant for the non-profit sector, will offer insights on risk management and strategic evaluation. In all areas of life, a little calculated boldness can go a long way.
“A good example of a positive risk is ‘Should you become a registered charitable organization?’” Mercer offers. “Depending on your long-term strategy, what your organization’s mandate or mission is, should you pivot? Should you change? Would this benefit your organization?”
Quickly approaching the one-year mark since joining OSC, Mercer says smaller challenges have subsided as she has accumulated experience. New challenges will doubtlessly emerge as sport and sport governance change shape. There is no use ducking difficulties if you insist on learning from them.
“Sometimes you’re navigating a little bit in the dark. Challenges come with just being new,” Mercer signals. “Challenges are there, but there are opportunities as well.”
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