Welcome back!
All full and part-time staff at OFSAA extend good luck wishes to all students, teachers and staff as we take on the 2022-23 school year!
OFSAA would like to welcome two new full-time staff members and a part-time staff person.
OFSAA welcomed Erik Espinola as assistant director in August. Erik most recently served as executive director for Boxing Ontario and he has also served as events coordinator for Ontario Soccer. His knowledge of sport and strong commitment to serving membership will be valued by school sport volunteers across the province. The native of Etobicoke, Ontario attended Dante Alighieri Academy before earning his Sport Management Advanced Diploma from Humber College.
In his role, Erik will oversee the OFSAA HUB, the 3 Year Calendar, and boys’ sports.
Nicole Clarke came on board as OFSAA assistant director in late spring and she is looking forward to her first full school year on our staff. Prior to joining OFSAA, Nicole was a long-term occasional teacher at Fort Frances High School in the Rainy River District School Board where she coached girls’ hockey and boys’ basketball. Nicole is a native of Lindsay, Ontario and attended Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational Institute before completing her Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology and Bachelor of Education at Lakehead University.
Among other duties, she will work with the Committee for Girls’ Activities and will be responsible for all girls’ sports in addition to snowboarding.
Brian Poste joined our team this summer as OFSAA’s new part-time sport coordinator. Brian was one of the longest-standing association representatives and a valuable CBA member and strong contributor on various OFSAA committees. He just recently retired from North Hastings High School in Bancroft, Ontario after 30 years of teaching math, computers and drama, among other courses.
Brian will be heavily involved with OFSAA baseball, wrestling, curling and boys’ golf. His passion for school sport and student-athlete growth makes him a welcome addition to the OFSAA office.
We are excited to have Brian, Erik and Nicole on our OFSAA team as we work towards an exciting year of school sports under the leadership of new Executive Director Shamus Bourdon!
Doug Gellatly retired in July after 16 years in the role of executive director at OFSAA. We wish Doug and his family great health and happiness in retirement and we thank him for his dedication and passion for school sport.
Longtime OFSAA staff member Brian Riddell stepped down this summer from his sport coordinator role with us. He was a tremendous influence on student-athletes, teacher-coaches and officials during his tenure with OFSAA.
OFSAA extends a sincere thank you to outgoing WOSSAA Association Representative Michele Van Bargen. We value her many years of dedication and guidance to school athletics in Ontario and we’ll miss her contributions and experience on Executive Council. Congratulations on your retirement from teaching in Strathroy, Michele!
In case you missed it – we are pleased to announce that OFSAA Girls’ Slo-Pitch will debut in 2023! This festival will take place in London on June 12 and 13 under the direction of Convenor Viviane Rouleau of École Secondaire Catholique Notre-Dame (Woodstock, ON).
Have a safe and fun year ahead inside and outside the classroom in 2022-23 everyone!
