Hi Everyone, 

We just wanted to provide an update of where we are at with our Return to Play for the 2021 outdoor season. The Government of Ontario announced May 20, 2021 that it is easing the restrictions on Outdoor Activities and has released a new three step re-opening framework. Owen Sound Minor soccer at present time is awaiting further clarification from our governing body (Ontario Soccer), on this framework. We anticipate that our league play that we have planned will be considered to begin in Step 2 which may begin the week of July 5th. Should this be the case, we will extend our season into September and will continue the normal season schedule as planned. 

The Board  is still working hard to finalize the details for the upcoming season so we are ready whenever we have a confirmed start date.  We still are taking registrations for divisions that have openings (see below) and are looking for a few more coaches and covid reception managers.  If you are able to volunteer please email coaches@owensoundminorsoccer.ca.

If you have any questions please email us. We will continue to update via the website, email and social media whenever we have more information to share.  

2021 Summer Outdoor House League Registration

The  Owen Sound Minor Soccer Association Board of Directors have been working hard behind the scenes on developing our Return to Play protocols and offer a program that fits within this framework. We have received the go ahead to move forward from Canada Soccer, Southwest Regional Soccer Association and our plan has been submitted to Public Health.  

Our Return to Play protocols can be found in the PDF on the Registrations page at this link.

We are happy to advise that registration will open on Monday April 5th and will run until Friday April 23rd.  The  plan for the season will commence the first week of June  and run into late August. We are hopeful the current shut down will allow our region to be in a good position come June so kids enjoy a great summer being outdoors and playing the beautiful game.

Our Return to Play Plan was developed to allow us to be able to offer our House League program  as long as our region is in the orange, yellow, or green zone of the COVID-19 response phase framework. If the season does not operate, full refunds will be given.

Our current program will be similar to House League programs in previous years with exception that U15 and U18 divisions will play 9v9 soccer. There will be numerous other COVID-19 safety protocols put in place which are outlined in our Return to Play Plan. Closer to the start of the season those protocols will be communicated to parents, players, and coaches.

As always, we will do our very best to be able to offer the opportunity for those who wish to play soccer this year. However, in consultation with public health, each division has a maximum capacity of 50 players per bubble.  After this, we may look at the possibility of creating a 2nd bubble/division. However, for some, particularly the older divisions, it may not be possible to create another bubble/division if the numbers aren't sufficient. In which case we will have to take the first 50 registrants for this division.  So please register early by clicking this link.

For proposed Age divisions and Days of Play, please see below. This may be subject to change after we review our registration numbers, but will do our best to keep to these dates times.

All games will be played at the Kiwanis Soccer Complex

We are excited to let you know we are working hard on planning our 2021 Outdoor Soccer Season. We can't wait to see everyone back at the soccer complex this summer! We missed seeing everyone at the soccer complex last year and at futsal this winter.

We will have more information when our current lockdown situation is over. 

With these unprecedented times, we hope you have all stayed happy and healthy and of course had soccer on your mind! 

To suit an unusual year, our Annual General Meeting will be a little different than in previous years. We will be hosting the AGM on Thursday, September 24th at the Kiwanis Soccer Complex at 5pm and providing pizza. Please attend if you are interested in learning more about the organization or improving soccer in Owen Sound. There are currently vacancies on the board, so please also attend if you would be interested in filling these vacancies. We are looking forward to a good turnout!

To the Players, Parents. Coaches and Referees of the Owen Sound Minor Soccer Association:

Thank you for your continued patience over these past few months as we navigate through these challenging times.

During this time, the OSMSA has been meeting regularly, virtually, and planning for the upcoming season in hopes that a return to play would be happening in the near future. The Province and the City of Owen Sound has started the process to allow our community to open up and last week our governing body Ontario Soccer also released a comprehensive Return to Play Guide to help manage our actions as a club.
https://www.ontariosoccer.net/page/show/5787197-return-to-play-guide

Given the current restrictions, coupled with the fact that it is now mid-June, Minor Soccer will not be able to operate a traditional house league or rep soccer program.  

Owen Sound Minor Soccer will be refunding all registrations to parents who have already signed up for the 2020 season. Click here to see the status of our refund process.

However, we have not given up entirely on soccer this season. We hope to be able to offer a modified soccer program for certain age groups (those born in 2010 and older) later this summer/fall if the number of people allowed to gather in groups is increased (beyond the current limit of 10) and if physical distancing regulations are modified.

This program will look very different than anything we have offered in the past and the Board is looking at various options as we monitor the pandemic situation in the coming weeks.  The health and safety of our players, volunteers, parents and community will guide all of our discussions as will following guidelines provided by health authorities and soccer governing bodies.

Please continue to monitor our website and Facebook page for updates as they become available.

www.owensoundminorsoccer.ca

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at:

office@owensoundminorsoccer.ca

Canada Soccer and Ontario Soccer issued a "Return to Play Guide" on June 11th. This guide is 77 pages long and contains long lists of restrictions and requirements that we must meet if we want to run soccer practices or games. Our board decided that we will take a week to examine the guide and make a decision on Thursday June 18th. The decision will be posted here after 7pm on Thursday June 18th.

If you want to read the Return to Play Guide you can download the pdf version by clicking this link.

The Owen Sound Minor Soccer Association has cancelled all games, practices and events until the end of June in accordance with the decision made by Ontario Soccer.

We are still planning on having a great soccer season this summer, but we know there are a lot of concerns as to whether to sign up. What we are recommending is that you register any interested players but choose the "Pay Offline" option. By doing this, we will still be able to create teams and leagues, but no one will be out of pocket immediately. We will work with each family to arrange payment closer to the season start.

For those who have already registered and paid, thank you, and if for any reason there are changes to the season, refunds will be made.

Rep players should continue to work with your coaches for registration information.

Thank you everyone for your patience, and remember to stay home and stay safe, and we'll be back on the fields all that much faster.

If you have any questions or concerns at all, please don't hesitate to reach out to one of the board members or our Facebook page. 

Register online for House League 2020 by clicking this link.

We have extended registration until May 1st and there will be no late fees this year. We still plan to run a soccer session this summer but we don't know when it will start.

We offer a discount of $10 for additional children in the same family (Under 5 and up). There are NO LATE REGISTRATION FEES this year.

OSMSA is sad to report our annual fundraising dance, originally scheduled for May 23rd,  has been cancelled to do the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The reschedule date has yet to be determined.  Please keep checking back for updates.  If you purchased a ticket for the dance and would like a refund, please contact the coach you purchased your ticket from and they'd be happy to refund you!

Owen Sound Minor Soccer will be hosting a Small Sided referee clinic on March 28/20 and an Entry Level referee clinic on March 28 & 29/20 this year. Any adult or youth interested in registering for a clinic should contact Dennis Farwell at 519-371-9296 or email osreferee@gmail.com. 

Please note - We are always looking to train adults who would like to take up officiating. Compensation is provided for officiating. Spots may be limited depending on the number of applicants for the clinics.

We provide organized soccer to young people in Owen Sound (Ontario) and the surrounding area. We create fun, inclusive sports opportunities to people of ALL ages. We practice; we play; we win.