SSA Bylaws & Policy
The online Policy Handbook is updated regularly and should be referenced above the print version.
AD Resources
Welcome to your new role as an Athletic Director!
As the AD for your school, it will be your role to liaise with the SSA office and ensure that your school is in accordance with all SSA Bylaws and Policies. We recommend that you start off with these tasks:
- Contact the SSA office - ensure that your information is added to the SRS (Sport Registration System) and that all details for your school are correct
- Familiarize yourself with the Sport Registration System (SRS) - The SRS is the database that you will use to register all of your school teams and students for high school athletics. To view the various features of the SRS, be sure to check out our SRS Help Document
- Familiarize yourself with the SSA Bylaws and Policies - Find at the top of this page.
- Review the Registration Deadlines - Ensure that you register all school teams and student athletes on time! The deadlines are listed in the Policy Handbook, in the SRS, and on the annual SSA Calendar of Events. Check them out and make sure to mark them on your calendar.
The SSA staff are here to assist you so do not be afraid to contact us with any questions.
!mpact Student Leadership Conference
Leadership Training for High School Student Athletes and Advisors
The !mpact Student Leadership Conference is a leadership initiative for high school student athlete leaders and advisors where participants will discuss topics related to leadership, mental health, respect, and positive values. The goal of this conference is to help attendees develop skills that will make them better leaders in their schools and communities. Highly esteemed guest speakers will be attending and providing valuable knowledge and information that attendees can use to further develop themselves and their peers.
Please email shelbea@schoolsportalberta.ca if you have any questions regarding future conferences.
Information for Hosting a Provincial Championship
Procedure for Bidding to Host SSA Provincial Competitions
Submit a Bid
- Bids for winter and spring sports will be accepted at the Annual Planning Meeting (APM) ~16 months prior to the event. The deadline for bids to be received for this meeting is November 1.
- Bids for fall sports will be accepted at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) ~16 prior to the event. The deadline for bids to be received for this meeting is April 1.
- If there is more than one bid from a zone, the zone will determine which bid will move forward and the zone manager will inform the SSA Office of their choice.
- Bids will only be considered and voted on one year at a time.
- Events that are on rotation do not require a bid form.
- All Provincial Championship hosts, including those on rotation, will be required to sign an MOU within one month of the meeting in which the bid has been awarded.
- All bids received by the deadline will be reviewed by the SSA Executive Committee at a meeting prior to the APM or AGM. The SSA Office will work with bid applicants to ensure bids are complete.
- The Executive Committee will either accept or reject applications. Combined bids will be given priority (e.g. 1A boys & girls for basketball or volleyball). Accepted applications will be forwarded to the SSA Board of Governors for ratification at the appropriate meeting (APM or AGM).
- Championships with only one bid by the respective deadline will win the right to host by acclamation, provided it gets Executive Committee approval.
- Contested bids will be required to submit a presentation (~five-minutes) for the Board, who will then determine the winning bid.
- Commissioners for that sport and the Executive Committee cannot speak to support a particular bid but may speak to address concerns they may have about the ability of a school to host a particular provincial championship.
Bids from the Floor will not be accepted
If there are vacant bids following the APM or AGM, the Executive Committee may accept a bid without approval of the Board, provided the bid applicant has submitted the bid through their zone, and has the ability to successfully host provincials. If more than one bid is received, the schools bidding have the option to submit a 5-minute AV presentation as noted above.
Successful bids will be published on the Provincial Championship Dates tab after the host has been contacted. It will be accompanied by the school and zone that has been granted the specific championship.
Appeals
The appeals process to the SSA Appeal Committee is in place to provide an opportunity for member schools to appeal SSA eligibility and other policies.
The deadline for submitting an appeal, and uploading all documents for that appeal, is one week prior to the appeal hearing date. The process for appealing a SSA policy is located in the SSA Policy Handbook. Dates are subject to change based on Appeals Committee Members availability.
Q. What is the process for submitting an appeal to the SSA Appeal Committee?
A. There are several key things to note:
- The member school must submit an appeal following the process outlined in the SSA policy handbook. The process for appealing a SSA policy is located in the SSA Policy Handbook.
- All communication prior to the appeal hearing comes from the school that is appealing a SSA policy; appeals are usually on behalf of a student regarding eligibility.
- The school must submit the required documents via the SRS which is located on the SSA website and accessible only by the school Principal and Athletic Director.
- Please note that both the Letter of Appeal to the Executive Director and the Letter of Appeal to the committee MUST be signed by school administration.
- The deadline for submitting an appeal, and uploading all documents for that appeal, is one week prior to the appeal hearing date.
Q. How much does it cost to submit an appeal?
A. The Notice of Appeal must be accompanied by a $300 fee of which $100 will be a non-refundable processing fee and $200 will be refunded if the appeal is upheld.
B. In the event that the applicant member wishes to proceed by special conference call meeting, the applicant member shall pay to the SSA a deposit in the amount of $800 of which $300 is non-refundable if the appeal is successful. If you require an appeal to be heard outside any of these dates you may request a special conference call appeal.
Please contact the SSA office for more information.
