Joel Pickering: RIP
Earlier this week, the GKSSA was forced to bid farewell to one of its long-time players. Joel had played in the league since 2009 when he joined with KUSC I. In 2012, he joined Cataraqui I and was part of their 2013 Carmine Lanzo, Sr Cup winning team. In 2017, he joined Kingston Hot Fire, his final team in the GKSSA.
Joel also played for the St Lawrence College Men's team between 2012 and 2016.
Joel leaves behind a wife, Melissa, son Theo, and many grieving friends, opponents, and teammates.
Joel's obituary can be found at Arbor Memorial.
Ontario Soccer suspends all sanctioned soccer activity
Ontario Soccer has decided to immediately suspend all sanctioned soccer activities in the province until further notice.
As such, the GKSSA must postpone our indoor season until we hear from Ontario Soccer.
Please be patient, as this is uncharted territory for all of us. We will keep you informed of any new developments and are hoping that we can continue and complete our indoor season in the near future.
Outdoor registration
Deposits for returning team registration for the 2020 Outdoor season are due by March 27, 2020 in an amount of $500. We encourage e-transfers. If you require other methods, please contact the GKSSA treasurer for details.
If you are looking to bring a new team into the league, please contact the GKSSA president.
COVID-19 Handshake Protocol
This morning, Ontario Soccer released Action Bulletin A2020-003. This bulletin reads (in part):
Ontario Soccer is suspending the traditional practice of handshakes between players and match officials in all matches effective immediately until further notice.
Rowan’s Law Concussion Awareness
Recently, the Government of Ontario passed a law that is commonly known as Rowan’s Law. This law requires all amateur athletes, parents, coaches, and officials to review concussion awareness resources published by the Government. Part of this requirement is an onus on all amateur clubs and organizations to publish these resources for their membership. As such, a link to these resources can now be found under "Other Resources" in the menu.
We have also linked them here for reference: Government of Ontario Concussion Awareness Resources.
Please ensure that you have read the required resources and can recognize symptoms of concussion in both yourself and others and know the appropriate steps to ensure that people get the appropriate support and care.
2019-20 Indoor Season Begins
The GKSSA 2019-20 indoor season kicks off tonight. Team rosters are now listed on the website, with all players listed that were correctly submitted on the registration forms.
Please take a few minutes to check out your roster and please let me know if you have any players missing from the roster that should be on the list or that are on the list but should not be. If you happen to have a list of jersey numbers for your team, feel free to pass those along too.
Spiro Sakell passed away
We are saddened to have to report that one of the GKSSA board members passed away December 22, 2019.
Mr. Spiro Sakell was involved with the league since 1980 (running a team and eventually also sitting on the board).
Our thoughts are with the family at this time.
2019 GKSSA AGM
The 2019 GKSSA AGM was held Wednesday, November 20 at the Invista Centre.
Mr. Housh was re-elected as vice-president, Mr. Conlon as treasurer, Mr. Unan and Mr. Fletcher as directors-at-large, and Mr. Benevides was elected as discipline chair.
We'd like to thank Adam Hunt for his time serving on the board over the last few years and wish him the best in his next endeavours.
2019-20 Indoor Season online
The GKSSA 2019-20 indoor schedule is now live. Please note that there may still be some minor errors included, and not all team uniforms are online as yet (especially if a team has changed since last year).
The league kicks off on Sunday, Jan 5, and runs through to the end of March.
If you spot any errors or issues with the schedule, or need to update your team's contacts, sponsors, or uniforms, contact please Alex Fletcher ASAP.
2019 GKSSA AGM
The 2019 GKSSA AGM will be held Wednesday, November 20 at the Invista Centre (Hall C) from 7-8:30pm.
An initial agenda has been made available, with a more complete version to be available closer to the meeting.
Team representation is required at this meeting.
2019-20 Indoor season
Indoor registration will take place Tuesday, October 15 at The Keg Steakhouse and Bar starting at 6pm. A $1000 deposit will be required to hold a spot, with the final cost being determined based on the number of teams registering and the length of schedule.
The season is expected to start in January with the open A and B divisions playing Sunday evenings and the Masters division playing Monday evening at 8pm.
For more information, if you are planning to put in a team, or if you cannot make the registration evening, contact Ryan Housh.