Ladies and gentlemen:

On behalf of the members of the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association I'd like to welcome you to the 2002 AGM in Nipawin. A warm Saskatchewan welcome is extended to our displayers and special guests who are in attendance today. Many thanks to our hosts from the North-East District who have worked hard preparing for this meeting.

A truly positive benefit one receives from attending our SHSAA AGMs is that a person has the opportunity to visit and appreciate the diversity, the beauty and the vastness of our province. The Saskatchewan mosaic; with our melded geographical features, our melting pot of cultural backgrounds, our inhabitants inherent willingness to volunteer, to give freely of our time, our experience and our wealth for the good of the Saskatchewan community is what sets us apart from other areas. Please remember the differences which do exist within our province and our Association. Honor those differences and empathize with your fellow members when you go through your deliberations and voting as we shape the future of our organization. I know that the president's speech is normally a state of the union type of address. This is my final opportunity to address the AGM as your president and there are some important messages I want to leave with you, so bear with me please.

First of all, if you read the SHSAA Office Report in the May Bulletin you'll find that Mr. Matheson has beat me to the punch in communicating to you how our Association fared this year. He'll expand upon this when he makes his report to you next on the agenda.

Mr. Matheson thanked all the school communities who did a first class job hosting various play-offs. In Saskatchewan, it is taken for granted that the hosts will do a high quality job. Fortunately, it has become the norm not the exception for us in this Association. How many of you who hosted this year experienced that very much-appreciated courtesy where coaches, parents and athletes took a minute to thank your school for hosting? It happened at every event we at Carlton hosted this year, a small courtesy, but one which made our committee members feel very proud of what they'd done. An exciting new addition to some of our championships was the host school either creating a new web site or using their existing school web sites to post pictures and short videos taken with digital cameras. I've had very positive feedback about this initiative from friends and relatives of the student-athletes who could not be there in person to support them. The almost instantaneous chance to see them in action was greatly appreciated and expanded the interest in our programs. In addition this opens the door for more student participation in yet another offshoot of our athletic programs.

Bryan also noted the unselfish contributions which our volunteer coaches; be they faculty, school board employees or community people, continue to make to our programs. To all of you who have made the commitment to our youth, from our smallest schools to our largest, thank you and keep up the good work. Our success lies in the human factor and the sense of community which is the cornerstone of our province's identity, our defining grace.

Secondly; who enables our Association to continue to provide our Saskatchewan student-athletes with the opportunities, the privilege to practice, to play, to compete? To answer this question we must recognize and thank the Sask. Lotteries Trust Fund for their financial support. Sask. Sport and the Sports governing bodies working relationship with our association is the envy of other provincial high school athletic associations. The continued support and communication we enjoy with the school community of Saskatchewan including Sask. Learning, LEADS, the SSBA, the STF and the symbiotic relationship we share with the SSTA are essential components for continued success in the delivery of our programs to Saskatchewan's youth. Each of these bodies within their own mandate recognizes the importance of what our Association's goals are and willingly become vital, contributing members of our infrastructure. They are truly our partners in every sense of the word, with our common focus being Saskatchewan students.

Thirdly; two of the most thankless tasks in the world, by my estimation, is either being an official of an athletic contest or the only member of the clean-up committee in charge of following the horses in a parade. Those of you who have occupied either of these positions know what I'm talking about when I say that while both are essential to the well being of all those involved, (especially if you are in a marching band behind the horses,) that a person will always try to do their best to deal with the situation. Here are the questions I've asked the AGM each year. How many officials did you help to recruit and train this year? How many officials did you personally thank for their commitment to sport? How many of you have gone to your district meetings and put a plan in place to recruit, train and support the development of your local officiating base? Now, how many of you have actively followed up on that plan? The message is plain and blunt. No officials, no fair and safe competitions, played within the scope of the rules!!

Fourth; we have a very professional, dedicated office staff whose commitment to the Association and our goals has been a constant throughout their tenure. Many thanks to our Executive Director - Bryan Matheson, Assistant Executive Director - Larry Lafrentz, and our Executive Assistant - Kim Platt. The ability of these individuals and what they bring to the administrative team is exemplified by their commitment to self-improvement. All have attended various professional development courses this year and continue to seek out opportunities, which will enable them to acquire the knowledge, and training, which will benefit our organization in the long run. We thank you and wish you all the best in the coming year.

