February 24 - Member Update
2022 Member Assistance Program (MAP) Grant
MAP Grant Spending Plan applications will open for submission on March 15 and will remain open until April 15. Check your emails in early March for your MAP eligibility letters which will indicate the minimum amount of Population Base Funding (PBF). Once you receive your letter you can start preparing your MAP Grant Spending Plan application.
For assistance with your applications please ensure you review the MAP Easy Guide and pre-recorded MAP webinar which can be found on the SSA MAP grant web page.
To support you better, we will be hosting two live webinars on Monday March 28 at noon, and Wednesday April 6 at 5:30 p.m. Pre-Registration is required.
NEW REQUIREMENT FOR MAP applications in 2022
Canada Soccer Club Licensing - Quality Soccer Provider (QSP)
As part of this year’s MAP Grant process, member organizations are required to hold QSP status or declare their intent to achieve QSP. Please ensure you complete your Club Licence declaration of interest form. QSP status is a process, and we are here to support you. For more information on Club Licensing please visit Sask Soccer Club Licensing.
If you have any questions:
MAP Applications - Eden Senger, e.senger@sasksoccer.com
Club Licensing - Markus Reinkens, m.reinkens@sasksoccer.com
Rural Adult Grant - Soccer and Futsal
New to 2022, we are excited to announce the Rural Adult Grant - Soccer & Futsal. This offers an opportunity for Rural organizations to expand their engagement within the community to include Adult participants.
For more information and to apply click here.
Applications will be open until April 15!
International Women’s Day
Saskatchewan Soccer is gearing up to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), on March 8, 2022. IWD provides an important and exciting opportunity to celebrate women's achievements and elevate visibility, while amplifying a call to action to everyone everywhere, to do what they can to help build a world where diverse backgrounds, perspectives and talent are sought, valued, and embraced.
The theme for IWD 2022 is #BreakingTheBias, and SSA wants to help our female athletes, coaches, volunteers, referees, and staff get their voices heard. We are looking for soccer individuals to become creative and strike the IWD 2022 pose. To partake, share your #BreakTheBias image, video, drawings, speech, or poem. The images can include a sentence, story, or paragraph that speaks to #BreakingTheBias. This can be done individually, with a partner, or as a group. Entries will be shared via social media on March 8. Each entry will be entered to win a $100.00 gift card to Xtratime Soccer Locker.
Need inspiration, check out the Saskatchewan REX athletes’ collage or visit: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme
Submissions can be sent to cms@sasksoccer.com by March 7, 2022.
2022 Membership Renewal
Member Organizations are required to renew each year to be eligible for Member Assistance Program Funding (MAP) and be eligible to vote at the AGM. The Strategic Plan emphasizes reward-based member recognition; Members will be rewarded through MAP Grant for (jointly) renewing membership by March 15 and attending the SSA Annual General Meeting. Please note we have introduced a request for additional information related to Club Licensing.
How to renew:
Login and select Executive Registration
Submit payment
Need Assistance? View a video tutorial on how to renew your membership!
Deadline for the Membership Renewal form and to submit the annual fee is March 15.
*Renewals fees increase after March 15.
SSA Annual General Meeting and Member Sessions
The SSA AGM weekend will be held on March 18 - 20, 2022. All events will be held in person at the Saskatoon Inn. The AGM will be on Saturday, March 19, 2022, followed by education sessions.
Included in the AGM schedule of events is a come-and-go social on Friday evening, the Awards Banquet on Saturday evening, and additional sessions for female leaders on Sunday morning. We are pleased to be joined by Living Sky Sports and Entertainment who will host the lunch following the AGM.
The AGM Working Papers and Annual report along with further details will be provided on March 4.
SSA Awards
Saskatchewan Soccer Association is proud to announce the Awards nominees and recipients for the 2021 SSA Recognition Awards. These players, coaches, referees, and volunteers had an outstanding year in 2021. We are excited to celebrate all their accomplishments.
The celebration will happen on March 19, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. at the Saskatoon Inn. Enjoy a night of fun, food, and camaraderie as we celebrate the best of 2021 and more. Tickets will go on sale soon!
Thank you to the many nominators who took the time to submit a worthy nominee for the awards.
Please visit the Sask Soccer website for a complete listing of all the nominees here.
In Memoriam Request
SSA wishes to recognize those in the Saskatchewan soccer community that passed in 2021. We are requesting your support by providing names to bring forward for recognition as part of the Saskatchewan Soccer Association and Canada Soccer in Memoriam. Please submit names for any soccer participants or supporters that you wish to honour to cms@sasksoccer.com by March 15.
Coach Education
With spring right around the corner, it’s time again to engage in supporting coach development.
*Reminder: All Grassroots Coach Education courses are now being offered in a blended format with the online theory being delivered through Canada Soccer’s e-learning platform and on-field practical workshops through Saskatchewan Soccer and our member organizations. Coaches looking to register for an in-person workshop can do so through their Member Organization’s RAMP registration portal, once they have completed the online theory components.
To find out which course is right for you please reference our Coaching Standards.
Member Organizations looking to host one of the four Grassroots Coach Education workshops can do so by contacting m.reinkens@sasksoccer.com
Canada Summer Games, Saskatchewan soccer teams Identification Registration
Registration remains open until March 1, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Full details here.
