SOUTHWEST SOCCER

NOTICE of 2025 ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING 

Active and Associate Membership - This is notice that Southwest Soccer's AMM is to be held on Wednesday, December 10th 2025.

Location  - Virtual Platform - Microsoft Teams (Link to be provided to registered delegates.)

Time -  7:30PM

Registration - Submitted by December 3rd  @ 12:00am to office@swrsa.ca inclusive of Delegate Form and payment of any outstanding fees. *See below for Membership Renewal*

Proxy - Members voting by proxy must submit to office@swrsa.ca the completed proxy form at least 48 hours in advance of the AMM.  In alignment with By-Law 4.14 (b) No person may hold more than two (2) proxies. 

AMM Package - AMM Book will be provided to membership and the recorded delegates/proxies in advance of the meeting.

Financial Statements / Auditor Report - In alignment with By-Law 2.7, financial statements will be distributed to membership not less than twenty-one (21) days before the day of the AMM. 

Amendments to By-Laws

Article 12 - Amendments

12.2 By-Laws and Effective Date:

ii. A Member entitled to vote who may make a proposal to make, amend, or repeal a By-Law in accordance with the Act which requires at least sixty (60) days' notice. The new, amended, or repealed By-Law will be submitted to the Members at the next meet of Members and, except for those amendments that are considered fundamental changes, the voting Members may confirm, reject or amend the By-laws by Ordinary Resolution.

Active Member Delegate - Each active member must accredit one delegate in writing to Southwest Soccer in alignment with Article 4 (4.7) . On behalf of the active member only the delegate may cast votes and speak.

4.7 Authorized Representative of Member

Members shall inform the SWRSA in writing at least seven (7) days prior to a Meeting of Members, the name of the authorized representative of the member. Only the authorized representative of the Member may vote on behalf of such Member.

Member Proxy - 

4.14 Proxies
(a) Every Member entitled to vote at a Meeting of Members may vote by proxy by appointing in writing a proxyholder, and one or more alternate proxyholders, who are not required to be
Members, to attend and act at the meeting in the manner and to the extent authorized by the proxy and with the authority conferred by it subject to the following requirements:

(i) a proxy is valid only at the meeting in respect of which it is given or at a continuation of that meeting after an adjournment;

(ii) a proxy must be submitted to the Registered Office of the SWRSA at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting of the Members;

(iii) a Member may revoke a proxy by depositing a document signed by the Member or the Member's attorney in accordance with the Act and the Regulations;

(iv) a proxyholder or an alternate proxyholder has the same rights as the Member by whom they were appointed, including the right to speak at a Meeting of Members in respect of any matter, to vote by way of ballot at the meeting, to demand a ballot at the meeting
and, except where a proxyholder or an alternate proxyholder has conflicting instructions from more than one Member, to vote at the meeting by way of a show of hands;

(v) a proxy shall be in writing, executed by the Member or the Member's attorney and shall conform with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations; and

(vi) votes by proxy shall be collected, counted, and reported in such manner as the chair of the meeting directs, in accordance with the Act and the Regulations

(b) No person may hold more than two (2) proxies.

Membership Renewal -

3.5 Renewal of Membership
(a) Other than Life Members, all Members must apply for renewal of their membership before the end of the term of membership in accordance with the Rules and Regulations. In order for a Member, other than a Life Member, qualify to remain a Member of the SWRSA, such Member must
(i) continue to meet the eligibility requirements set out in Sections 3.1 and 3.2 above;
(ii) apply for renewal of their membership in writing using the form approved by the Board;
(iii) submit all documentation set out in the renewal application form;
(iv) agree to continue to comply with all of the SWRSA's governing documents, including the Articles, the By-laws and the Rules and Regulations; and
(v) pay all fees, dues, annual Player Registration fees, annual Associate Member Membership Fees, and other monies approved in accordance with the By-laws and theRules and Regulations.

As per Rule 4.2-4.2.9 members must renew membership on a form provided by the district association by November 1st. Required documents for submission and payment ($70.00) are identified on such form and within our published rules. A late fee of $100.00 will be charged to clubs that fail to renew membership prior to the AMM.

AMM Regrets - Attendance or Regrets are to be identified on the Membership Renewal Form. Failure to attend the AMM without providing regrets via the membership renewal form will result in a $100.00 fee.

