Dear friends,
Look around your neighbourhood, what do you see? Everything is turning green, including the white soles of your fresh new sneakers. The air is full of birdsong… and tree pollen. If you listen really closely, someone off in the distance is cursing their lawnmower that won’t start. Spring has arrived, and summer is around the corner! A fair warning, this email is long. Longer than the piece of paper Colin Raines keeps in his glove box listing all the players he has nutmegged over the years. Unlike that, this is (mostly) important information you (mostly) need to know.
Welcome! Don’t “BA” stranger!
First order of business, a warm welcome to the newest members of the BA Soccer League! Something we already know, but you will soon find out, is that this is a league unlike any other. As you will read (please!) in our separate communication to the Newbies, there is an emphasis here on keeping everything fun, friendly and respectful every single week. We really hope you enjoy your first season in the league and implore you to make at least a few post-game pub appearances to enjoy the company of your league mates (don’t worry, everybody is sweaty, no one will judge). And yes, there will be door prizes; Tom keeps outdoing himself with better ones each year, but you gotta show up to have a chance! As always, good food, drink and company are guaranteed!
Housekeeping, always an unfortunate reality
This is far worse than household chores; as president Frank Lamontagne announced at our season-end party (just when the mood was one of peak enjoyment), he will be stepping down from his duties, having secured an exciting new career move that takes him to Belgium. He will be leaving mid-June, so here’s hoping we get a few more chances to share the pitch with him, even if that includes his elbows, before he goes. It’s a big loss for our league, and for many of us personally, but we are positive that the great work he has done for us over the last decade, including the last two as president, will have a lasting effect, long after he departs. We all wish you the best, Frank, and look forward to hearing about your European adventures one day when you find yourself back at a Bad Alibi corner table. Denis Levesque will step up as interim president, Gaston Satouroff will take the role of interim VP, and the vacant positions will be addressed at the upcoming SAGM.
Speaking of the SAGM, we are set to have the next one on June 22nd, at The Bad Alibi, immediately after the Saturday League games. We will send a survey in the next few weeks to get an idea of how many will attend, and circulate agenda items. You will also have the opportunity to submit motions for discussion. Please make an effort to attend if you can; it’s good for the league to get as much input from the members as possible. Also: pizza and wings, but you had already decided you were going, right?
Speaking of speaking of things… another survey to look out for: We are planning a BA golf outing for Thursday, September 19th, at Pineview. There are still details to be finalized, but we will keep you posted in an upcoming communication that will include a survey to sign up. The event will include opportunities for BA-owned businesses to sponsor a golf hole. If that interests you, please reach out to Colin Raines or the Exec Committee, and we’ll put you in touch.
Pre-season kickaround this Saturday, May 18th
We have organized a FREE kickaround for all BA Members this Saturday, May 18th. You should see it in TeamSnap (perhaps log out and log back in if you don’t), so please indicate your availability there to confirm your spot. Oh, and the reason it’s free? You have Rhys Williams to thank for that; he is sponsoring the long weekend kickarounds once again this year! Do us a favour and visit cpgottawa.com and keep Rhys and his team in mind for your real-estate needs. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. at the Potvin NW field.
Rosters – Saturday Morning League
Remember, we have five teams this season, meaning you will need to pay close attention to the schedule in TeamSnap. If your team is on a bye, there is no guarantee of an unsanctioned kickaround game, as we have not booked any additional fields. That said, there typically are open ones on most Saturday mornings, and you are free to organize something amongst yourselves. Remember, if we need spares and availability is low, we may also consider assigning players on a bye week as a backup option. Here are your managers; let’s give a shout-out to the five brave souls who’ll be helping to keep this ship on course:
- Alex Reid – YELLOW
- Ed Duncan – NAVY
- Rhys Williams – ORANGE
- Rico Iglesias – RED
- Yovani Sanchez – PINK
You can find your team and schedule info on TeamSnap (see note below). The full list of teams is also on the BA website (soon).
The season kicks off on May 25th, a week after the upcoming kickaround. PLEASE show up 20-30 minutes before gametime the first week. In fact, it’s not a bad idea for the… ahem… aging ones among us to get to the field at that time every week, but please make the extra effort to do so the first week. We usually gather between the playing fields to give your captains time to sort out a number of things: shirts, quick intros and any instructions we have asked them to relay. After the game, be sure to head to The Bad Alibi to celebrate/commiserate/exfoliate (there’s nothing wrong with a little self-care to get you looking your best).