Please click the link to register Team Sask Canada Summer Games Soccer Registration
If you have any questions, please email SSA's EXCEL Manager, Adam Miller, at a.miller@sasksoccer.com.
It is time to Register Your Referees!
Preparations for the outdoor season are under way. Match officials represent a vital part of the game. Please encourage all returning referees to head over to your Member Organization’s RAMP portal and register if they have not done so already. Referees have a very important role in sport and having a trained pool of referees is vital to the success of your local programming.
What if not enough match officials are returning?
The time to recruit more participants and book a referee clinic is now. Head over to the Saskatchewan Soccer Referee Courses page for more information. Future referees are required to complete The Entry Level Referee Online Theory Module (accessible through the individual Ramp account) before registering for the one day “In Classroom/Practical component”. If your Member Organization has any questions, please contact Octavian at ccd@sasksoccer.com.
Community Referee Education Sessions
SSA will be offering Laws of the Game Refresher online education sessions to all Saskatchewan Soccer referees. Sessions will be approximately 1-1.5 hours and will focus on several exciting topics spread over the course of four sessions. We will explore and learn together on challenges, offside, handball, tactical fouls, dissent, and even rare situations that may occur based on the Laws of the Game. You are welcome to attend all sessions or just the ones that fit your schedule.
Sessions take place, March 29, April 7, April 13, and April 25 with a 7:30 p.m. start time.
Registration is on a first come, first served basis. If you are interested, please register here. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to access the session of your choice.
Referees are essential to the participant experience and advancement of the game. They deserve our respect and a supportive, abuse-free, environment. You can make a difference; always treat them well and thank them for their contributions every game!
Canadian Amateur Sport Health Check Survey
The Canadian Amateur Sport Health Check Survey, by Capitis Consulting, looks forward to gathering important data from SSA Member Organizations and compiling a series of industry reports throughout the year.
SSA invites our Member Organizations support in this research initiative aimed at gathering meaningful and impactful information on how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted Canadian amateur sport at a grassroots level, particularly with respect to capacity levels in the forms of staff, volunteers, and balance sheet strength.
The survey can be accessed here: Canadian Amateur Sport Health Check Survey - EN
Deadline for survey responses is Sunday April 3 2022.
Visit Everyone’s Game Resource Centre in our bi-weekly communication to find informational and inspirational articles, member interviews, and developmental opportunities.
Member Spotlight: Joshua Obidiya
In February we asked Joshua to share his story, close mentors, and tell us what Black History Month means to him. Check out his article below.
Joshua Obidiya - District Referee and soccer player.
Member Organization - Saskatoon and District Referees Association, Saskatoon Adult Soccer
“Soccer (Football) has always been an important part of my life growing up. I still have memories playing the beautiful game in the streets of Nigeria as a little kid. After migration to Edmonton, Canada, soccer still played an important, although different, role in my life. It became an escape for me from the challenges that came with being a foreigner in a new land.
Moving to Saskatoon changed my perspective on the game, as this was when I decided to explore refereeing instead of just playing. This brought a fair share of challenges. It was difficult to be put on the spotlight and exposed to constant criticism of my performance. Unfortunately, I am used to hearing criticism in the sport, because as an African living in Canada you experience a fair share of both blatant and subtle racism. People don’t always appreciate your talent, instead they choose to look at your skin colour first and react poorly towards me for making fair calls or plays.
Refereeing in Saskatoon has helped me grow as a person, I have been able to work on my leadership skills and become a well-rounded individual.
Writing this article has given me the opportunity to reflect on the people in my life that inspire me. My father is a big one, he has made a life for himself through hard work and perseverance, and we have had soccer to bond about. It makes me happy when we can sit together at the dinner table and talk about the game I refereed or played because we both understand what goes into the game”.
For more information, including digital tools to get involved visit February is Black History Month - Canada.ca or check out the Canadian Heritage site to learn About Black History Month - Canada.ca. You can also check out the Sask Sport webpage February is Black History Month - Sask Sport.
SSA Calendar of Events & Deadlines
Recordings of past webinars and COVID-19 member calls can be found on our YouTube Channel.
See our full Calendar of Events on our website.
March 11-13: S4L 9-aside Indoor Youth Provincial Championship
March 15: Regular and Associate Membership Renewal Deadline
March 15: 2021 In Memoriam Deadline
March 22: SSA Female Referee Development Group
March 19: SSA Annual General Meeting and Awards
April 5: SSA Female Referee Development Group
April 21: SSA Female Referee Development Group
BE SAFE! BE THE SOLUTION!
As a reminder, please continue to take care of yourself, your families, and others.
| We encourage everyone to be fully vaccinated and get a booster shot as soon as you are eligible. |
| Wash your hands frequently (it is the single most effective way of reducing infection spread). |
| Practice other good hygiene habits: do not touch your face/eyes/mouth with your hands and cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough (ideally with a disposable tissue or the crease of your elbow). |
| Clean and disinfect frequently touched workspace surfaces. |
| Stay home if you are sick |
 | Our sport is underway during the pandemic. It's a challenging time, but support from our partners allows us to offer opportunities for kids to play. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. Nous reconnaissons l'appui financier du gouvernement du Canada. |
