Please find below the Golden Eagles Athletics Handbook which contains all relevant information for sport at GSS.

Please find below the Golden Eagles Athletics Handbook which contains all relevant information for sport at GSS.
Student Athlete Code of Conduct Form | Student Athlete Code Of Conduct |
Eagles Parents Welcome Letter | Eagles Athletics Letter To Parents |
Golden has been very fortunate to not only have great athletes in the past, but great support from their families and the community as well. We always welcome your questions and comments.
It is important for all parents to be aware of the potential risks of playing on a school sports team. These risks include:
• Road conditions
• General risks associated with participating in school sport such as injury
• Supervision- at any sports activity it is important for parents to understand that athletes will be both directly supervised and indirectly supervised. Direct supervision includes the times when an athlete is with their coach(es) and/or chaperone(s). This includes practice and game times. Indirect supervision includes times when an athlete may not be with his/her coach(es) and/or chaperone(s). An example would be shopping at a mall. In cases of indirect supervision, athletes will always be given a cell phone number and know where to find his/her coach(es)/chaperone(s). In cases of indirect supervision athletes will be expected to be with another athlete ("buddy") at all times.
There is a $50 athlete fee. This fee is used to help replace equipment and the cost to replace team uniforms regularly.
Tournament fees are charged at GSS to cover the associated costs incurred to participate on a team. These fees are charged per team per season. Team expenses are on a cost sharing basis and will cover items such as entry fees, transportation, accommodation, and coach's expenses. Cost will depend on number of tournaments intended to play, number of home and home games and amount of travel. Athletes are responsible for their own food and personal expenses. Fees can be paid to the school office. Cheques are recommended and should be made out to Golden Secondary School. If financial assistance is needed, please contact the Athletic Department or School Administration.
School policy mandates that students attend all classes, including those outside of the timetable, on days of competition or practices. Students are not permitted to sleep-in for extra rest or miss class to prepare for events. Attendance up to the designated departure time is mandatory, but classes beyond departure can be excused but missed work and learning must be made up. Athletes are responsible for their own missed learning and should communicate directly with their teachers about missing class time. In the case of an excused absence such as a medical appointment, a note from the appointment is sufficient.
Outside Media Release and Personal Consent Information forms must be completed and returned to the GSS office. Non-submitted forms will result in your child's photo not being in the yearbook, team photos, etc. If you have questions, please contact SD6's Information and Privacy Officer.
Please see the KidSport Grant information for more details.
GSS coaches act as team managers and are responsible for communicating with parents and players. This will include changes to practices, games, and travel times. Coaches are also responsible for organizing Parent Drivers if required. A manifest of Parent contact information is created once the team roster is submitted to the Athletic Director.
Will need to contact the Athletic Director and complete the following:
Fundraising for athletics is reserved for Senior Teams attending Provincial Tournaments to help offset the costs associated with travel, accommodation, and entry fees. All fundraising must be approved by Administration before it is organized.
AWAY TOURNAMENTS:
HOME TOURNAMENTS:
*Note: ALL Coaching assignments are subject to the approval of the GSS administration, are made on a year-to-year basis, and are subject to review and the needs of the GSS Athletic Program.
Coaches Code of Conduct | COACHES CODE OF CONDUCT |
Playing Up Contract | Playing Up Letter And Form |
Online RCMP Clearance Information | Online RCMP Clearance For Coaches |
Team Roster | Team Roster Blank |
Golden EAGLES Athletics relies on community volunteers and parents to take on coaching roles. All coaches are required to have a Criminal Record Check valid within the previous 5 years from the Golden RCMP. In addition, all coaches are required to complete an ANNUAL Child Abuse Reporting Protocol (CARP) session with a school administrator. These CARP sessions are scheduled at the start of each school year at GSS and Lady Grey. Please call the school for CARP session dates.
BC School Sport mandates that student-athletes can now play-up to a more senior team during league play without restriction on the number of days. A student-athlete who is otherwise eligible and is registered is eligible to join the more senior team in that sport after the completion of the lower age level team's restricted competition and play-off schedule. In certain situations, it may be beneficial for athletes to play a level above what they are registered. This is not a common occurrence, but may take place in specific situations where it benefits both the team and athlete. Coaches are not to 'recruit' junior age players. They are to speak directly with athletic director(s) and junior coach prior to expressing any interest to the junior age player. In these situations, the athlete, the family, coaches, and athletic directors are consulted. A final decision will be made by the GSS Athletic Committee.
The playing up contract must be filled out by the intended player, the junior coach, the senior coach and the athlete's parents. Once a player decides to play up, they are removed from the Junior roster and will no longer be able to play juniors for the season. For playing up contract, see section in handbook.
Junior Provincials are not sanctioned by BC School Sports. Therefore, junior teams wanting to compete at a junior provincial tournament must submit a written request to Golden's Athletic Director. The request will state their reasons to participate, players and chaperones committed to going, and a breakdown of costs. The request should be done as early in the season as possible so parents/guardians can be made aware of potential costs. No school funding is available. This tournament must not interfere with local zone championships. A final decision will be made by Golden's Athletic Committee.
