Requests for Decision
Rule Revisions Considered by OSA Board of Directors
The OSA's Board of Directors is responsible for approving the Published Rules that govern soccer in the Province of Ontario. Any proposed rule revisions are submitted to the OSA Board as a RFD (ie., Request For Decision). Each RFD must be submitted to the OSA at least 45 days prior to the Board meeting at which it will be considered. The RFD's are then reviewed over a 24-day period to ensure that they are in order. No later than 21 days prior to the OSA Board meeting, they must be released to the OSA Board members, the District Associations and the OSA's Associate Members (including Provincial Leagues, Regional Leagues and other soccer organizations).
During the 21 day period prior to the OSA Board meeting, the District Associations review the RFD's and develop their District positions regarding each proposed rule revision. Consultation with the Clubs is encouraged as the District Associations represent their Clubs at each OSA Board meeting. During the 21 day period, the OSA Board Members, District Associations and Associate Members exchange views in a database forum on the OSA Intranet. The information obtained from this forum provides a District Association with a better understanding of the RFD, its pro's and con's, and also how it affects various regions of the province. Finally, each District Association gives direction to its District Representative about how to represent the District at the OSA Board meeting regarding each RFD.
If you would like to provide feedback or direction regarding any of the RFD's being considered at an upcoming Board meeting, you must submit your comments to your Club which can then provide direction to its District Association. Each District Association reviews the proposed RFD's and then, gives direction to its District Representative (on the OSA Board) about how to vote regarding each issue.
NOTES:
- To view the RFD, click on the RFD Number.
- Unless otherwise specified, the new policy contained in the approved RFD will become effective on January 31 of the year following the approval of the RFD by the OSA Board.
RFD's Being Considered at April 11-12, 2013 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
RFD 2011-017 (Revised Feb. 26, 2013) - For Final Approval by OSA Board
Attachment2
Attachment3
Attachment4 | | Pending | This RFD updates all OSA rules which contradict the LTPD principles contained in the Development Matrix and Recreational Matrix. The policies amendments in this RFD will impact team promotion and relegation, team travel, team roster sizes, competition types, game format, tournament hosting & rules and festival hosting & rules.
| Alex Chiet, Chief Technical Officer
| OSA Technical Advisory Council (TAC)
|
| RFD 2013-002 | | Pending | This RFD stipulates that the game officials' fees paid to referees and assistant referees for all competitions (leagues, cups, tournaments, festivals and exhibition games) played in Ontario will be set by the OSA . Youth competitions (leagues, tournaments, festivals, cups) organized by a Club will be exempt from this rule.
| Al Carrafiello, Past President
| Hamilton and District Soccer Association
|
| RFD 2013-004 | | Pending | This RFD will enable the OSA Board to declare a maximum of six closed dates in a calendar year in any District during which no games could be played in the specified District(s) on the closed dates. Games in Youth Local Leagues and Youth Local Development Leagues will be exempt from this rule.
| Ron Smale, President
| OSA Executive Committee
|
RFD 2013-005
| | Pending
| This RFD will permit both the OSA Player Registration Book & Team Official Registration Book system to co-exist with the OSA Identification Card system; and will enable the Eastern Ontario District S.A. to continue its ID Card system (for players and team officials) in accordance with the OSA's published rules.
| Patricia Braithwaite, Office Manager | Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association
|
Disposition of RFD's Considered at February 23-23, 2013 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2012-023 | | Approved Effective March 24, 2013 | This RFD proposes amendments to the OSA's discipline and appeals policies. Additional discussion is required between the OSA Board and the Discipline & Appeals Committee before this RFD is ready for approval consideration.
| Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development
| OSA Discipline & Appeals Committee
|
| RFD 2013-001 | | Referred to OSA Discipline & Appeals Committee for further work and re-submission. | This RFD proposes that videotape evidence no longer be permitted at Discipline Hearings and Appeal Hearings.