Fifth; what does the future of our Association look like? In conjunction with our December President's meeting we held a Long Range Planning Session. This is an exercise, which our Association needs to undertake at least once every five years. It is money and time well spent. It allows the Association time to re-visit, to reflect, brainstorm and deliberate, to re-focus as to what our mandate is now and in the future. Attend the presentation at 10:45am today during Group Session #1 if you are interested in reviewing the results of that process.

When we talk of the future we must talk about change. Time does not stand still, we as an Association must be prepared for it to occur. As such I have some announcements to make at this time. Bryan Matheson, our Executive Director will be retiring on June 30th, 2003. He will have served our Association as part of our office staff for 16 years as of that date. Bryan worked three years as Assistant Executive Director from 1987 to 1990, and lately as our Executive Director from 1990 to his retirement in June, 2003. Words cannot express what Bryan has given to our Association as a member of our administrative team. His leadership ability and his commitment to student-athletes not only in Saskatchewan, but also across Canada is recognized without question by not only ourselves, but also by his peers from other provincial high school athletic associations. He is not leaving us tomorrow, but his own long range plan after next year just might include a longer stay in Waskesiu and just a little more golf each summer, right Bryan!

Our Association has made preparations for this eventuality over the years. Because of our office structure we had the opportunity to promote an individual who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about the Association to the position of Executive Director. I am very pleased to announce at this time that Mr. Larry Lafrentz has accepted the Executive's offer to assume the Executive Director's position. We are indeed fortunate to have an individual who brings his experience, commitment and vision for the Association to the table like Mr. Lafrentz does. Working together, our Directors can assure there will be a smooth transition upon Bryan's retirement.

Consequently, in October 2002, the Association will be advertising in major daily newspapers, on our web site and in the Bulletin. Applications will be requested for the position of Assistant Executive Director of the SHSAA. So, dust off those resumes and get prepared to put in your application!!

Finally, at this time I'd like to recognize the Executive members for what they continue to give so unselfishly to our Association. These are people with full time jobs (and with very understanding principals and school boards), families, and community commitments. They are all involved at some level with coaching and/or officiating in their own schools, communities, and districts. You elected very dedicated people with a tremendous capacity for work. When you couple this with their own talents and abilities, which they brought to the executive meetings it, made my job as President very interesting at times. They have represented you well and now you have the opportunity to elect some new representatives to the executive this year. Regina rep Greg Johnson and Section 1 rep Kevin Vollet have served two consecutive terms in their positions on the executive and now by policy are not eligible for these positions again. Officials Commissioner Bill Crossman has also finished two terms and is running for the position of President of the Association. On behalf of the SHSAA members I want to thank these individuals for their commitment to our Association and to the youth of Saskatchewan. Knowing you as well as I do, the services you've performed over the last four years will not be the end of your involvement in our Association. It will be in addition to that which you have done before, will do now and in the future. On a personal note, thank you all for your friendship and sharing of purpose. In Saskatchewan we don't say good-bye, we say I'll see you. Thank you gentlemen.

We all have dreams. Here's one of mine. As a youth growing up in small town Saskatchewan, in Colonsay, one of my biggest dreams, one of my biggest goals, was to make it to a provincial high school championship. Life being what it is, the reality was I never achieved that goal or dream in my youth. Fate being what it is, when I became a teacher I had a second chance. Now I could make it to a provincial championship as a coach, working either with a team or with individuals. I achieved my dream because I had the opportunity to coach some very committed individuals. I know of fellow teachers and coaches who have worked with thousands of student-athletes throughout their careers, who have not been as fortunate as I, they have never made it to a provincial championship. But you want to know something; this has never stopped them from continuing to go out each day, giving freely and without reservation of their time, experience and energy. My goal changed from personal achievement to guiding others towards becoming the best that they could be. I realize now that this was my opportunity to give to my school, my community, my province that which adults in my community had given to me. They gave me the chance, the privilege to play and grow; mentally, socially, spiritually and physically within the athletic community. When I was elected President of the SHSAA this dream was extended further, as I was given the opportunity to serve high school sport in another capacity. This has been my dream and one which is not finished yet as there are even more opportunities for involvement available yet. It's like being a kid in a candy store. What can I try next?

