As President of Saskatoon Adult Soccer (SAS), I want to communicate with all of you directly to clarify some of the information that has been circulating the last few days in regards to masks/COVID vaccination proof policies, and also share my thoughts on some key points.
1) Team Withdrawal Penalty is Paused
A decision has been made to pause the team withdrawal penalty until Monday September 27 at 5:00pm. Any team contact that withdraws their team prior to Monday September 27 at 5:00pm will be refunded 100% of their team fees...no withdrawal penalty.
The Withdrawal Penalty Schedule resumes on Tuesday, September 28 with our regular structure based from the September 8 registration deadline.
The SAS Board will be meeting Thursday evening to discuss masks and vaccine proof policy. The decision will be communicated to team contacts on Friday morning, providing you time to make a decision for your team prior to the September 27 5:00pm deadline.
2) Board Decisions on Masks While Playing
The board has been accused of surprising our members with a new mask policy after we said there wouldn't be one. I'd like to help everyone understand how this all came to be.
The original decision of the SAS board prior to the September 8 team registration deadline was players do not have to wear a mask while playing. We made that decision so teams knew our stance prior to registering, and could then choose whether to enter their team based on that decision.
However, this past Thursday September 16 the Saskatchewan government mandated that at this time adult players do have to wear masks while playing indoor sports or they can’t play. That decision is beyond the control of SAS and has to be followed.
On Friday September 17, Saskatchewan Soccer met with the COVID Business Response Team (BRT) to clarify some things. It was then made known that moving forward adults can only be exempt from wearing masks while playing if the association/organization for their league has a vaccine proof policy.
That is where things are at now. The SAS board will be meeting Thursday evening to discuss this new information and make a decision for our leagues. We have paused the team withdrawal penalty until our board can make a decision on this. This allows team contacts to then make a decision for their team based on that.
3) Government Mandates
When the government mandates things like masks while playing, SAS needs to follow it. These mandates can come from the government at any time, and changes can be made by them at any time. These mandates are beyond the control of the SAS board and staff.
4) Volunteer Board
There have been comments made recently that our SAS board is paid too much. I want to clear up that statement with a friendly reminder that this league is run by a volunteer board, and everyone on the board is volunteering their time. No one on the board is paid anything.
The members on this board work hard to keep the SAS league great. During these COVID times, this board has put in countless hours of meetings trying to navigate the COVID restrictions to still create a safe and fun league for all our members. If these board members didn't care so much, and dedicate so much of their time to making that happen, we wouldn't be playing.
5) Being Respectful
I understand that COVID complicates things, and sudden government mandates and restrictions cause a lot of uncertainty and often frustration for all of us when it comes to running our teams and the league. However, I encourage us all to remain respectful to each other as we navigate this together.
I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone that communicated with our SAS office staff and/or board members in an understanding and respectful way. You provided us with your feedback, voiced your concerns, and asked your questions without lashing out and getting angry at us.
It saddens, and even angers me at times, when I hear that our SAS office staff is being verbally abused over the phone. They are doing the very best they can working within the parameters given to them by the board and the Saskatchewan government. I want to be very clear on this...verbal abuse towards our staff is not acceptable.
The office staff are not the ones making decisions on restrictions, refund policies, discipline guidelines, etc. The SAS board makes all those decisions, and the office staff act as per the board's decisions. Please be kind to them.
Feedback from our members is always appreciated. We want to hear thoughts and comments from you so we can continue making our leagues the best place to play soccer. However, lashing out at the staff because you are frustrated or angry is unacceptable. I ask that we be respectful of each other in our communication as ultimately we all want an amazing league to play in.
I do hope this helps to clarify some of the information and questions being asked around the current COVID situation and mandates. We all love to play soccer, and that's why we also are all passionate about it!
Within our passion for soccer, I encourage us to remember that we're ultimately all on the same team that wants a fun and safe league to play the game we love. Let's continue to treat each other respectfully, and please know that your board and office staff are working tirelessly to provide an amazing place for us all to play this beautiful game...even during COVID!