Rosters – Wednesday Night League
We are thrilled to announce that we have expanded from six teams in our inaugural season, to eight! Please note that we still have FIVE full-time spots available to completely fill the rosters. If you know of anyone who is on the fence, or if that’s a good way to describe you, get to the league website, pronto, and claim that spot. We will then assign you to a team based on best fit. Gameplay is a full 60 minutes, with two games 8:30-9:40 p.m., and two games 9:40-10:50 p.m. each Wednesday. Keep in mind that we have a number of new managers in the fold, so please be as helpful as possible. There are several small but important jobs you can take off their plates to help your team’s season run smoothly. Reminder to the managers: you don’t have to do it all on your own, this league is chock full of fabulous fellas who are more than willing to help their team out. Just ask!
Speaking of those fine gents, here are the great eight:
- Alex Martel – BLACK
- Brad Yetts – GREEN
- Bruno Paltrinieri – WHITE
- Doug Spencer – ORANGE
- Eben Crofton – YELLOW
- Maroun Boutros – LIGHT BLUE
- Nick Desforges – PINK
- Ron Garson – RED
You can find your team and schedule info on TeamSnap (see note below). The full list of teams is also on the website (soon).
The season kicks off on May 22nd. PLEASE show up 20-30 minutes before your gametime to allow your managers the chance to organize things, go over some reminders, hand out shirts, etc. After the game, you are only steps away from the Maple Leaf – Almrausch Club, and are highly encouraged to have a cool-down beverage. Don’t forget that if you are in attendance, your team is 50% less likely to go on about that bad pass you made, or the sitter you put over the bar… usually.
We have the technology… Please use it!
Reminder to players in both leagues: please accept your invitation to TeamSnap, whether via the website or the phone app. It’s a vital tool we require everybody to use, especially now that we have some integration with the BA website that will make everyone’s life easier. Do get that done ASAP or your manager will be all over you, like Maroun Boutros when he hears a striker is carrying a foot injury.
A team by any other name
Let’s not get into what we all smell like, actually. As your manager will remind you, in addition to warming up those chiseled quads and calves, we need you to get your grey matter firing on all cylinders. Please discuss among your teammates (a great way to start communications via TeamSnap) and think of a clever name for your team, one related to your shirt colour. At the same time, please nominate a charity your team would like to support. At the end of the season, we vote on Best Team Name, in addition to rewarding the team with the lowest cards tally, known as the Team Spirit of the League Award; donations will be made to the selected charities in honour of the winning teams.
Spare me!
The bespectacled David Willey and his partner in crime, Yanic Giroux, are your points of contact for the weekly grind of filling the unfilled roster spots. For the Wednesday Night league in particular, expanding to eight teams has left us with thinner rosters than last season (a dream come true for some of you!), which is great when everybody is in town and healthy, but it’s rare for that to be the case all summer long. All that to say, people on the spares list should expect to be called upon fairly often this season, provided they are indicating their availability.
The BA Code of Conduct
Yes, this is oft repeated, but just call us suckers for the classics. The BASL is known as one of Ottawa’s absolute best recreational leagues when it comes to sportsmanship and camaraderie – this includes respect for teammates and opponents alike, as well as referees. Make no mistake, we do love a good competitive atmosphere, and everyone has a bad day from time to time, but you need to keep yourself and your league mates on the BA side of that line, long before anyone develops a terrible case of IFS (Irritable Foul Syndrome), the treatment for which may include dismemberment. This is our BA Code of Conduct, and despite our light-hearted nature on many other things, it’s something we take very seriously. New players, now you know. Returning members, you already knew, but we are counting on you to set the standard for newer players.
Lastly… who finished firstly?
Like sudsy water after washing your car in the driveway, this tidbit of information has somehow found its way to the bottom of a lengthy email. Congratulations to Beer Pressure Club (Black) for a very strong performance in the BA Winter Cup Final, racking up a big lead and holding off the Barbie Ballers’ (Pink) late surge, winning it 5-3. It was a fun watch, and kicked off a great night at the Bad Alibi to celebrate an excellent season. In other indoor wrap-up news, the night truly belonged to Beer Pressure Club, as they were awarded the Team Spirit of the League as well. It is worth mentioning that there were four (4!) teams that did not have a yellow card all season, and you should all be proud of that accomplishment. The Best Team Name was awarded to Dill Kickles (Green), who somehow either stuffed the ballot box or suppressed the vote to pry the award away from the rightful winners Oui! Oui! Bleu Nuit! (Light Blue). We don’t know how you did it, but can’t prove anything, so congrats! Donations will be made to their selected charities ($100 for each award), and the 116 charges of voter fraud will be revisited sometime over the next four years.
Ok, that’s it! Thank you for reading this far down the page, and have a great start to the season! We’ll be back soon to update once we are in full swing.
May your gamedays be warm and your beverages cold!
Your BA Executive Team