15th  C.S.R.A. Annual General Meeting

 

10th January 2004

 

Fairmont Empress Hotel

 

Victoria, B. C.

Minutes

Meeting called to order at 10:00am by President, Basil Gill.

Roll Call for Year Ending: B.C., Manitoba, Ontario.

Introduction of Guests:

V. Meachin, P. Harkness, A. Milne, S. Fearn (FIFA AR)

 

Previous Minutes: These had been distributed in advance and there were no errors or corrections. Accepted (1) Manitoba (2) B.C.

 

 

Matters Arising There from: None.

 

Pertinent Correspondence:

Apologies had been received from Hon. Life Member, Paul Avis, G. Rogers, R. Sawtell, R. Sansregret and A. Sharpe ( CSA President).

 

President's Address: (Basil Gill)

 

    Eastern Provinces and Quebec had made little progress towards joining the CSRA although reports had been submitted to our AGM.

   In Nova Scotia the provincial soccer association appears to have scared away any interest in re-forming the provincial R. A. for the time being.

    Our conference calls continue to be very successful and productive.

    Our FIFA officials have received a record number of international game appointments.

    Hector Vergara had become the first winner of the John B. Meachin Memorial Soccer Award.

   As an Association we must continue to promote the CSRA at grass roots level and the
President welcomed ideas.

Secretary's Report:

(Eric Evans)

 

    2003 had been another busy and productive year in which electronic mail continued
to outnumber communications sent by traditional mail.

   The CSRA Directory had been maintained and 3 conference calls held, each lasting 90 minutes.

    CSRA Promotional material had been distributed to Malta, Switzerland and Holland as a result of inquiries received via our web site.

    Special letter of congratulations had been sent to Sonia Denoncourt and Denise Robinson upon their appointment to the FIFA Women's World Cup.

    3 dozen CSRA badges had been distributed by Sonia and Denise at the World Cup.

   Raised over $1000.00 towards the John B. Meachin Memorial Soccer Fund as a result of a letter writing campaign to provincial soccer and referee associations and the CSA.

    Set up an evaluating committee to judge applications for the Award and sent 3 letters to each of the 56 officials on the National Referee Program.

    Contacted the national associations of England, Scotland and Wales; made inquiries in the U.S., Caribbean and Central America regarding eligible events for Award applicants to attend.

1st V. President's Report:

(Tony Troughton)

 

    Maintained the CSRA web site, having taken over the responsibility from Mary_ Sawtell.

    Completed the country wide survey on game fees and would attempt a similar survey on assessments.

   Arranged for VISRA member, Rick Firestone to transform the CSRA badge into a workable computer graphics format.

   Assisted fellow VISRA members in making arrangements for the CSRA AGM on behalf of the BCSRA.

    Arranged the brainstorming session the previous evening.

Delegate Reports:

B.C. Everyone warmly welcomed to Victoria

    Outline of officiating accomplishments of B.C. officials provided.

    Membership in the BCSRA had exceeded 700 with approx. 50% of them being Class IV. A target of 1000 members had been set for 2006

    Hosted visiting international officials during their stay in the province.

   BC Soccer had introduced its own badge that had seen the BCSRA badge relegated to being displayed on the left sleeve of the game official's uniform.

    The BCSA's Referee Development Committee is dominated by members of the - provincial R.A who occupy many of the positions on the committee.

Ontario:

(Joe Licandro OSRA President)

    OSRA membership had risen by 28 and was around the 1000 mark.

    Submitted a request to the OS A whereby a game official would receive half game fee when game is canceled without the official being notified and the official travels to the venue.

    Three upgrading seminars conducted for Class II candidates - hoping to do arrange similar sessions in 2004 for Class I and II candidates.

    OSRA executive reduced from 10 members down to 7

    Prepared a promotional brochure which had been sent to all Class IV officials as a means to recruit new members. A sample had been distributed to those in attendance.

    195 Class IV clinics conducted by the OS A in 2003 and the retention rate of these officials had risen from 55% to 57%.

   9260 registered officials in Ontario of which 3845 were new Class IV and 3495 Class IV officials had been retained from the previous year.

    295 out of 422 candidates passed the Class HI exam (70% pass rate)

    Two Class II clinics had been held with 41 of 61 candidates passing the upgrading exam. 13 out of 20 candidates had passed the Class I exam.

   The OSA will be introducing major changes to the way in which the referee development program is to be delivered with many positions being offered on a contract basis.

Manitoba:

(MSRA President Larry Eloy)

 

   Membership in the MSRA had held steady at 122 during 2003, however, leagues had continued to expand without the growth being matched with a proportional increase in the number of registered officials.

