We hope that your summer leagues are winding down nicely and that your fall league registration is a record-breaker!
This month, the Conference Committee has been busy at work planning the upcoming 2019 SSIA Conference. Registration will open in September, so keep an eye out for the announcement via email, Facebook and Slack! We are also excited to welcome back a new member, highlight a member and sponsor, and remind everyone about a few housekeeping items.
If you have any questions or comments, or would like to be considered for a future Highlight opportunity, please contact Krissy at krissy@ssia.us.
~ Your SSIA Team
Upcoming 2019 SSIA Conference
The 2019 SSIA Conference will be held in St. Petersburg, FL from February 19th-22nd. Registration opens in September, so keep an eye out for the announcement via email, Facebook and Slack! Seminar topics are being finalized, so please submit your ideas to Chris Giebner at chris@tampabayclubsport.com ASAP.
Thank you to the Conference Committee members, Chris Giebner with Tampa Bay Club Sport, Felix Goodson with VAVi / CLUBWAKA, and Kristi Herold with Toronto Sport & Social Club, for all of your hard work to make next year's conference our best one yet!
New Grievance Committee
As we continue to work together to move our industry forward, we want everyone to keep in mind that building trust and collaboration is a core part of that process. Having a venue to connect on potential conflicts is part of our effort in doing so.
At the EC Retreat in June, the board decided to form a Grievance Committee to formalize the process of filing a complaint or grievance against a fellow member or Partner of the SSIA. The committee is made up of EC Members who have been tasked with handling ethics violations as laid out in the Membership Agreement. The purpose of this committee is to address violations of the SSIA's ethics policy. It is not intended to settle competitive disputes, address normal market competition or to mediate anything outside of the direct scope of our ethics policy.
While such matters are being addressed, we ask that members first file the SSIA Ethics Grievance Form to the Grievance Committee. Additionally, it is also requested that the issue is kept private and members refrain from public messaging or coalition building that may otherwise cause distress to the general membership.
Please direct any questions to krissy@ssia.us.
Join Us In Chicago Over Labor Day!
The Chicago Social AVP Beach Volleyball Tournament is Labor Day Weekend and CSSC is inviting all SSIA members to send teams to join the tournament on one of the world’s premier beaches for beach volleyball, North Avenue Beach. CSSC is producing the tournament in collaboration with the AVP during the AVP Chicago Open Championship a mile down the shore at Oak St. Beach. The tournament includes amateur 4’s and 6’s beach volleyball formats in a one-day tournament Saturday, September 1st.
Included throughout the weekend will be a post-tournament party on Saturday, and access to the AVP Gold Series Championship on Sunday at Oak St. Beach. Interested organizations or teams can find more information and register at chicagosocialavptournament.com or can reach out to Chris Hastings at chris@chicagosocial.com. The Social Sports Network is a marketing partner for the event and the following SSIA member clubs will be in attendance:
Dallas Sport & Social Club
Houston Sports & Social Club
SportsLink
Atlanta Sport & Social Club
Toronto Sport & Social Club
Member Highlight
Chris Wessely, owner of Grand Rapids Sport & Social Club, has added a super cool feature to his custom registration system: virtual badges! Players can sign up for a badge profile during the registration process, allowing the site to automatically track players' milestones and add badges to their customizable profile pages. "Everyone loves to get rewarded for their efforts," said Wessely. "Now, we've given our players the chance to track their awesome achievements with our club, as well as earn some perks on the side including bragging rights and credit towards their next league with select premium badges."
Check out some examples of the badges above. An example profile Chris provided is below. Looks like he's earned the following badges: Old School (because he started playing before the virtual rewards program existed), Celebrity (because he's the Most Social Player) and Awesome Profile (because he filled out 100% of his profile fields). Keep up the great work, Chris!
Sponsor Highlight
Mobile Leagues is a mobile app solution for leagues to communicate effectively and immediately with their players.
Clubs can have their own branded mobile app, which will enable users to view their schedule, standings, league rules, social media posts, and chat with their teammates.
Some of the important features:
Players get a push after game completion that asks them to rate their referees and opponents. Jump on any problems before a mid-season survey to increase player retention!
Players can RSVP to games through push notifications
Club owners can send global or targeted push notifications to promote leagues and events
Currently available for clubs on the LeagueLab platform.
Click HERE for the recording of the August Lunch N Learn session hosted by Bell Anderson Insurance. Jason Webb presented the topic, "Acquisitions and How They Affect Your Insurance".
To share your events on the Social Sports Network Facebook page, click HERE.
Use #PlaySocialSports to have your content featured in Social Sports Network posts on Facebook and Instagram. The Marketing Sub-Committee recently decided to use this to replace #ssnpost.
Please complete the SSIA Partner Survey by clicking HERE. Chris Wessely, our Partner and Sponsor Chair, will use this valuable information to assess our current partnerships and decide which ones to go after next!
Welcome Back!
Please join us in welcoming back Tim Kerns and Puget Sound Basketball! With over 7,000 games organized last year, and 270 adult teams, PSBL is the State of Washington's Largest Recreational Basketball League.
