The Ontario Access Coalition 2018 Annual General Meeting was held on June 28, 2018. Thanks to Joe Rockhead’s for hosting.
Read about the OAC’s access sends for 2017-2018 and the survey results here:
2017-2018 Access Sends and 2017 Survey Results [pdf]
Here are the highlights from the access sends:

CLIMBING AREAS

• New Niagara Glen portfolio manager
• Halfway Log Dump partnership continues

CLIMBING COMMUNITY

• Organized climber events:
  • Beaver Valley Climbing Festival
  • Southern Ontario Ice Fest
  • screening of​ “Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey”
• Deployed new OAC website
• Growing the OAC Facebook page
• Hiring a Fundraising and Outreach Coordinator

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS

• Organized community events:
  • Niagara Glen Earth day
  • Crag Stewardship Day (Conservation Halton)
• Participated in:
  • Ontario Trails Coordinating Committee>
  • Building the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve
  • Centre for Applied Science in Protected Areas Conference Presentation and Tour of the Swamp

We welcome new board member Mike Makischuk and returning board members Randy Kielbasiewicz and Patrick Lam, and look forward to a productive 2018-2019 year continuing to advocate for climbing access in Ontario!

The 2018 Beaver Valley Climbing Festival is THIS weekend!  We’re excited to celebrate Ontario climbing with you in the year’s biggest party.  We have a great line up of clinics, vendors, and raffle prizes in store — all capped off with a night of live entertainment from the lovely Ariana Gillis.  What more could you ask for?

Monika Wii on Bear on a Wire by Will Tam

Last year we came close to our 300 person max capacity, and we recommend registering now to secure your spot.  Climbers from all over Ontario — and even outside the province — will be arriving to partake in the festivities.  Your $44 registration fee covers camping, food, and live entertainment, plus all proceeds go directly toward maintaining open climbing access in Ontario.  Help protect the lands you climb on WHILE enjoying them!

Don’t hesitate, get your name on the list now — Sign ups after noon on Friday must be done on-site and the price will be raised to $45.

See https://www.ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca/bvcf-2018/ for more details and to sign up.

The OAC invites all members to partake in our 2018 Annual General Meeting on June 28, 2018. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions about the organization and our on-going projects, in addition to sharing your input on the future direction of the OAC.  We’ll be holding the election for board membership, talking about the past year’s accomplishments, and discussing what’s on the horizon. 

The meeting will be held at Joe Rockhead’s Indoor Rock Climbing Gym (29 Fraser Ave, Toronto, ON) on Thursday June 28th at 7:00 PM. There will be a discounted climbing day pass ($10+hst) for all attendees!  OAC membership is required for the discount.  Come climb and stay for the evening!

To be eligible to vote at the AGM, one is required to be a member of the Ontario Access Coalition. To allow for the processing of new members, please ensure applications are submitted prior to June 11th. Please visit our membership page at https://www.ontarioaccesscoalition.com/join/ for further details.

The OAC is very interested in increasing its capacity by attracting new ideas, leadership, and energy. At this meeting, we will elect three members to the Board of Directors (for a two-year term each). As always, we are also looking for portfolio managers and general volunteers. While members can be nominated to the Board at the AGM, any nominations submitted by June 11th will have their profiles distributed to the membership in advance. This will facilitate a structured voting process. Interested members are encouraged to contact the OAC in advance.

Potential board members should have:

• An interest in (learning about) outdoor climbing access issues in Ontario
• A varied skill set with a self-starter attitude
• A positive, proactive team-based approach to problem solving

As a board member the individual will:

• Attend monthly board meetings
• Lead projects and/or access portfolios
• Participate in developing and executing the OAC’s strategic goals

Further details will be provided to members 14 days prior to the AGM. If you do not receive notification by email, please send us a note ( info@ontarioaccesscoalition.com ).

Calling all creatives! We’re looking to bring new energy to this year’s Beaver Valley Climbing Festival with an update to our festival logo. Do you have ideas for a new way to represent the BVCF and celebrate Ontario climbing?

The winner will receive admission for TWO to the festival and a $250 MEC gift card — so that means you and your belayer can get in for free! Plus you’ll get recognition for redesigning a logo which will soon be recognized by the entire Ontario climbing community.

Here’s what we need from you:

File Format:

• PREFERRED: Vector eps file (such as an Adobe Illustrator eps) with all fonts converted to outlines. This file format is preferred because vector-based art can be resized without degrading shape or colour.
• Also acceptable: Raster image file (such as an Adobe Photoshop file). The logo must be a minimum of 2″ wide or 2″ high (whichever is the larger proportion) at 300 dpi. The image file may be delivered in any of the following formats: psd, tiff, png, or jpeg.

Ideally, two separate files should be submitted:

• Colour logo. 4-color (CMYK) logo is preferred if possible
• Single colour version (black & white) with no tints or screens (i.e., 100% black, no gray)

Submissions will be accepted from now through July 8th 2018. Please send your entries to submissions@ontarioaccesscoalition.com with ‘BVCF Logo Contest Submission’ in the subject line. We’re looking forward to seeing what you’ve got!

(Post updated on June 3 to include new MEC prize and new deadline.)

In the first episode of the OAC newsletter for 2018 we cover:

Recruiting a Fundraising & Outreach Coordinator (paid contract position)

For the first time in the OAC’s history, and with the support of MEC, we are looking to hire someone to help us advocate for climbing access in Ontario. Our Fundraising & Outreach Coordinator will primarily develop sponsorship and business relationships with OAC stakeholders and participate in community outreach. The OAC has always been a volunteer-based organization, but as our role in the climbing community has grown and we’ve become more established, we have recognized the need to have a member dedicated to ensuring our continued success.  The ideal candidate is proactive, organized, and detail-oriented with an entrepreneurial mindset. This is a contract position. For more information, see the job posting at https://www.ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca/climbers/careers/. For full consideration, apply by May 11. We look forward to working with the successful candidate!

Successful Movie Night: Dirtbag

A sold-out crowd enjoyed our April 11 screening of Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey. Thanks to everyone for coming, Mike Makischuk for organizing the event, and our sponsors (MEC, Arc’teryx, Patagonia, Boulderz, Gripped Magazine, and DMM) for supporting the event. Together, we raised over $3000 to support Ontario climbing access. We hope to see you at similar events for future climbing films.

Beaver Valley Climbing Festival & Logo Competition

Mark your calendars now: this year’s Beaver Valley Festival is going down July 20-22nd!  Join us up at the Rob Roy Dogsled Farm again as we celebrate climbing in Ontario with the year’s biggest party, headlined once again by Ariana Gillis.  Food, raffles, clinics, and an all around good time are to be had—in addition to some fantastic climbing of course!

We’re also holding a contest to redesign the Beaver Valley Festival logo. The winner will receive free admission to the festival for TWO—so you can bring your belayer!  The submission deadline will be May 21st. More details to come soon.

Crag Stewardship Event at Rattlesnake Point

Coming this Saturday, May 5: our annual Crag Stewardship Event at Rattlesnake Point. This is your chance to give back to the climbing community and help keep Ontario free of invasive species. Climbers’ past efforts have greatly reduced the amount of garlic mustard, an invasive species, around this climbing area. We hope you can join us to celebrate Earth Day. We’ll be providing a BBQ lunch, and the cliffs will be available all afternoon for climbing. For more information: https://ontarioaccesscoalition.com/climbers/events/garlic-mustard-pull-2018/

Upcoming Events

May 5: Crag Stewardship Event with Conservation Halton at Rattlesnake Point

June 21: OAC Annual General Meeting, location to be determined

July 20-22: Beaver Valley Climbing Festival