| Peter Studer, President
| East Region Soccer League
|
RFD 2013-003
| | Approved Effective Date March 24, 2013
| This RFD addresses the League rules which have to be changed in order to facilitate the two year transition (2013 to 2015) from the current structure of leagues to Soccer For Life (S4L) Leagues for the Under-13 to Under-18 age group.
| Alex Chiet, Chief Technical Officer | OSA Technical Advisory Council (TAC)
|
Disposition of RFD's Considered at December 1-2, 2012 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2012-022 | | Approved | This RFD provides clarification about the policy's intent regarding a schedule conflict for an "Additional Player" registered with both an Ontario club in an USL league and an Ontario club in an Ontario league. This RFD reinforces the OSA position that a league may have a "player eligibility" rule prohibiting a player who plays in another league.
| Cathy Watt, Manager of District/League Development | Ontario Youth Soccer League |
| RFD 2012-023 | | Decision Postponed until February 2013 Board Meeting | This RFD proposes amendments to the OSA's discipline and appeals policies. Addtional discussion is required between the OSA Board and the Discipline & Appeals Committee before this RFD is ready for approval consideration. | Charonne Thomasos, Club Development Coordinator
| OSA Discipline & Appeals Committee
|
RFD 2012-024
| | Approved with Amendments | This RFD approves the OSA's governance policies as superseding the OSA's policies regarding committees.
| Dan Tomlinson, Secretary | OSA Task Force on Governance |
| RFD 2012-025 | | Decision Postponed until February 2013 Board Meeting. | This RFD proposes an amendment to the OSA Membership Renewal Application Form by requiring the Member's President and Secretary to indicate whether the Member Organization's By-Laws have, or have not, been changed since the last OSA Membership Renewal application. It also makes it a requirement that each District Association fully comply with the OSA's Conflict Of Interest policies. | Dan Tomlinson, Secretary | OSA Executive Committee |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at September 14-16, 2012 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
RFD 2012-009 (Revised July 27, 2012) for Final OSA Board Approval
| | Approved | The new policies will increase the entitlements of an OSA-Recognized Non-Club Academy including: allowing Academy teams to play exhibition games against Club teams and to enter selected Showcase Tournaments. It will also make Academy players eligible for selection to Regional and Provincial Teams. These new policies will go into effect on October 15, 2012.
| Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Executive Committee |
| RFD 2012-012 | | Approved | This RFD changes the cheque signing officers of the OSA to include: any one of President, Vice President or Treasurer plus any one of Executive Director or Director of Finance & Administration. This new policy will go into effect on October 15, 2012.
| Leonard Golberg, Director of Finance & Administration | OSA Finance Committee |
| RFD 2012-013 | | Approved | Senior tournaments hosted by "Affiliated Organizations" will now be permitted to register unregistered players with "Short Term Registration Permits". Previously, these permits could only be used at tournaments hosted by "Unaffiliated Organizations". This new policy will go into effect on October 15, 2012.
| Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development
| OSA Executive Committee
|
| RFD 2012-014 | | Defeated | This RFD proposed that the only acceptable reason for approving a TPS Transfer would be if Clubs merged to form a new Club. The RFD was amended to include a terminated Club but, the amended RFD was not approved by the OSA Board. Consequently, the current rules remain in place. Reference: League Policies 24.1.1.2 and 24.2.1.2.
| Cathy Watt, Manager, District/League Development
| OSA League Management Committee |
| RFD 2012-017 | | Approved | This RFD formally legislates the OSA's past practice that the Annual Budget is approved by the OSA Board of Directors. This new policy will go into effect on October 22, 2012.
| Dan Tomlinson, Secretary | OSA Task Force on Governance
|
| RFD 2012-018 | | Approved | This new policy bases the roles and responsibilities of the OSA's committees on the Governance Policies and any other duties prescribed by the Board of Directors. This new policy will go into effect on October 22, 2012.