    The FIFA Club had resumed after a break of several years and was being spearheaded by Willie Laidlaw and Hector Vergara.

    10 out 12 candidates had passed the Class II exam - the two that failed had not been active members of the FIFA Club.

    The Manitoba Soccer Association had allocated $4500 for referee development and had enabled two Nominated National referees to travel out of the province for assessments. Referees, instructors and assessors are also benefiting from these funds.

   The MSRA was pressing the 3 indoor soccer facilities in Winnipeg to standardize the playing rules.

   Former CSRA Treasurer, Thorn Lamont, had been made an Honorary Life Member in the MSRA.

   The goal for 2004 was to increase thee number of qualified officials to meet the demand.

 

Alberta:

 

(Submitted by Kevin Jones &Read by E. Evans)

 

   Medicine Hat was attempting to become the 7th area association of the ASRA.

   Aprox. 1200 registered officials in Alberta with 212 being members of the ASRA.

   ASRA had hosted the CSRA AGM in Calgary the previous year.

    Mike Seifert had reached the mandatory retirement age of 45 and been retired from the FIFA list of international referees.

   Alberta currently has 4 Nom. Nat. Referees, 2 Nom. Nat. Instructors and 1 Nom Nat. Assessor.

Newfoundland and Labrador:

(Read by Basil Gill)

 

• 7 officials had been sent out of the province for tournaments and competitions.

• 2 went to All Star Competitions - 3 sent to A-League game appointments

• 2 candidates had been sent to a Class I clinic outside the province but had not been successful in the exam.

• Funding for out of province trips was being provided by the provincial soccer
association as well as the Ross Arlett Memorial Fund.

• All officials must take and pass the fitness if they want to officiate in the Challenge Cup, Jubilee Shield or in University Games.

• Those Class II & III officials that pass the fitness test are also used in University games.

• Common problem of too many games and too few officials - up to 4 hours travel each way was necessary to reach some games in the province. 2004 will see the retirement of several senior officials that will compound the problem.

Delegate Reports accepted (1) Ontario, (2) Manitoba. Treasurer's Report and Auditors'Certificate:

 

Treasurer, Larry Eloy presented the accounts and balance sheet, indicating that we were relatively sound financially. It was his recommendation that the CSRA subscription fees for 2005 did not have to increase from the current level of $3.00 per member.

Joe Licandro (Ontario ) and Pat Harkness (B.C.) volunteered to act as auditors and would review the accounts after the meeting.

Treasurer's report accepted (1) Manitoba (2) B.C.

Unfinished Business:

 

The question was raised about the untimely delivery of the Law book. It apparently arrives at different times of the year in each province, in some cases it is already 1 issue out of date when received. Secretary asked to write to the CSA in the hope of having the situation improved.

Amendments to the Constitution:   None.

 

John B. M each in Memorial Soccer Award:

Former CSRA 1a V.P., Pat Harkness, introduced the widow of the late John Meachin, Virginia. Virginia provided a brief outline of John's career and his strong views regarding Canadian officials need to promote themselves outside of Canada. Following John's sudden death a Fund and Award had been established in his name that had culminated in Hector Vergara becoming the inaugural winner. Hector had been unable to attend as planned because of an international appointment. A suitably inscribed trophy was presented Larry Eloy on Hector's behalf. Hector would have $1000.00 to defray his travel and accommodation expenses to travel to Peru later in the year.

 

Roll Call for Year Ensuing:

B.C., Manitoba and Ontario were present, registered and eligible to participate in the proceedings.

Elections:


1st V. President: Tony Troughton (B.C.) Acclaimed for 2 year term


2nd V. President: Andrew Foster (B.C.) Acclaimed for 2 year term (incumbent resigned)

 

Secretary:   Eric Evans Acclaimed for 2 year term.

Any Other Business:

Joe Licandro asked if it was feasible for the CSRA to approach the CSA to collect referee registration fees for all provinces which would see the profile of the CSRA raised significantly and funding flow down from the CSRA to the provincial R.A.'s. There would be a number of logistical problems with this approach.

Virginia Meachin asked if it would be possible for the CSRA to make contact with the Canadian Futsol Association in an attempt to increase our area of influence.

 

In a response to the ongoing problem in Nova Scotia where the provincial soccer association appeared to be discouraging the revival of the R.A. the Secretary was asked to write to the CSA President following a motion (1) B.C. (2) Ontario. " The Secretary to write to the Andy Sharpe with a view to have him openly endorse the concept of an active referee association existing in each province."

Following the recommendation of Treasurer, Larry Eloy, it was agreed to set the fees for 2005 at $3.00 per member - unchanged from 2004.

There being no more business the meeting adjourned at 12:03pm.