The winter 2024 season is just around the corner, and we are thrilled to announce that registration is now officially open! Secure your spot by following this link: https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/394837.

UPDATE

Registration filled up extremely fast this year, 25 minutes from open for 80 outfield players and 8 keepers.  At this time we have spare positions available which also serves as waitlist.  Sorry to all those that missed out.

Dear BA Friends,

Mark your calendars!

Registration for winter 2024 will officially be available from the basoccer.ca website on Monday (this Monday) September 11th at 8:30pm sharp. Costs have remained the same as last year: $360 outfield player, $180 keeper, $25 spare + $15 per game.

There are limited spots, and it will be on a first come first serve basis for all returning players (winter 2023/summer 2023) who are now receiving this heads up. If you have any questions direct them to info@basoccer.ca

May your gamedays be warm and your drinks cold!
Your BA Executive Team

Dear BA Friends,

What an unbelievable summer so far! If anyone had “wildfire smoke cancellations”, “tornados”, and “air-quality index” on their Bingo cards, congratulations! This is 2023, when people still carry their N95 masks, but put them on when they get outside, and remove them upon walking into a public place! A side note, for those of you still playing along at home, “LRT shutdown” is the free square on the Bingo card.

It’s been a couple of months since our last Update, so as you can imagine there’s a bunch of important stuff we’d like you know. Please have a read; it will still take less time than a Guns N’ Roses guitar solo, though we admit it’s likely to be less life-changing. Would that joke have been better if it were a reference to that really long Taylor Swift song? Google survey to follow shortly, this is information we’d like to know for future reference. Ok, honestly, everything from this point on is important.

All about balance

A big thank-you to the few players who were moved from one team to another as part of the usual rebalancing exercise. It’s always our goal to keep the competitive balance as even as possible, but we also want to avoid too much disruption. Thanks for your understanding, and please note that we do our best to avoid moving the same player in consecutive seasons. If we ever do that to you, please make sure to remind the Executive, or your manager; we will figure out another way.

Your Civic (Holiday Weekend) duties

With another long weekend coming up, here is your reminder that we do not have official fixtures in the Saturday league on August 5, but all are welcome to sign up for another long-weekend kickaround, FREE OF CHARGE, which, we don’t think anyone could dispute, is a great deal. The cost of booking the field is once again courtesy of a guy who knows a thing or two about a good deal, our very own Rhys Williams of Capital Property Group. Check out their website: https://cpgottawa.com/

Good times! Fore! All!

As the prez mentioned last Wednesday night at the pub, we are excited about getting a bunch of BA lads out on the links. Nick Desforges is hosting a corporate tournament with NSERC and SSHRC at the Meadows Golf & CC, on Friday, August 25. It is a 10 a.m. shotgun start in the scramble format (sometimes called best-ball; all four players tee off, and then all four take the next shot from what is determined to be the best of the initial four; this continues for each shot until you get the ball in the hole). The bottom line is that golfers of all skill levels are welcome and are sure to have fun, regardless of ability. There are also prizes for longest drive and closest to the pin on select holes. Family and friends are welcome, just please let us know whom in the BA they are with when you reserve your spot, which you can do by emailing Nick (desforges.nicolas@yahoo.com). The cost is $83 including tax, and you must reserve your spot before Friday, August 4.

Gentlemen, please

• A friendly reminder about a few things related to conduct/sportsmanship:
  Help us keep our keepers: their safety is extremely important. Yes, everybody’s safety is important, but keepers must be protected especially when in vulnerable positions. Keepers have a responsibility to call for the ball in a 50/50 situation, and players should be pulling out of challenges when they hear that call.
• We have had four yellow cards in 27 total games in the Wednesday league, and three yellow cards in 12 games on Saturdays. Just a reminder to keep things BA out there, with a special mention for “professional fouls” that, while glorified on TV coverage, do not belong in the BA. If you lose a step on someone, just do your best to run and catch up. We’ll always have fouls, but anything done with intention will be punished more severely. On that note, referees have been instructed to call games tighter, so please remember our league’s focus on sportsmanship, and be aware that two cards in a season will prompt an email chat with Denis “Law & Order” Levesque, with a 3rd offense resulting in a suspension.
• Regarding TeamSnap availability for full-time players, David “Spare Me” Willey has a tough enough job as it is, so please do not complicate it by leaving your status as a non-response or even a “maybe”. Those are both interpreted as “he is going” by our spares coordinators, which means your team may not be assigned a spare. It makes more work for David and assistant, Chris Bradeley, for your manager, and in the end, for your squad.

Vamos Todos al Juego Atletico!

Just when you thought Jeff Lewis outrunning everybody for 60 minutes was about as beautiful as the beautiful game gets, we should remind you that the BA gets a discount on Atletico tickets, and you should take advantage! Adult tickets are $35 and youth are $16–great value for a fun day (or night) at the game. The promo code is FULLBA, or you can use this link: https://am.ticketmaster.com/atletico/promotional-page?filterType=MzM3
Don’t forget that we also give away tickets at the pub all the time, so in the end, your frequent post-game consumption will be rewarded, despite what your wife and doctor are always telling you.

Once again, thank you all for making this league the absolute best, and in particular for your patience as we figure out how to make things even better.

May your gamedays be warm and your beer cold!
Your BA Executive Team