| Dan Tomlinson, Secretary | OSA Task Force on Governance |
| RFD 2012-019 | | Defeated | This RFD contained a policy amendment that a "guest" at an OSA Board meeting would require the consent of the Directors attending the meeting. Since the RFD was defeated, guests will continue to be permitted at the discretion of the OSA President as per the current OSA Administration Policy 8.4 b). | Dan Tomlinson, Secretary | OSA Task Force on Governance |
| RFD 2012-020 | | Approved | This is a new policy whereby all contracts, leases, rental and service agreements must be signed by two Officers of the OSA. This new policy will go into effect on October 22, 2012. | Dan Tomlinson, Secretary | OSA Task Force on Governance |
| RFD 2012-021 | | Approved in principle - still requires final approval of OSA Board
| This RFD amended the policy listing the OSA Committees and providing the Terms Of Reference for each OSA Committee. The policy also placed the committees under the authority of the OSA Board and outlined the creation & operation of each committee. The OSA Board will consider final approval of this RFD at its November 30 - December 2, 2012 meeting.
| Dan Tomlinson, Secretary | OSA Task Force on Governance |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at June 2-3, 2012 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2012-002 | | Withdrawn | The RFD was withdrawn by the League Management Committee and will be re-submitted at the September 15-16 OSA Board meeting. The purpose of this RFD is to reduce the number of valid reasons for the transfer of a Team Position Status (TPS). The rule initially intended to serve the players who were being displaced from their league because of factors not based on their team performance is now being used by other Clubs to gain entry into leagues for which they are not eligible. The RFD will also introduce a deadline for TPS transfer applications; remove the need for a League Management Committee to approve the TPS transfer (District Association approval only); and will introduce a requirement that the nine players (registered from previous season) must be maintained for a full season.
| Cathy Watt, Manager of District/League Development | OSA League Management Committee |
| RFD 2012-007 | | Approved | This RFD provides considerably more flexibility to the formation of a new league (governed by OSA) and provides adequate preparation time to both the League and the Clubs in the League (especially semi-pro leagues). It also changes the deadline for teams entering a semi-pro league from November 30 to July 1. The new policy becomes effective on July 3, 2012.
| Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Semi-Pro League Steering Group |
RFD 2012-009
| | Approved | This RFD was approved "in principle" and will be re-submitted to the September 15-16 OSA Board meeting for the final approval of new policies. The new policies will increase the entitlements of an OSA-Recognized Non-Club Academy including: allowing Academy teams to play exhibition games against Club teams and to enter selected Showcase Tournament. It will also make Academy players eligible for selection to Regional and Provincial Teams.
| Lino Terra, Executive Director
| Soccer Academy Alliance Canada (SAAC)
|
| RFD 2012-011 | | Approved | This RFD fulfills the OSA's commitment as part of a settlement under the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario whereby "disability" is now recognized in the OSA's Harassment Policies with regard to unwanted comments. The new policy becomes effective on July 3, 2012.
| Leonard Golberg, Director of Finance and Administration
| OSA Executive Committee |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at April 27, 2012 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2012-004 | | Approved | This RFD amends the policy governing Under-8 Festivals to now permit Participation Mementos to be given to all participants.
| William Hay & Russ Turnbull, District Representatives | Peel Halton SA & York Region SA |
| RFD 2012-006 | | Approved | This RFD creates a policy which will permit a Professional Club which is an Associate Member of the OSA to apply to the OSA for permission to operate youth teams, senior teams or academies and register the players directly with the OSA, providing that the youth/senior teams/academies fully comply with the OSA standards for such teams/academies. | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development
| OSA Executive Committee
|
RFD 2012-010
| | Approved | This RFD creates a policy to recognize and respect the transgender person's identification as a man or a woman and to permit a transgender player to play in accordance with the player's desired gender identity.
| Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Executive Committee |
Disposition of RFD Considered at February 25-26, 2012 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2012-001 |
| Approved | This RFD creates a policy governing the OSA and the Soccer Centre for the provision of goods and services to Ontarians with disabilities. All Clubs, Leagues, District Associations and the OSA are required by law to meet the Accessible Customer Service Standard by January 1, 2012. Depending on the number of employees, there are different standards to be met by each of these soccer organizations. Approval of the policy contained in this RFD is the first step in making the OSA and Soccer Centre compliant with this law.