Member Contact Form - For 2025-26 Membership Renewal it is required that all member organizations complete and submit the Club / League Contact Form inclusive of a designated Club Head Referee contact and Discipline Chair (certified) contact. This form is now built into the membership renewal form.

The purpose of collecting this information is to ensure we have the necessary contacts on file for the office administration, Match Official Department and Districts Discipline Chair.

Elections for Directors at the 2025 AMM

The following  positions are up for election at the 2025 AMM:

Vice - Chair - 2 year term
Nomination Accepted - Patrick Bandura

Director-at-Large - 2 year term
Nomination Accepted - Yeliz Sherifali 

Director-at-Large - 2 year term
Nomination Accepted - Dennis Banda

Submitted nominations are valid with received acceptance from the nominees. 

17.2.1 Nominations shall be forwarded, with the nominees signed consent, on a provided form to the District Association no later than thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Members Meeting.

17.2.2 Received nominations shall be posted on the District website not less than fourteen (14) days prior to the Annual Members Meeting.

Nominations may be submitted from the floor at the AMM for director-at-large positions that remain open following election results of the published nominees.

Please submit the completed form to GM@SWRSA.CA

Please ensure any outstanding fees with Southwest Soccer are paid prior to the AMM to ensure your clubs participation as an active member. Clubs in bad standing can have a delegate present but cannot partake in discussion or voting. 

If you have any questions or require assistance feel free to contact the Southwest Soccer office.

Patrick Bandura
 

Vice-Chair with Southwest Soccer for the past four years and this past year took on the responsibility of Treasurer.

Was Treasurer of the District from 2010 to 2021.

Past President of the Southwest Soccer Referee Association for six years.

Have been a current match official in our District for twenty-eight years.

I am a current match official assessor and a former match official instructor.

Have served on various club Boards and Sub-committees in our District.

Certified Discipline Chair. Frequently act as discipline chair at member hosted tournaments.

Yeliz Sherifali

Since being successfully elected to serve my term within Southwest Soccer, I have eagerly embraced every opportunity to connect with members, expand my involvement within the broader soccer landscape, and contribute to the success of youth sporting events, player and coaching development initiatives, and community programs. I’ve worked to build stronger relationships across our membership and engaged in continuous learning to deepen my understanding of governance and policy within sport—ensuring I can serve effectively and responsibly on behalf of our community. 

My lifelong commitment to sport and education is supported by extensive qualifications, my background as a competitive athlete and my diverse experiences as a sport technical lead, coach, coordinator, and learning facilitator-giving me a well-rounded and multi-faceted perspective and understanding of sport.

I’ve dedicated my career to education within the Waterloo Region District School Board, where I’ve championed student development through physical and health education. As a long-serving Executive Member and President of the Waterloo Region District Senior School Physical and Health Educators’ Association, I’ve led initiatives that strengthened professional collaboration, programming, and leadership in youth sport and wellness.

I value trust, integrity, growth, opportunity for all, and transparency in operations. I am deeply committed to fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and forward-thinking soccer community—one that supports our athletes, coaches, clubs, and volunteers in achieving their full potential.

Dennis Banda

I grew up playing for Kitchener soccer club at the age of 5 and continued playing with the club until U15 at which point I played for the regional soccer program Southwest United.  Throughout my teenage years I was active as a match official as well as a player and I started coaching at Kitchener soccer club.  

After youth soccer I began playing competitive men’s soccer in the KDSL for various clubs including Beograd and Banat as well as various teams in the grand River soccer league.   I continue to play soccer recreationally in a men’s over 40 league.  

From 2010 to 2018 I was heavily involved as a match official where I got the experience to referee in Ontario cup matches, OUA and OCAA, matches for kitchener and Waterloo soccer clubs and also as a match official in leagues such as the KDSL and Grand River soccer. 

Since 2010 I have coached numerous youth soccer teams and spent most of my time coaching at Kitchener soccer club in their grassroots programs.  I was also an assistant coach for Red academy’s U9 program in 2019 and a head coach for GPS academy’s U8 program in 2018.  I am continuing to coach for the new interim eagles soccer club as I enjoy developing players and talent throughout the region.  

 Further to coaching I will be assisting the club head referee at eagles soccer club in the development of young match officials for their club.  

My goal to join the board at SWRSA is to continue my involvement in the broader soccer community and grow the game of soccer at all levels in this region and province.  Should you have any questions please reach out to me.