Good morning Members, 

Thank you for a great meeting yesterday.  As mentioned, our District Referee Coordinator was not able

to make the meeting.  He has provided the following letter to the membership in his absence: 

EMSA Members:

As many of you will be aware, we have been on a gradual increase in the number of referee registrants
in EMSA. Historically a strong and viable population, the years of COVID decimated our pool. Since the
return to play, we have been fighting to return to our original service numbers and we are proud to say
we are there now. The challenge ahead of us is that the population has returned to the original
numbers but the level of experience has not returned to where it was pre-pandemic. This is the
challenge that the developmental support team has been taking on through mentorship, education,
assessment and opportunity.

Some highlights:
? Referees, assessors and instructors involved in provincial and regional upgrading programs.
? Referees and assessors heavily involved in League 1, OPDL, OUA and OCAA. Referees selected
for ON Cup finals and National championships.
? More games mentored and assessed in the district than any of the previous years.
? New candidates applying for upgrading.
? Education and opportunities making its way to more extreme regions of the district.

One of the major concerns is the level of abuse and unfortunately assault experienced by the referee
community. We appreciate the clubs attention and support following our think tank session mid season,
but this did not seem to have a marked impact. We all have a role to play in making this sport safe and
enjoyable to all members and there is some room to grow in this regard in 2024 season. We look
forward to working together to support improvement on this front.

In close I would like to thank the EMSA district and its membership for continued support of our
program and the things we do. EMSA is a progressive district when it comes to referee programming
and often are leading the charge on innovation across the province. This is made possible to the
developmental support team members we have, district engagement and support and of course the
inner executive of our referee association.

Again I apologize for not being able to attend today but will welcome the opportunity to field any
questions or hold an FAQ session at a later date. Please do not hesitate to reach out at
Matt.emsadrc@ gmail.com with any concerns/comments/questions.

Yours in soccer,
Matt McCready – EMSA DRC