Annual General Meeting Notice | | |
SSA 2026 Annual General Meeting & Awards Dinner
Weekend Itinerary
Welcome Reception
When: Friday, March 20, 2026
Where: North Battleford Western Development Museum
(located at the corner of Highways 16 & 40, east of North Battleford)
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Annual General Meeting, Guest Speaker & Lunch
When: Saturday, March 21, 2026
Time: 9:30 am – 2:30 pm
Where: North Battleford Western Development Museum
(located at the corner of Highways 16 & 40, east of North Battleford)
Welcome Reception, AGM & Awards Dinner Registration
SSA Annual Awards Dinner
When: Saturday March 21, 2026
Time: 5:30 - Cocktails, 6:30 - Supper, Awards Presentation to follow
Where: North Battleford Western Development Museum
(located at the corner of Highways 16 & 40, east of North Battleford)
Cost: $50 per person
Registration for Awards Dinner Only
Hotel Information
Gold Eagle Lodge (306-446-8877), Comfort Inn (306-445-3678), Holiday Inn (306-445-2005)
| | PSL Declaration's Now Being Accepted | | |
Please submit your 2026 PSL Team declaration of interest prior to March 1, 2026.
Declarations can be submitted to Ryan Gibney at r.gibney@sasksoccer.com. Please include team name, phone number and email address of Head Coach and Manager.
Team Declaration communications will not be accepted directly from Clubs, Zones, or Teams.
The 2026 PSL season will kick-off the week of May 11th with PSL Finals being held July 24th and 25th in Regina.
| | Canada Soccer Announces Continued Evolution of Grassroots Soccer | | |
Following the exciting announcement of updated Canada Soccer Grassroots Standards in February 2025, which will become mandatory for all member organizations (clubs, academies, districts/regions, and leagues) ahead of the 2026 playing season, Canada Soccer is pleased to announce additional updates to grassroots soccer.
To further support the implementation of the Grassroots Standards, an updated version has been developed through ongoing consultation with Provincial and Territorial Member Associations. Recognizing challenges related to infrastructure, this update introduces greater flexibility in goal sizes. It also allows for tiering to begin at U10, down from U11 in the original Standards. This change aligns the approach for 7v7 soccer at both U10 and U11 and better reflects the start of league play. All other elements of the Standards released in 2025 remain unchanged. The newest version of the Canada Soccer Grassroots Standards is available here.
In addition, to further support the implementation of the Grassroots Standards and the goal of providing high-quality, safe, fun, and developmentally appropriate environments for all participants, Canada Soccer is evolving its approach to grassroots soccer programming. Canada Soccer Grassroots Programs, which replace the programs previously known as Skill Centres and Dedicated Player Programs, are designed to support quality training environments and coaching. This is done with the aim of engaging as many players as possible, for as long as possible, in the best environments possible. For more information on Canada Soccer Grassroots Programs, click here.
“To develop to their potential, children must have access to quality training supported by well-trained coaches. Traditionally, early talent selection limited opportunity to players demonstratingearly competence. By reimagining our approach to grassroots soccer to support any player with the desire to train and improve, we are ensuring every child has the opportunity to achieve their potential in the game.” – Dave Nutt, Canada Soccer Director of Development
In Canada, the goal is to foster an environment that encourages as many Canadians as possible to develop a passion for the ball, build strong technical skills, and learn to adapt and find solutions to the challenges of the game. The Canada Soccer Grassroots Standards, along with the associated programs, tools, and resources, establish a consistent national direction for grassroots soccer and help ensure that all children can enjoy soccer in a safe, fun, accessible, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate environment.
Full information on grassroots soccer in Canada is available in a new, dedicated section of the Canada Soccer website.
| | |
To strengthen relationships and foster meaningful conversations, SSA will host Monthly Technical Meetings with Member Organizations.
These sessions are designed to share updates on SSA and CSA projects, hear your perspectives, and support early collaboration on your initiatives.