| Matthew Greenwood, Manager of Club Development
| OSA Organizational Development Department
|
Disposition of RFD Considered at January 26, 2012 OSA Board Meeting
| Number |
| Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2012-003 |
| Approved | This RFD changes the requirements for coaches of Under-12 and older female youth teams and Under-13 and older male youth teams playing in designated competitions to take the Soccer for Life course plus MED instead of the Learning to Train course plus MED. These new policies will go into effect on February 25, 2012.
| Alex Chiet, Technical Director
| OSA Technical Advisory Council
|
Disposition of RFD's Considered at December 10-11, 2011 OSA Board Meeting
| Number | | Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2011-010 | | Approved | New League or Existing League Expansion/Restructuring | Cathy Watt, Manager, District/League Development | League Management Committee |
RFD 2011-012
| | Approved to be effective January 10, 2012.
| Name Change for Non-Amateur Soccer | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Semi-Pro League Steering Group |
| RFD 2011-013 | | Approved to be effective January 10, 2012.
| Tournaments/Exhibition Games/Festivals for Under-8 Teams | William Hay & Russ Turnbull, District Representatives | Peel Halton SA & York Region SA |
| RFD 2011-015 | | Approved to be effective January 10, 2012.
| Minimum Coach Certification Requirements Based on LTPD | Alex Chiet, Technical Director | OSA Technical Advisory Council |
| RFD 2011-016 | | Approved to go into effect in 2013.
| Ontario Cup Under-12 Divisions | Alex Chiet, Technical Director | OSA Technical Advisory Council |
| RFD 2011-017 | | Approved in Principle. Final approval planned at a future OSA Board meeting in 2012. | LTPD Game Formats for All Competitions (Leagues, Tournaments, Festivals, Exhibition Games & Cup Competitions.
NOTE: This RFD has not yet been re-submitted to the OSA Board for final approval. While the specific requirements contained in the RFD are strongly recommended for 2013, it is the OSA's intent that these requirements will not be mandatory until the 2014 season. Further information such as a transitional phase-in period regarding field dimensions and goal size will also be clarified upon final approval.
| Alex Chiet, Technical Director | OSA Technical Advisory Council |
| RFD 2011-018 | | Approved to be effective January 10, 2012.
| Memorandum Of Understanding for Pro/Semi-Pro Leagues | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Semi-Pro League Steering Group |
| RFD 2011-019 | | Approved to be effective January 10, 2012.
| College/University Teams Playing Club Teams | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Board of Directors |
| RFD 2011-020 | | Approved for Senior Tournaments Only and to be effective January 10, 2012.
| Approval of Tournaments Hosted by Unaffiliated Organizations Involving Non-Registered Senior Teams | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Board of Directors |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at October 18, 2011 OSA Board Meeting
| Number | | Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| RFD 2011-011 | | RFD Approved | Making Respect in Soccer a minimum requirement to register as a coach for specific leagues and competitions as identified in the RFD | Matthew Greenwood, Manager of Club Development | OSA Board of Directors |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at September 16-18, 2011 OSA Board Meeting
| Number | Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
2011-007
| RFD Withdrawn
| Eligibility of Academy Players to participate in Provincial and Regional Team Programs.
| Alex Chiet, Chief Technical Officer
| OSA Technical Advisory Council
|
Disposition of RFD's Considered at May 27-29, 2011 OSA Board Meeting
| Number | Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| 2011-006 | The RFD was denied. | Addition of Level 2 Divisions in Senior Pyramid For Play.
