Pres's Corner
posted - Saturday, May 23, 2009
Bays United Football Club (BUFC) members,
My name is Tara Kennedy and I have been a member of Bays United for 12 years. 11 of those years I have been a volunteer at different capacities. I played soccer for many years throughout my youth, but retired early. I returned to the game at 31. I sat on the Lower Island Women’s Soccer Association’s board for 3 and a half seasons, where I served as division liaison and discipline chair. During my time with Bays I have coached, managed, coordinated divisions, chaired tournaments, and organized social and fundraising events. I have served as VP senior for the past 2 seasons, and for the past 8 years I have been in my most important role, player on one of our senior women’s teams.
I am here to serve the club for one reason, love of the game. Soccer has been called the beautiful game, it is it’s simplicity that creates the beauty. It is the people in the game that make it beautiful. I also love that it crosses boarders. I have had many conversations with people from all over the world, and sometimes we have not spoke the same language. When soccer comes up in the conversation, and with me, that is a lot, we always understand one another. There are so few things in life that are that so universal, the only other I can think of is one of my other loves, music.
My agenda is simple, to promote the game of soccer and advance our Club as an environment in which the game will flourish. In order to do this we need resources. Our most important resources are our people, the players, coaches, and volunteers. We need to support the players and coaches to field competitive teams of both genders, and in every division. We need to continue to improve our facilities and programs to further these goals. We have some of the best fields on the Island in our club, and we need to continue on this path and find another location to build a new lighted turf field. We also need to continue the education of our players and, in particular, our coaches. To do this we need a place to meet and educate, and I am a firm believer in having the classroom by the field, so that what is being taught in the classroom can be directly brought to the field, and vice versa.
My personal belief about the game is that it is not all about the winning, it is about the ability to win. On any given day, I want every one of our teams to have the ability to compete at the level of their opponent and come out the victor. Good competition amongst clubs can only further the game of soccer in our city and island, and from there who knows... I also want to ensure that every member has the opportunity to play no matter where they are at in soccer or in life, and that they have access to all the accompanying resources as well. All of us are here because soccer is fun, but even for those who are there just for fun, they want to compete. Winning is fun!
Thank you to all of you for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your President. I wish everyone a safe and happy spring and summer, and I will see you all in the fall.
One club negotiations
- posted April 5, 2006
Notice of Amalgamation Proposal
Bays United Youth and Senior Soccer Associations
March, 2006
Formal negotiations are currently in progress to fully amalgamate the Bays United Youth and Senior Soccer Associations. This would be the final step in a series of cooperative events dating back some eighteen years.
In 1988, the Youth organization invited the Senior club to chair the committee seeking to upgrade the Henderson Park field. This joint effort was successful first in having the surface upgraded to a sand-grass installation followed a few years later by the introduction of practice lighting to the field. The two clubs had been successful in obtaining a community grant for a major portion of the costs and shared the private funding portion based on a playing members ratio.
The Henderson facility was the catalyst for future initiatives as the clubs realized their success had been based on presenting a united front to the Municipality. As the playing permits for the Henderson field were held jointly and future initiatives were envisioned, the Senior club adopted the Bays United name in the mid-1990's with the blessing and encouragement of the Youth association.
Since that time, we have merged all outdoor park permits under the direction of the Youth field coordinator assisted by a Senior contact.
Following the girls youth club amalgamation with the boys, the cooperative efforts have continued with field upgrades at Windsor, Beacon Hill South, Oaklands and most recently Finlayson Park.
Fields aren't the only benefits enjoyed by the close association of the Youth and Senior clubs. Many Senior players are parent coaches within the Youth ranks while other Senior players have been consistently recruited to fill urgent vacancies by the Youth Coaching Committee.
The Senior club obviously benefits from its close association with the Youth club in having graduating players enter their Senior ranks. In recognition of this crucial link, the Senior club took on the financial and also organizational responsibility for the creation and maintenance of at least two Men's Under-21 graduate teams for the past six years. Additionally, a Women's Under-21 team was adopted for a year when the L.I.W.S.A. attempted their program.
As we look into the future, our prospects for a vibrant soccer program are seen to be brightest if we combine our talent and energies under one umbrella, striving to achieve common goals. The adopted club motto "SOCCER FOR LIFE" becomes more of a reality when our members can start their soccer experience in our Minis program at age five and end their careers playing for our Over-50s team, all the while staying with their local club, proposed as BAYS UNITED F.C.
Amalgamation Committee Members:
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Scott Taylor - President, Bays Senior
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Hazel Braithwaite - President, Bays Youth
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Terry Finnigan - Secretary, Bays Senior
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Gwyn Symmons - Past President, Bays Youth
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Cathy Larson - Registrar, Bays Senior
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Jim Cumming - Director, Bays Youth
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Tara Kennedy - Committee, Bays Senior
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Dale Sparrow - Past Director, Bays Youth
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Warren Kennedy - Committee, Bays Senior
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Hi everyone,
Great news! It was just announced this morning (May 4th) that Victoria was successful in its bid to be a host city for the 2007, U20 World Cup!! The event will take place July 1st - 22nd, 2007 - so if you love watching high level soccer don't book your out of town holidays for that time. The Lower Island clubs have secured a block of tickets for our youth players for this event - basically one ticket for every Lower Island youth player. The cost of these will be known relatively soon. All other World Cup soccer events have sold out far in advance, so if you are interested in attending, I would suggest that you buy your tickets immediately when they go on sale.
Midfielder, Josh Simpson of Victoria in heated quarter final action versus Burkina Faso at the 2003 World Youth Championships in the UAE. Josh would score a cracker of a goal and propel the underdog Canadians to an unprecedented semi final appearance versus Spain.
With every event like this an army of volunteers will be needed to help it run smoothly. I will keep our club posted as to any volunteer opportunities that arise over the coming months and closer to the actual event. As you can well imagine, this is a huge coup for Victoria - not only will it bring many tourism dollars into our community, but also it will bring the soccer community together and hopefully give us more recognition on a national level when it comes to funding youth soccer in Canada - something that as we all know is much needed.
Thanks and I look forward to your support for this world class event,
Hazel Braithwaite, President
Bays United Youth Soccer Association