The National Office       Skate Canada's national office is located in the Canadian Sport and Fitness Administration Centre at 865 Shefford Road, Gloucester, Ontario, K1J 1H9, and has a full-time staff of 50. Phone numbers for Skate Canada are 888-747-2372 and fax number is 877-211-2372.       Skate Canada provides standards and rules for the figure skating activities of its members. The Association qualifies and appoints judges, referees and other officials, conducts training seminars for skaters and coaches, provides financial support to national team athletes and disseminates information concerning figure skating to the general public. Skate Canada also promotes the 3M National Coaching Certification Program and sponsors free skating and synchronized team skating competitions and the annual MasterCard Skate Canada International.       Structure       Skate Canada is run by a Board of Directors which sets policy. The Board comprises a president who is elected yearly, the immediate past president, three vice-presidents, eight nationally-elected directors, 13 regionally-elected chairmen, three appointed Committee chairmen, two athlete representatives, five ISU representatives, two coaching representatives and a secretary-treasurer (usually the Director General).       Each of the vice-presidents is responsible for a different area of Skate Canada programming as well as a geographic area of the country. Standing committees are responsible for conducting programs and activities and report to the appropriate vice-president.       The Members       Approximately 70.6% of Skate Canada members are registered in recreational skating programs. 20.7% are active test skaters with an average age of 13 years.       There are 3,503 competitive skaters registered as Skate Canada members and more than half of these are in the Juvenile and Pre-Novice levels. The average Skate Canada skater is 8.5 years old and is female.       The Sections       The Regions       The Sections of Skate Canada are divided into regions.       The regional level of the WO acts as a liaison between the Clubs of the Region and the Skate Canada - Western Ontario. There are 9 regions in WO. The Regional Chairmen of the 9 regions meet as a WO Committee 4 times a year to exchange information and give the clubs input to the WO.       Skate Canada – Western Ontario       The Niagara Region belongs to the Western Ontario Section of Skate Canada.       Western Ontario is divided into 9 Regions. There are 113 clubs in the section and over 21,000 members. A volunteer Board of Directors who are elected or appointed at the WO Annual General Meeting administers the WO.       The Annual Convention and General Meeting       Each year an Annual Convention and General Meeting is held. Many of the major decisions governing the activities of the Association are made at the ACGM. Each Skate Canada member club is entitled to send an official delegate to this meeting where proposed rule amendments are voted on by the Delegates and the Board of Directors. Clubs unable to send a delegate can still vote on issues by sending in written instructions called proxies.       Volunteer Recognition       Perhaps the most striking feature of Skate Canada's organizational structure is its reliance on volunteers. All members of the Board, the Sections and Committees receive no payment for their contribution to Skate Canada. Similarly, the judges, referees and other officials are all volunteers and as such, receive no remuneration for their hard work and dedication. Each year at the ACGM, the commitment and dedication of volunteers is recognized at a Volunteer Awards Dinner.       Funding       Skate Canada is largely self supporting with revenues coming from individual membership fees, test fees, television rights, corporate sponsorships and competition revenues. Of the total annual $14.76 million operating budget, 5.9% comes from the federal government.       The Athlete Assistance Program under Sport Canada supports athletes in each discipline at the World/Olympic level plus potential alternates. Athlete Trust grants are available for the top eight senior, junior and novice finishers in the Bank of Montreal Canadian Championships.       Skate Canada athlete funding reaches approximately 7,000 athletes each year.       For more information on athlete funding contact the National Teams Department of Skate Canada.