2023 February Newsletter

Dear Van U Members,

As we get ready to shift gears from the fall/winter season to our spring and summer events, here’s some info and gratitude.

First a reminder that registration fees for the 2023-24 season for all divisional programming (U4 to U18) have been frozen. There are no fee increases from this season’s fees aside from one program that changed dramatically and has an increase for one division in a single age group and another program that changed in a manner that allowed us to reduce fees. We appreciate our members and we respect that many are feeling the effects of inflation so we are looking at ways to keep our programming as affordable as we can.

Beyond that, here’s what else we want to make you aware of.

Tickets for Field Day at BC PLACE

Many thanks to everyone who stormed our registration system last week to ensure they registered in time to get access to the VanU Field Day at BC Place on June 10th. Due to the popularity of the event we have consulted with the Whitecaps and looked at re-jigging our field formats so that we can accommodate as many players as possible who want to play a game on the turf at BC Place before the Whitecaps game vs Cincinnati. All players that registered for U4-U8 Spring First Kicks or U9-U10 Spring League will be receiving one ticket. You will need to buy additional tickets on PowerUp to ensure that you will sit with your child. We still have some space for the U4-U8 Spring First Kicks and U9-U10 Spring League programs! Register now to get your one free ticket to this amazing event!

Extra game day tickets are available now to parents and anyone else who would like to attend Field Day and/or the Whitecaps game that night. You can purchase tickets through PowerUp for $24.

2023-24 Fall Season Registration

Come play another season with us this fall! Registration opened on February 1st. Login to your PowerUp account to secure your spot!

U11-U18 Evaluations

For players entering U11-U18 this fall season and wanting to play at Division 1 or 2 level, you must register for evaluations through PowerUp. Each age group has 2 days of evaluations and should attend both sessions. Evaluations will begin shortly after the regular season games and will continue post Spring Break. The full schedule is posted on our website.

E-Transfer

Just a reminder that if you are wanting to pay by e-transfer, please send to: info@vancouverunitedfc.com

Spring Break Camps: Spaces Still Available

Spring Break will be just around the corner before you know it. We are offering week-long camps during the weeks of March 13-17 and March 20-24 for our U7-U13 age groups. We have locations at Eric Hamber Secondary and UHill Secondary turf fields. Grab a friend and register today! Check out our website for more info: https://vancouverunitedfc.com/spring-break-camps

Strategic Plan & DEI Work

Our Strategic Planning Committee and DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) Member Advisory Group continue to work on moving the club forward in their respective areas. Work on both these fronts will continue through the spring. Thanks to all involved in this work.

Haiti Children & Youth Projects

VanU was able to donate over one hundred old kits to the Haiti Children & Youth Projects that helped outfit many players aged 7-25 to participate at their soccer camp. This donation further enriched their soccer experience.

VanU Skills Center Program

After a successful Fall and Winter program that saw 175 participants take part in the programming, our Spring program is now completely sold out. The 260 participants will enjoy the ability to take part in up to 4 tournaments and the program’s training sessions culminate with an event at BC Place on June 10th! Looking forward watching to the continued development of our members through this program that is a blend of Invited and Open registrants and it’s model is something that the CSA are monitoring.

BCSPL is about to Kick Off

Our BCSPL teams have had an eventful pre season loaded with exhibition games, workshops, injury prevention sessions and of course, team training. As they enter their last weekend of pre season games, we wish them the best of luck this phase as the 6 teams hope to bring home the clubs first BC Soccer premiere cup. Good luck also to the '08 boys and '09 girls who head down to Vegas!!

2023 Beach Blast Soccer Tournament

We will have details on our Beach Blast beach soccer tournament coming out soon. The tournament will run from Aug 11 to 13 at Spanish Banks Beach. VanU teams will have registration priority for a limited time.

Season End Date Reminders:

Winter Small Sided Games Academy - February 13th

Winter Technical Skills Academy - February 13th

Winter Striker Academy - February 17th

First Kicks Chaldecott/Jericho- February 25th

First Kicks U4/U5 MacInnes - February 25th

First Kicks Hillcrest - February 26th

Second Kicks - February 25th/26th

U11/U12 Divisional - February 25th/26th

U13-U18 Divisional - League Games end February 25th/26th, if teams are in Cup Play, they will continue through until they are out

Skills Centre - February 25th/26th

Futsal Program - March 7th/8th/9th

Thank You Gooseneck Hospitality!

For the back half of 2022 VanU has been the beneficiary of Gooseneck Hospitality’s charitable table reservation system. This sees the $5 collected for table reservations gifted to good causes. In our case this adds up to over $1800 being put into our VanU Community Fund which helps families experiencing financial difficulty pay registration fees. Many thanks to Gooseneck and we encourage our members to consider going to any of their restaurants including:

Bufala Pizzeria in Kerrisdale: https://www.bufala.ca/kerrisdale

Lucky Taco in Kits: https://www.luckytaco.ca/

Bells and Whistles in Dunbar and on Fraser: https://www.bellsandwhistlesyvr.ca/

Healthy Stuffies

Health and Deliciousness delivered to your door! Handmade Stuffies filled with all natural ingredients. Make an entire healthy dinner for your family in 10 minutes! https://healthystuffies.com/

Want your business featured in our newsletter? Fill in this form and we will select one each month! https://forms.gle/cvkpV7ivdG2gnavx9

From our Board of Directors and all our Staff we would like to thank you and your family for all the support you continue to give us to make VanU a club to be proud of!