After a successful nomination, three new Director Members were welcomed onto the Squash Ontario Board of Directors at the 2020 Annual General Meeting that took place on August 19th, virtually. Please join us in welcoming new Directors Brian Arlin, Leah Desbarres, and Vinit Kudva who will serve on the Board for a two year term, at minimum. Each new Board member brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about the squash community to the team - please read below for a short bio on each new board member. Brian, Leah, and Vinit will join the current Board Members Robert Mansbridge, Gordon Campbell and Dan Van Moorsel as we chart our way through unprecedented times this year but maintain our ambitious goals to grow the sport of squash in Ontario.
In addition to welcoming our new Board members, we are sad to see Nicole Garon leave the Board after six years of commitment to the organization. Nicole played a great supportive role to the staff and Board who oversaw many changes in the past six years. Thankfully, as an active masters, doubles, women's event competitor and with a new role at the Greystone Racquet Club in Waterloo, we won't be seeing any less of Nicole!
At the 2020 Annual General Meeting, another motion was carried to increase the size of the Board from six director members to seven, which will increase regional and demographic representation of the Board. A special election will take place in October to elect a seventh member of the Board. More to come on this soon!
Brian Arlin
Brian is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with 15 years of experience in managerial roles at enterprises and financial institutions including PwC, Manulife, and currently the Director of Finance at OMERS. Brian brings skills such as financial management and advisory of organizations and monitoring compliance with rules and standards with a deep understanding of financial performance. As an avid squash player at the Cambridge Club in Toronto, Brian brings a keen interest in the business, promotion, and evolution of squash.
Leah Desbarres
Leah grew up playing squash with her family at the Club at White Oaks where she played as a competitive junior and has now been working as a squash professional since 2007, first at Elora Racquets & Fitness and currently at Headwaters Racquet Club. Leah is a great women’s squash ambassador and one of the top recruiters for female tournament and event participation, a key contributor to our increasing women’s participation numbers over the past few years. Leah is an active Masters and Women’s squash tournament participant herself and is a leader in the Squash Ontario community for tournament and event organization.
Vinit Kudva
Vinit is a software developer by profession and works for Magnet Forensics in Ottawa, active in the Ottawa squash community, and currently the coach of the University of Ottawa Squash Team working on getting varsity status to compete at the Ontario University Athletic’s Championships. He started playing squash as a young junior in Bahrain and moved to Canada in 2000, playing squash with his high school and later joined the University of Waterloo squash team for his undergrad in 2004. After graduating, Vinit became the assistant coach for 3 years and then head coach for another 6 years. During this period, he was recognized as the Ontario University Athletics Coach of the Year on multiple occasions and was named Coach of the Year for the University of Waterloo in 2015. In 2016, he was invited to join the Ontario chapter of the Jesters Club. Vinit will bring to the Board an understanding of the player development pathway, Ottawa representation, and a voice for the Jesters University Squash League, a major development area and priority for Squash Ontario.