Coaching
With over 10,000 high school coaches in Alberta, SSA works to ensure that they all have access to quality educational training opportunities.
Coaching Requirements for Alberta High School Coaches
SSA requires the following courses, all available in The Locker on coach.ca:
- Safe Sport Training - this module is required for one team official of each coaching staff.
- SSA Coach Information - Each registered team needs to have one team official complete this course.
- Making Head Way - this course is required for every coach on every registered team
- Coaching School Sport: Redefining Winning - Every school must have one staff member complete this course.
Begin your coach training today by visiting https://thelocker.coach.ca/
The National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP)
The NCCP is the flagship program of the Coaching Association of Canada and is the largest adult continuing education program in Canada. For additional information on the NCCP, visit the CAC website.
If you have any questions about coaching at the high school level in Alberta, please contact Brad Van Raalte
CIAAA
In 2008, SSA launched Canada’s first professional development association for Athletic Directors, the Alberta Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA).
With growing national support, the AIAAA partnered with Saskatchewan in 2013 to create the Canadian Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (CIAAA). Today, the AIAAA and CIAAA host events around the province and country to provide professional development opportunities to ADs everywhere.
For more information about the CIAAA and its offerings for Athletic Directors, please click the link below:
Events
Forms
Notice of Motion Submission
- Association bylaws can only be changed by a special resolution of the members. Amendments to these Bylaws may be made by a 75 per cent majority vote of the Board in attendance at a duly constituted meeting.
- Amendments to Bylaws may be submitted by Zones, schools or the Executive Committee. Schools submitting such amendments must advise their respective Zone Executive.
- All items under Policy may be amended by a majority vote of the Board of Governors. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the SSA office by April 1. The amendments to be considered will be posted on the SSA website and available to all member schools at least three weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting. Proposed amendments of an emergent nature to be considered at the Annual Planning Meeting, must be submitted, in writing, to the SSA office by September 1.
- Notices of motion to amend the Bylaws may be waived where such an amendment is clearly of a housekeeping nature and does not change the intent of the Bylaws.
At the 2016 AGM, the following proposed Notice of Motion was voted on and passed:
The principal of each school shall be responsible for the eligibility of the school’s competitors for any competition. The following rules regarding eligibility will apply to all SSA sponsored activities.
- School Eligibility
- The Principal will require each student and their guardian to complete and sign an Acknowledgement and Agreement Form confirming that all required parties are aware of SSA Bylaws and Policies; will accept that any application for a review of an outcome of an appeal process of SSA or the respective zone by a Judge in a court of law must be brought by the administration of the school and not by the student/guardian. These forms must be completed and kept on file, with copies being provided to SSA only if requested, and for a reasonable purpose.
- The Principal of each school will sign an Acknowledgement and Agreement Form which: confirms their membership in SSA; that school coaches will abide by SSA Bylaws and Policies; that membership in that school’s zone and SSA is a privilege, not a right; that the outcome of any appeal process of SSA or zone is final and binding on the administration of the school; that violation of Bylaws or Policies of the zone or SSA or the Acknowledgement and Agreement Form may be cause for expulsion of the school from the zone or SSA.
Please note:
Schools are responsible to keep all Student/Guardian Acknowledgement Forms.
Principal Acknowledgement Forms must be signed and sent to the Zone Secretary.
Each student only needs to sign one copy of the Student/Guardian Acknowledgement Form for their high school athletic career. If a student changes schools and/or guardianship, then a new form must be completed.
Schools are responsible for updating the year on both forms to reflect the current school year
Sanctioning
As the governing body for high school sport in Alberta, SSA holds the responsibility for the sanctioning of high school sporting events that involve its member schools.
Sanctioning is required under the following situations:
- Invitation to a tournament involves one or more teams from out of Province
- When a SSA member school travels to an out of Province and/or an out of Country event in the activities of SSA
- When a non-SSA member institution or organization wishes to host a high school event in one or more of the activities of SSA
Information:
Schools can compete in SSA sanctioned out of Province events in SSA activities. If you do not find the event listed in the SSA tournament listings, please contact the host of the event to follow the procedure to get their event sanctioned.
Q: Can my team and I attend events that are not sanctioned by SSA?
A: No. If an event requires sanctioning and the event host fails to obtain sanctioning, SSA member schools can not participate at that event.
Q: Whose responsibility is it to obtain sanctioning?
A: It is the responsibility of the event host to apply for sanctioning. We ask that all sanctioning requests are received at least 30 days prior to the event. A $200 late sanctioning fee will be assessed to the host school or institution, if sanction form is not submitted in time.
Instructions for Sanctioning:
To obtain sanctioning you need to complete the following steps:
- Ensure that your event is in accordance with all SSA bylaws and policies, including meeting all requirements for interschool competition and invitational events.
- Complete the appropriate sanction form and submit at least 30 days prior to your event. A $200 late sanctioning fee will be assessed to the host school or institution, if sanction form is not submitted on time.
- Await confirmation from the SSA office that your event is sanctioned. Note that all sanctioned events will be posted on the SSA website under “Tournament Listings”.