Toronto Ultimate Club Board of Directors provides strategic leadership, governance oversight, and long-term vision to support a strong, inclusive, and sustainable ultimate community. On this page, you can learn more about our Board of Directors, explore the role and mandates of our Standing Committees, review current Ad-Hoc Committees, and discover how our Advisory Committees contribute specialized expertise to advance the Club’s mission.
Board of Directors
President
Martin started playing ultimate after moving to Toronto and joined TUC in 2018. He’s participated in most of TUC’s league offerings and has organized several teams during the winter indoor seasons. Currently, Martin volunteers as a league convenor and helped found a club team to support growth within Toronto’s competitive open community. He is excited to contribute more to TUC operations and to help grow the sport of ultimate in the city.
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Vice President
Andrew has been a member of TUC since 2002, playing on various indoor and outdoor league teams, most notably the venerable Ninjastars. He also periodically helps with juniors programs, and TUC committees. In 2019 Andrew returned to the Board as TUC's Treasurer, and now as TUC's President. He is passionate about Spirit of the Game, league play and ensuring members have the best possible experience and value for their membership.
Secretary
Joyce has been a TUC member since 2021 participating in many of our adult league offerings including TPL and Thursday Elite League! Joyce's Full bio is coming soon!
Treasurer
Tom is a long-time member and volunteer. He has led many of our Junior Programs and Leagues over the years as well as having served on the Board of Directors from 2004 to 2006 as President. Tom returns to the Board at TUC's Treasurer. Tom's full bio is coming soon!
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Patrick Russell
Ten years ago, Patrick moved to Toronto and began playing Ultimate where he made a few friends. Five years ago, those friends invited him to play in the Toronto Ultimate Club, where he made a few more friends. Four years ago, those friends invited Patrick to play on other TUC teams where he made even more friends. Eight years ago, his TUC friends encouraged him to try out for touring teams, where he made more friends. Eight years ago, Patrick decided he wanted to give back to the Club and volunteer for the Women's Committee where he made even more friends. Six year ago, Patrick wanted to continue volunteering his time with TUC and ran for the Board of Directors, where he made more friends. Today, Patrick has a close-knit community of people whom he loves and wants to help provide a space for other to build their own communities.
Matthew Lai
We welcome Matthew to the board. Matthew has been playing in various TUC leagues and tournaments since 2018. He also has experience with NGOs, serving as the current co-chair of Big Brother and Big Sister of Toronto's Toronto Waterfront Marathon committee, where he volunteers to turn the energy of the TCS Toronto Marathon into awareness, fundraising, and community engagement, inviting runners and supporters to further our mission. Outside of sports, he has spent over a decade working in the public sector across the entire value chain, from strategy to operations. He holds a BSc. with Honours in Nuclear Physics from Ontario Tech University and a Master's of Business Administration from Ivey Business School. Additionally, he continues to maintain his Project Management Professional certification and meet membership requirements with the American Board of Health Physics. He is excited to bring the same level of effort and expertise to help grow the sport of Ultimate and enhance TUC operations.
Stephanie Schwartz
We welcome Steph to the board. Hi! I'm Steph! Steph has been a TUC member for almost 10 years. They've toured through TUC with MMV, Zen, Lore, & Wine Club. Steph also played in a bunch of our leagues continuously for about 10 years, and has captained quite a few teams during this time, including teams in TPL and the Masters league, both leagues that require high effort from captains! They currently captain a queer team for Monday Lamport composed largely of newer folks to TUC.
What Steph brings to the board: I'm a professor of quantitative social psychology at UTSC. I have strong data analytic skills and experience in leadership roles, and I am trained in human data collection and survey design. My goal is to use social science methods to help TUC succeed and grow as a club. I've also been pretty good at frisbee and not so good at times, so I think I can speak on behalf of a range of skill levels in our community. In this picture, I'm the obviously best-looking one.
The Board has a number of working committees - should you be interested in joining any of these committees, please contact president@tuc.org
Board Standing Committees
- Executive Committee: The members of the Executive Committee are empowered, at the request of the Chair, to act between Board meetings, in good faith and in times of crisis. The committee consists of the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary.