While traveling with a team for reason of athletics each coach should not incur any costs associated with food, accommodation, team expenses etc. To that, you have a meal allowance Per Diem of the following amounts:
Breakfast - $20 (Try and book accommodation that includes free breakfast, much simpler for athletes)
Lunch - $25
Dinner $30
Please keep all receipts from purchases for submission to the school office upon your return. If you incur food costs above amounts listed above contact the Athletic Director to discuss.
Note - as this is a school sports team, no alcohol, marijuana or other substances should be consumed while you have duty to care over the team and athletes. See coaches code of conduct above.
The goal of the Golden Secondary extra-curricular athletics program is to create not only well rounded athletes, but students and citizens of the Golden Community. We strive to provide the students of GSS with the opportunity to learn new sports, hone their skills and create lifelong skills and friendships that will serve them later in life. Whether these are communication skills through working as a team, hard work through rigorous training or playing for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA, we value commitment to the team, hard work and an intrinsic drive to better oneself.
As an athletics program we strive to uphold the following policies:
The focus for teams at the Bantam (Gr 8) level is primarily on skill development and maximizing participation and emphasis for equal play. The Junior level (Gr 9/10) focuses on skill development and competitive play. As the season progresses, playtime may be affected depending on individual team's goals. At the Senior level (Gr 11/12), the focus shifts to competitive play, and equal playtime may not be possible. Commitment and dedication are demonstrated by regular attendance at practice and game play. Each player should set goals that include personal development.
Eagles Athletics has the highest of expectations for its coaches and athletes in their conduct. Above all else, athletes and coaches are expected to represent themselves and our school with respect, dignity, and sportsmanship. Whether on the playing field, or in public situations, athletes are expected to represent themselves, our school, and our community to the highest standard.
e.g. Being accepting of official’s calls, appropriate language, etc.
We encourage parents and fans to cheer for our teams. While it may be difficult, it is not all right to celebrate our opponents’ mistakes. Other sportsmanship suggestions include;
• All comments should be positive and have a supportive influence on athletic play.
• Be respectful to our officials.
• Take time to learn the rules and strategy of the game. By doing so, your spectator experience will become richer.
Please note: a student-athlete who looks into the stands repeatedly for approval or disapproval during a game may be experiencing higher than normal anxiety.
THE 24/48 RULE
Sports and competition can become emotional. We love to watch our children and teams try their best and compete, but we may not always agree with how certain situations play out. For this reason, Eagles Athletics endorses the 24/48 rule. This rule states that parents and/or spectators who have a sport-related issue that requires direct contact with the coach or athletic/tournament-director wait 24 hours from the time of the incident to allow reflection and emotions to cool. The issue then must be brought to the coach’s attention in the next 48 hours, or be forever dropped. This system is used in many sports and has the best chance success rate in resolving issues. Coaches usually enjoy and appreciate feedback so long as it is done in a civilized manner. The 24/48 rule allows emotional topics to be discussed with part of the emotion removed, and also does not interrupt practice/game time.
PARENTS
As parents, we want to see our children succeed and be happy. As sports get more competitive, the risk of these two factors not happening increases. Coaches like to hear from you, however, please consider the following;
• Insist that your son/daughter try to work out their sport-related issue directly with their coach before enlisting your assistance. Learning to deal with authority figures is a major benefit of participating in organized sport.
• Avoid jumping to conclusions. Remember that some teenagers tend to exaggerate both when praised and criticized and that complicated decisions such as playing time are usually a product of many factors.
• Parents are encouraged to let their children experience sport for themselves. Although it may be difficult, it is often more beneficial to ‘step back’ and allow children to make their own experiences. Of course, if the case of clear physical or emotional distress arose, it would be important for parents to become involved.
In this District we focus on open communication and speaking with the direct person that is involved. To this end we ask that you following the list below in order to ensure the right information gets to the right people – for further details see SD6 policy 2710
Bantam - Grade 8
Junior - Grades 9 & 10
Senior - Grades 11 & 12
Boys Volleyball (Bantam, Jr & Sr)
Girls Volleyball (Bantam, Jr & Sr)
Boys Soccer (Bantam/Jr & Sr)
Aquatics (Boys/girls all levels)
Cross Country (Boys/Girls all levels)
Boys Basketball (Bantam, Jr & Sr)
Girls Basketball (Bantam, Jr & Sr)
Skiing (Boys/Girls all levels)
Snowboarding (Boys/Girls all levels)
Girls Soccer (Junior & Senior)
Rugby (Boys/Girls all levels)
Golf (Boys/Girls all levels)
Track and Field (Girls/Boys all levels)
Due to the new fee structure of sports at Golden Secondary School, every student athlete can apply to KidSport BC to help cover team fees.
For information or to apply visit the KidSport BC website:
You can apply for a Children's Fitness Tax Credit, for more information please see the CRA website: CRA Children's Fitness Tax Credit