This is my last AGM as your president. I'd like to thank the members of the Association for giving me this opportunity. I came to the presidency with a basic belief that has been strengthened time and again during my life and career. "High School Sport is Sport at Its Purest". Our student-athletes are not paid to perform. They are there because they dare to put themselves on the line. They are there because someone who recognizes the inherent benefits to our youth provides them with the opportunity. They are not the meek who are afraid or too lazy to put in the effort required to practice, to train, to go out and give it their best. They are there because they want to be, so let's continue to give them that opportunity.

Our Association cannot be allowed to waver from our commitment to providing Saskatchewan students with the opportunity, the chance to go out and do their best, to learn from their mistakes and experiences, to benefit from that extended classroom which our programs provide. We must celebrate and spread the word that "High school sports is where it's at". It is the best game in town and we must promote it as such. Whether you live in small town Saskatchewan or in a large urban center, let us work together for the common good of all our Saskatchewan youth. Thank you all, for what you have done, what you are doing and what you will do in the future for this Association. Please remember our purpose, remember the human factor, remember our future, remember our students.

Thank you.

Your President - Bob Coffin.

Once again I welcome all of you to the Annual Meeting of the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association. I have said it before but I believe it is worth repeating; you are part of one of the premier organizations in our province. The quality of the SHSAA programs is the envy of many organizations and you and your colleagues are the reason for this outstanding reputation.

I will begin with some thank you comments. Thanks to the North East and especially to Ken Schultz and his committee members for the tremendous work in planning and to preparing for the AGM. Thanks to the District Executives who work in their local areas to ensure the smooth continuation of the many activities and deal with the occasional frustration from schools and coaches who believe that deadlines are made for other people. Thank you to all of our Provincial Commissioners for their initiative and hard work to make these events better for the student athletes, coaches and spectators. Thank you the provincial Executive for all of their efforts to make our Association stronger. I want to especially thank the retiring members for their many years of dedication and efforts.

Thanks to Kim and Larry for their support and hard work. I am fortunate to have these two individuals to work with in the office. Finally thank you to each and every one of the people that work to provide more and better opportunities and experiences for the student athletes in our province.

The SHSAA has had another great year. I often talk about money and finances (and we did have a very good year financially) but we had a great year in so many other ways as well. You and your colleagues are the reason for this success. In spite of declining enrolments, aging teaching population, financial constraints, greater teacher workloads, etc. etc. you are still able to maintain programs and the student participation numbers remain high. Approximately 40,000 student athletes participate in your programs each year. You are amazing, keep up the good work.

As the year draws to a close I am sure you are looking forward to an enjoyable and restful summer. You have earned it - enjoy.

But before your summer holiday begins there are a few more things to do. I know you all have some things to finalize at your schools but before you can do that we need your help to set the programs and direction for the Association. We need you to discuss, debate and decide on the issues presented to you at this meeting. We need you to look at what resolutions will make our Association better.

The resolutions deal with a variety of issues. Determining rules and adaptations for our sports is important as we are working with young people. The rules made by an International body are not necessarily the best for a 15 or 16 year old. Other resolutions will deal with a change in how we organize sports or determine eligibility.

These issues become philosophical questions. We need to ask ourselves, what is the philosophy of our Association? What is my personal philosophy? Are they compatible? The SHSAA is an educational body, not a sports organization. Our goals are to provide for the holistic development of the young people we work with every day. We are teaching life skills to our students and simply using sport as the vehicle. We are about what we can do for every student that becomes involved in school sport.

I ask you to keep the philosophy of interscholastic sport in mind as you deliberate and vote.

Thank you once again for your dedication and hard work in providing opportunities for our students.

c) HOST BIDS: Presentations were made and votes were taken when necessary. The following schools were added to the current list in the Handbook as host venues for our championship events.