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SOUTHERN ONTARIO SECONDARY SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION (SOSSA)

REGULATIONS — Revised: June 2024

Table of Contents

1. Member Schools

2. Membership Fee Submission

3. Membership Fee Structure

4. Penalties

 

1. Member Schools

Per the SOSSA Bylaws a Member is a secondary school within the geographic area that is designated by OFSAA as SOSSA territory and which meets the requirements of membership as stated in the Bylaws. This includes secondary schools within the following Zones:

 Zone #1 – Secondary Schools within the Hamilton Public Board of Education (HWDSB) and/or that are members of the Hamilton Wentworth Interscholastic Athletic Council (HWIAC).
 Zone #2 - Secondary Schools within the Niagara Catholic District School Board (NCDSB) and/or that are members of the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association (NCAA).
 Zone #3 - Secondary Schools within the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) and/or that are members of the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association (NRHSAA), who are designated by the Association as Zone 3.
 Zone #4 - Secondary Schools within the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) and/or that are members of the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association (NRHSAA), who are designated by the Association as Zone 4.

A secondary school from outside the Association’s defined areas and Zones may be accepted for SOSSA membership as follows:

 The Board of Directors may approve membership on a temporary basis at any time during the membership year;
 Official membership may be gained after completing a ‘temporary membership’ for one full school year prior to the SOSSA Annual Meeting; and
 Official membership may be granted via a 2/3 vote of all votes cast by SOSSA members at the Annual Meeting.

SOSSA will consider the inclusion of Member Schools from associations located outside the SOSSA boundaries only after the association to which the school belongs agrees in writing that it may be released from its jurisdiction.

2. Membership Fee Submission

The membership year of the Association will be July 1 to June 30. A SOSSA membership fee entitles the Member School to enter any SOSSA tournament.

Each Member School shall remit an annual membership fee to the Association, which shall be submitted via a Fee Submission Form that is issued and collected by the Executive Director.

Membership fees are due by December 15th of the current membership year.

If a school does not maintain membership, and later applies for re-admission to SOSSA, the question of back fees will be dealt with individually by the SOSSA Board of Directors.

3. Membership Fee Structure

The Annual Membership Fee is required for the cost of Association organization and operations, honorariums for the Executive Director and the OFSSA Representative Directors, and inter-board competition general liability insurance coverage. Each Member School shall pay a Basic Association Fee plus a student Full-Time Enrolment (FTE) fee, as follows:

Basic Association Fees

1) Schools with 200 students or less: $515.00
2) Schools with 201 students or more: $575.00

Full-Time Enrolment Fees - based on the October 31st total enrolment of the current school year

1) $0.75 cents per FTE student

The FTE fee is based on the October 31st total enrolment of the current school year.

4. Penalties

Schools failing to pay by the deadline may be subject to a late filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) and they may be considered as ‘not in Good Standing’ in accordance with the SOSSA Bylaws. Furthermore, no school can enter any further SOSSA activities until such outstanding fees and late filing fees have been paid.

SOSSA TRAVEL EXPENSE POLICY

Approved: June 2024

1.0 Board Directors and Committee members will be reimbursed for travel to and from their respective meetings at a rate of 42 cents per kilometre.

2.0 The rate of reimbursement shall be reviewed annually by the Board of Directors and changes to such reimbursements will be presented to the Members for approval.

3.0 SOSSA HONORARIUM POLICY

Approved: June 2024

1.0 The OFSAA Representative Directors (2) shall each receive an annual honorarium to the amount of six hundred and fifty dollars ($650.00).

2.0 The Executive Director shall receive an annual honorarium in the amount of seven thousand dollars ($7000.00). Monies raised by membership fees will directly subsidize the position of the Executive Director. The Executive Director will receive $700 per month (September through June) and the remainder will be used for office supplies (i.e., phone bills, stamps, paper, basic office expenses, website, etc.).

SOSSA LOGO POLICY

Approved: June 2024

1.0 Application must be made to the SOSSA Board in order to use the SOSSA logo for monetary gain (i.e. SOSSA T-shirts). No monetary gain through the use of SOSSA logo is permitted without Board approval.