| Cathy Watt, Coordinator, Member Services
| League Management Committee |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at February 26-27, 2011 OSA Board Meeting
| Number | Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| 2011-001 | The RFD was approved and the new policy to permit a referee to officiate a Special Olympics game will go into effect on March 31, 2011. | Appointment of Referees To Officiate Games Involving Ontario Special Olympics Teams | Nicky Pearson, Manager of Referee Development | Referee Development Committee |
| 2011-002 | The RFD was withdrawn by Hamilton & District S.A. President, Al Carrafiello. | District Association Blanket Permission for Exhibition Games | Al Carrafiello, President | Hamilton & District Soccer Association |
| 2011-003 | The RFD was approved and consequently, the OSA's Registration Policy 5.29 which was approved by the OSA Board in June 2009 is now rescinded, effective March 31, 2011. | Youth Teams registering up to 20 Players for National Club Championship purposes | Robyn McComb, Director of Competitions & Events | Ontario Cup Committee |
| 2011-004 | The RFD was approved. The new policies governing the recognition of Non-Club Academies will go into effect on March 31, 2011. The policies will permit "OSA recognized" Non-Club Academies to use OSA registered referees, to obtain travel permits to play in competitions outside of Ontario, and obtain OSA permission to play exhibition games against teams from outside of Ontario. The policies also include a process for Non-Club Academies to be recognized by the OSA and for "OSA recognized" Non-Club Academies to report their participants to the OSA as per the FIFA regulation 19 bis. | Non-Club Academies Travel Out Of Province and Use Of OSA Registered Referees | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | OSA Executive Committee |
| 2010-007 (Revised February 7, 2010) | As part of the RFD 2011-004 decision above, the OSA Board rescinded RFD 2010-007 (Revised February 7, 2010) which was approved on April 30, 2010 and replaced the policies contained in that RFD with the policies contained in RFD 2011-004. | Independent Affiliates | Bill Spiers, Director-At-Large | OSA Executive Committee |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at November 27-28, 2010 OSA Board Meeting
Number | Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| 2010-007 (Revised February 7, 2010) | The RFD was approved with amendments by OSA Board on April 30, 2010 with the revised policies to go into effect on January 31, 2011. On November 28, 2010, the OSA Board approved a motion that the policy effective date be changed to May 1, 2011 and that a new RFD be considered at the April 29, 2011 Board meeting to approve proposed amendments to the policies contained in the RFD. | Independent Affiliates | Bill Spiers, Director-At-Large | OSA Executive Committee |
| 2010-027 | As the effective date of RFD 2000-027 was extended to May 1, 2011 and since the Board will consider a new RFD at its April 29, 2001 meeting to address the required amendments to the policies, this RFD was withdrawn on November 28, 2010. | Revisions to policies pertaining to Independent Affiliates | Guy Bradbury, CEO | OSA Executive Committee |
Disposition of RFD's Considered at September 17-19, 2010 OSA Board Meeting
|
| Number | Status | Subject | Submitted By | On Behalf of (Organization) |
| 2010-019 | The RFD was approved. The revised policies will go into effect on January 31, 2011. | Number of Teams in Each Division of each League Category | Walter Eadie, Chair | League Management Committee |
| 2010-020 | The RFD was approved. The revised policy will go into effect on January 31, 2011. | Youth Competitive Team Playing in a Senior Recreational League. | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | Executive Committee |
| 2010-021 | The RFD was withdrawn by the Futsal Committee. The OSA Board approved rule deviations for the next playing season only for the minimum number of youth teams required on a Futsal only Club and the minimum number of District-resident players required on a Futsal team. | Policies for Clubs Operating Futsal Teams | Vince Tersigni, Chair | Futsal Committee |
| 2010-022 | The RFD was approved. The revised policies will go into effect on October 19, 2010. | 11v11 Soccer Played in Indoor Facility During Winter Months | Bruce Henderson, Director of Organizational Development | Executive Committee |
| 2010-023 | The RFD was amended to add Policy 18.4 d) and was approved as amended. The revised policy will go into effect on January 31, 2011. | Ontario Cup Draw Policies | Robyn McComb, Manager of Competitions and Events | Ontario Cup Committee |
| 2010-024 | The RFD was approved. The revised policies will go into effect on January 31, 2011. | Approval Criteria for Teams Applying to Play In USL PDL or W-League | Walter Eadie, Chair | League Management Committee |