The meeting link is provided below and was also shared in a previous email to all MO representatives.
Connected | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams
| | Technical Tuesday Speaker Series | | 2026 Referee Season Open for Registrations – To be used for all referee registrations. | | |
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.
The new season for registering referees through the 2026 Referee Season is now available and will remain open for the 2026 calendar year.
A kind reminder that all referees 18+ must upload a current Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Check at the time of registration.
If you need to submit a Referee Registrar Report, you can find it on our website here.
REMINDER: The 2026 Referee season will not be active until the Member Organization activates it; this can be done in the season settings.
RAMP Season Set Up Tutorial: RAMP Registration System Admin Tutorial
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 Course Online Module via Smarter U (link accessible on the webpage and also via the individual Ramp account) before registering for the one day in person session. If your Member Organization has any questions, please contact Octavian at o.iliuta@sasksoccer.com.
| | Entry Level Referee Course Online Modules | | |
As of 2024, Canada Soccer has launched the new updated Entry Level Referee Online Modules. This has replaced the SSA Google Classroom approach aligning entry-level coach and referee development at the National level. The access keys for the online modules (purchased by each participant) will cost $40 for $2026 and $50 in 2027.
All eligible Referee Entry Level Clinic participants (minimum of 14 years and older) are required to complete The Online Training via Canada Soccer’s SmarterU platform before moving forward with a seven-hour in-person session to complete referee certification.
The Referee Course Registration Guide is outlined here. The Referee Entry Level Clinic process via Smarter U is available via this link. The Small Sided Referee /Futsal referee process is described here. All information is also available on the SSA Website on the Referee Courses page.
For more information on referee courses or to schedule a practical session in your community, please contact Octavian Iliuta – Manager of Referee Development @ o.iliuta@sasksoccer.com.
| | Community Referee Education Sessions | | |
SSA will be offering Laws of the Game Refresher online education sessions (via Zoom) to all Saskatchewan Soccer registered 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 Laws of the Game 2025-2026 Revisions, including the Goalkeeper 8 second release. You are welcome to attend one session that fits your schedule.
Sessions take place, March 24, April 1, April 15, and April 23 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.
| | |
Over 80% of the new referees that took a Referee Course in 2025 were under the age of 18.
As the Indoor season, with tournament and leagues is in full swing, a kind reminder to all participants regarding proper behaviour, and displaying a positive example, for a Positive Game Time environment. Emotions do come out, words in the moment hurt, and Referees are Human.
Referees are essential to the participant’s 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!
If their whistle is Green, they are Under 18!
| | Feburary 25th is Pink Shirt Day | | Special Olympics Coach Education | | |
Sask Sport has collaborated with Spark Solutions to develop Changing the Game: A Playbook for Girls’ Sport in Saskatchewan. The playbook is split into five sections, each highlighting a specific area of sport and offering ideas, tools, resources and more to help develop girls and women in sport from athletes just getting started to coaches and administrators and from the grassroots level through to high performance. These resources can be found here.
| | |
All Member Organizations are required to renew each year to be eligible for SSA Member Benefits.
The deadline for renewal is March 15.
Regular Member Organizations (register players): $75.00 Association Member Organizations (do not register players): $50.00 Renewal fees increase after March 15.
Renew Here
Payment can be submitted via e-transfer to ea@sasksoccer.com or by cheque payable to: Saskatchewan Soccer Association
| | |
RAMP Registration for the Outdoor 2026 Season and 2026 Referee Season are open!
REMINDER: The season will not be active until the Member Organization activates it under the season settings. To learn more click Here
| | Share your Veo Experience and Be Entered to Win | |
Our partner Veo is inviting its users to win a Veo Cam by sharing their Veo experience.
Take part in a short survey and help shape the future of Veo. By filling out the survey you will be enrolled in a giveaway of a Veo Cam (1st prize), a Veo Go (2nd prize) or $500 Amazon gift card (3rd prize).
Entry ends February 22nd.
| | | | |
