Dearest BA friends,

After thinking long and hard about messing with you all, starting this email under the pretense that you had missed the registration for our upcoming indoor season, after considering all the pain and anguish and possibly even heart complications that could have accompanied such a dastardly deed, we decided to take the high road, and only lied about it to Maroun, just to see what would happen. Don’t worry! Registration hasn’t opened yet, but it is right around the corner! And at last check, Maroun is ok too. Please read on!

New Dome… who dis?

As you and any residents of Farmers Way with their windows open heard a couple of Wednesdays ago, Denis announced the absolutely thrilling news, that we have officially inked our agreement with the newly built Garneau dome, at Garneau High School in Orleans, and will be able to commence our upcoming indoor season in there. Denis and Colin Raines toured the facility about a month ago while the finishing touches were being applied, and have reported great things. We are expecting better lighting, better turf, better temperatures in both hot and cold climates, and better proximity to the Bad Alibi!

Another huge accomplishment, mostly the hard work of Denis and a small team of expert lobbyists he assembled: our game times are locked in on Thursdays at 8:30/9:30, which is fantastic work for a highly competitive application process. Bravo, Denis & co.!

Two more changes of note: the field is slightly smaller (about 3 metres in both width and length), and slightly more expensive (though in fairness, we have heard that Superdome is also increasing their rates). So, while the registration cost will be increasing, it’s not purely because of the higher dome costs; there are increases across the board, including no longer operating at a loss for the winter season, referees and equipment purchases, among others.

Registration will be $440 (taxes included) for f/t players, $220 for keepers, and $30 for spares. Payments must be made via credit card on TeamSnap, which will charge a processing fee on top of that. Keep in mind that we have the lowest prices and best experience of any league in Ottawa, primarily because we do not make a profit and are 100% volunteer run.

For comparison, if you take the cost for Ottawa Footy Sevens and stretch out to a 26-game season like ours, the math works out to over $560 + TAX per player, with a wide range of early-late gametimes, no prizes, no EOY parties, no SAGM (ok, maybe we’re going too far, including that as a feature).

On a final note about cost, while an upfront payment in full is preferred, we will offer the option for TeamSnap to take payments in three monthly instalments for anyone who would like that flexibility. Please don’t hesitate to use that if you need to.

Registration opens on Sep 17th

There’s no point to teasing you any further, let’s get on with it! We are pleased to announce that the registration for our indoor season will open at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17th. (Visit www.basoccer.ca on the 17th at 9pm EST) As most of you know, you cannot approach this deadline casually! You need to block your calendars, move around any plans, recuse yourself from any potential distractions and be ready to register! Last year, it filled up in less than 30 minutes. As was also mentioned in the presidential address, we are planning to have 10 teams (100 outfield players) this season, which gives more people the opportunity to get in as a full-time player, but don’t underestimate the demand, or do so at your own peril.

On that note, if you do unfortunately miss out, please do not hesitate to sign up right away for the “Spare + Waitlist” option which will be available when full-time registration has filled up. This puts you in the queue for any additional spots that open up due to injury, changes of mind, people who signed up at 9:01 and then talked to their wives/employers/doctors at 10:01. It happens!

Please take this advice and apply it sparingly

On a related note, please consider whether you are best suited to join the league as a full-time player, or as a highly available spare. We work very hard to ensure a competitive balance, and nothing throws it off more than players who miss loads of games. If you expect to miss 6 or 7 games or even more, for any reason, please consider joining as a spare instead. This allows a player who can make a full commitment to their team to take the spot, and adds a valuable player to the spares list who can be used to balance out the teams on a weekly basis. Based on past history, if you mark yourself available to spare, there’s a good chance you’ll get a game almost every week.

Golf Tournament Next Week!

We are so excited about the upcoming golf tournament, taking place at the Royal & Ancient Pineview Golf Course, on Thursday, September 19th starting at 10:00 a.m. The format is Scramble, which helps everybody enjoy the day, regardless of skill level. Registration has closed, but if you have a last minute urge to drive for show and putt for dough (or dough equivalents), please contact Nick Desforges, who will do his best to squeeze you in, whether you are a single or a foursome. The cost is $90 (taxes included). It’s going to be a super fun day, loaded with prizes, side challenges on the course, and good times at the Bad Alibi afterwards!

End-of-season cup tournaments 

As the majority of teams agree when surveyed at this point in the season: that’s all anyone cares about winning!
We are approaching the end of the two summer seasons, so allow us to clarify how the playoffs work in each league:

BA Saturdays, being five teams, will have a round robin mini-game (45 mins) tournament, which takes place over 3 weeks. The first two weeks will have two rounds of 45 minute games, and the third week will have the last round of the 45 minute games in the morning, and after a brief break, the final between the teams that accumulated the most points in the round robin, using the same wacky scoring system as we do in the indoor playoffs. We will explain this all again in more detail when the regular season finishes and the schedule is made.

The Wednesday league, being eight teams, will have a round-robin tournament over four weeks to set a final in week 5. We will use the same patented wacky scoring system for the round-robin. This means the final will be on the evening of October 30th, so maybe pick up some spandex thermal underwear now, if you are not so much of the cold-blooded variety.

The BA Code of Conduct

We might as well put this in our email signature at this point, but it bears repeating, especially with a larger number of newer players. 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, with special attention to protecting our keepers and respecting the 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 leaguemates 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. Yes, we’re light-hearted on many things, but this is 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. 

Ok, that’s it! Thank you for reading this far down the page, and have a great finish to the summer season(s)! We’ll be back soon to update once registration closes and playoffs are imminent.

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