Eastern Pennsylvania Soccer Association
General Council Meeting
July 30, 2007
Morgantown, PA
Executive Board present: Jim Bollinger, John Koschewitz, and Larry Samples. Leagues represented: United S. L., Inter-County S. L., Club Athletico P.M.C., Lehigh Valley S. L., Rose Tree S. C., and Central Pa. S. A.
President Jim Bollinger opened the meeting at 8:08 at the Holiday Inn of Morgantown. May 14 minutes were amended to include a note in the President’s Report that Club Athletico had paid league affiliation fees. Also under May 14, Unfinished Business was revised, eliminating the word “new” from the phrase “new attendance policy,” as this policy had pre-existed but lacked teeth without the $100 bond [Each club must now pony up $100 prior to Sept. 1, 2007 to cover meeting attendance. Clubs not in attendance will be debited $25 per meeting. Bond can be carried forward from ’07-’08 season to ’08-’09 season, etc.]. Motion to approve May 14 Minutes was made by United S. L., 2nd by Inter-County, and unanimously approved.
President’s Report: President stated his need to have all league assignors’ e-mail and/or website addresses in order to verify that they are not misconstrued as “State Assignors.” There is no “State” referee assignor [Leagues can e-mail this information to EPSA’s Patty Meyers at eastpasa@aol.com.].
Registration: Jim Bollinger distributed copies of EPSA’s newly required form, “Assumption and Acknowledgement of Risks and Release of Liability Agreement” [available at www.usasa.com under “Downloads/Forms” > “Administration” > “Liability Waiver”]. Every registered EPSA player is now required to sign the liability waiver in addition to the registration “A” form. EPSA hopes to make the Liability Waiver form available on its website as soon. Because of both online and paper registration capabilities, the executive board has decided the annual registration meeting is unnecessary and has decided to forgo a registration meeting this year. EPSA can be contacted with any questions.
Medical Insurance: Players must be properly registered in order to file a claim for injury. A copy of the referee report must be included with any claims submitted to EPSA.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Ray DeStephanis was not in attendance.
Arbitration: Larry Samples noted that he serves as State Arbitration Board
Chairman. He said that hearings require
very complex legal procedures, and that the accused has a right to appeal. Larry stated that arbitration matters are
best handled by local soccer leagues if at all possible. Appeal fees at the local level cannot exceed
state appeal fees, which are in the neighborhood of $200-$250. Vice president Samples also said that for any
referee assault, the original game report and player pass or passes should go
directly to the EPSA, rather than to the local league.
Cup Committee Report: Deadlines for Cup play will be posted on the website [ www.eastpasa.org ]. EPSA is not expecting any increase for cup competition this year. National Cup Finals are in Seattle, WA August 3-5, 2007. John Koschewitz, whose team nearly made it to Nationals, pointed out that it can cost around $25,000 for a team to compete in Finals at a distant point such as Seattle, WA. President Jim Bollinger mentioned that there are grants available to help defray the cost of tournament travel.
State Referee Administrator: Frank Giancroce was not in attendance. In his absence, Jim Bollinger pointed out that fees increase slightly Sept. 1, 2007 for the ‘07=’08 season [$72 per team x 2 = $144: $64R, $40AR, $40AR]. After this season, the last of a 3-year referee schedule, fees will have to be renegotiated for the following 3-year period [2008-2010]. EPSA is experimenting with a 4th official in cup semifinal and final competition this year. Depending on the outcome as critiqued by teams, officials, etc., the 4th official may become a permanent fixture in cup play for 2008-’09.
League Reports: Club Athletico S.P.M.C. reported they may expand to 2 or 3
divisions, including a women’s division.
They have both youth and adult teams.
Jim Bollinger offered his help getting CASPMC’s teams registered with
EPSA and EPYSA. Rose Tree
reported they have 4 teams that play in the fall only. CPSA still has no teams, but has
paid fees. Inter-County has 20
teams divided among Over-30, Premier, and Ultra Leagues. They don’t play in the summer, but will try
to re-institute the Inter-County Cup next spring. LVSL hopes to have 4 or 5 teams,
but is not sure yet. United SL
may have 24 teams including women. Registration
is held the 2nd week of August, but must be finalized by Sept. 9,
when the league holds their Fall Kick-off Classic, an informal, round-robin
tournament with 20 to 25-minute games.
Unfinished Business: EPSA now provides online registration through a company called Sports Manager. Players can register online with a credit card for an extra 5% fee. Sports Manager then pays collected monies to the local league, which is subsequently responsible for submitting the fees to EPSA. Sports Manager can be found at www.eastpasa.org.
New Business: Vice President and Treasurer were up for re-election. United S L nominated Larry Samples for vice-president, 2nd by Inter-County and United nominated Ray DeStephanis (in absentia) for treasurer, 2nd by CPASA. Both candidates were unanimously re-elected. President Jim Bollinger reported that Central Bucks A. A., Sherwood (NEPSA), and TryZub Over-30 had defaulted on their affiliation responsibilities. A motion was made by CPASA, 2nd by Inter-County, to remove the 3 clubs from EPSA. Motion was unanimously approved.
Good of the Game: Waiver forms and USASA info
was provided by EPSA at the meeting. Next
meeting is October 8, 2007 8 PM @ Holiday Inn Morgantown.
Motion to adjourn at 9:40 by United SL, 2nd by Inter-County. All approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Strong at www.lvsl.org