- Human Resources Committee: The Human Resources Committee establishes performance benchmarks for TUC staff, as well as monitors and evaluates staff performance. The committee consults on recruiting and hiring staff when required.
- Operations Committee: The Operations Committee provides recommendations and consults with TUC staff on changes to operational policy and procedures. The committee will discuss topics including but not limited to: touring, leagues, volunteers, tournaments and operational policies.
- Finance Committee: The Finance Committee is responsible for assisting and advising the Executive Director and the Treasurer, and reporting to the Board, with respect to the preparation of the annual budget and financial statements, and analysis and reporting with respect to significant financial decisions. The committee aims to enhance transparency and accountability, and to support decision making.
Ad-Hoc Committees
Ad-Hoc committees can be created by the Board at any time by a Motion that passes with a majority vote of the Board. Current ad-hoc committees include:
- Governance Committee: The Governance Committee reviews TUC Bylaws and ensures adherence with the relevant Federal and Provincial Not-For-Profit Corporations Acts. The committee also reviews TUC organizational practices and policies, as well as identifies and recommends candidates for the Board.
- Communications Committee: The Communications Committee supports TUC staff with comminicating TUC offerings, strategic goals and initiatives. With the aim to increase transparency of club operations and increase member engagement, the Communications Committee helps develop email and social media conent to keep our community informed.
Advisory Committees
- Data, Evidence and Methods Committee: The mandate of TUC's Data, Evidence, and Methods (DEM) Committee is to advise and collaborate with TUC staff and Board Members on all business and reporting matters, ease the process of reporting, and help communicate relevant findings to appropriate audiences. The Committee will engage in, but not limited to, the following types of work: 1) Identifying TUC's data sources and develop potential solutions, 2) identifying reporting and business needs that could benefit from automation, 3) develop easy-to-consume tables and visuals for reporting purposes, 4) develop consisten methodology for analyses, 5) answer business-related questions from the Board and staff, 6) identify trends and business opportunitiese for the Club, 7) identify, develop, and implement supplemental data sources, and 8) advise the Board on future data collection opportunities.
- Website Committee: The Website Committee's mandate is to review the existing website and conduct a request for quote/proposal process (RFx) for a new/relaunched site. Key items of focus are: futre feasibility, mobile use, ease of navigation, and data-extraction tools.
- Divesity, Equity and Inclusion Committee: The mandate of TUC's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee is to advise and collaborate with TUC members, staff, and Board Members on all business matters from an anti-racist and oppression lens. The Committee will engage in, but not limite dto, the following types of work: 1) Policy review and development, 2) initiative development and implementation, 3) social media and communications activity, and 4) hiring and recruitment activities (if necessary). The Committee will not act as a mechanism for the club to recruit members from diverse backgrounds, rather, this committee will focus on activiteis listed above to create an environment that will encourage participation from people from historically oppressed backgrounds.
- Monday Indoor League Committee: Terms of reference coming soon.
Board Overview
The Toronto Ultimate Club (TUC or Club) Board of Directors is comprised of up to seven (7) individuals, who must be TUC members in good standing, who have been elected by the membership at the TUC Annual General Meeting (AGM). One does not need to have any special skill set to be on the Board; though the Club does benefit from a varied set of skills and experience. It is important that Board members are active, engaged, and, willing to offer their personal KSAP’s (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and, Passion) to the Club. In spite of the not for profit status; Board members are still bound by all laws of Ontario and Canada in their responsibilities and the performance of their duties. Board members are legally and morally responsible for every aspect of the operation of the Toronto Ultimate Club on behalf of its Membership.
In addition to full responsibility for the Club, Directors act as visionaries, problem solvers, listeners, policy makers, and, ambassadors for the Club both among its membership and to external third parties. The Board’s Executive, including the President, Vice President, and, Secretary, has signing authority for the Club. There are a number of roles and responsibilities that TUC Board members are expected to fulfill during their two year term. They must show a duty of loyalty and care, declare any conflicts of interest, and keep important Club information confidential.