SUNDRE – The incoming president of the Sundre Soccer Club’s entirely new board of directors is excited about the coming season after a substantial surge of volunteers stepped up to join the group.
“We have a completely new board,” said Janelle Mikal.
Following the organization’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Jan. 30, Mikal was elected chair, while Soleil Rothenberg became vice-president, Leah Penner was named treasurer and Sammy Shyback the new secretary. The four-member executive is complemented by an additional five directors-at-large.
“Before, they had three people on their board,” Mikal said during a Feb. 14 interview following the group’s first regular meeting after the AGM.
“They weren’t operating at full potential before,” she said, expressing enthusiasm about plans for 2023.
“Our first order of business was to get established,” she said, referring to some housekeeping duties such as ensuring bylaws were in order and the society in good standing.
“At our last meeting, we met with Fun Team Alberta and we spoke with them about going forward as a Fun Team organization for the 2023 season,” she said, adding the new board also decided to open up the house league’s registration to children ages three and older.
The season is scheduled to start on April 4 at the soccer fields near the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #223 immediately east of the Bergen Road, or Highway 760, off of 6th Street SE, with the wind-up on June 20, she said.
Depending on how many kids are registered and the number of teams formed, one-hour practices will be held weekly on Tuesdays starting at around 5 p.m. for the younger players with older kids playing a little later, she said.
Registration begins today – Tuesday, Feb. 21 – and wraps up March 7.
“Our main goal is to keep soccer affordable and accessible to all in the name of fun,” she said.
Other tasks to tackle in the coming weeks include conducting an inventory of what the society has in terms of equipment like nets and supplies before getting more prepared for the season, she said, adding that’s why registration concludes in early March.
“We can establish our teams and get more organized,” she said.
Additionally, Tim Hortons provides jerseys that must be ordered within a specific window of opportunity to ensure they arrive on time when the season starts, she said.
That being said, as the soccer club is embracing a philosophy of accessibility for all, Mikal said, “There’s likely to be accommodations made for people that do miss the registration date.”
However, by that point, a player who was registered late might not immediately have a jersey.
“We want to encourage everybody to register (before the deadline),” she said.
As a home league, the teams will always be playing in Sundre without factoring in travel time to other towns, she added.
“Our focus for this season will be on just fun, affordability, accessibility, reduced time commitment for parents, and yes: no travelling to play other towns,” she said.
Although yet to be officially confirmed at the time she spoke with the Albertan, Mikal said the club in Sundre had heard from Fun Team Alberta that the group in Caroline was considering registering with the provincial organization, which could potentially pave the way for a year-end tournament for teams that might be interested.
And the Sundre Soccer Club also unveiled its new branding with an updated logo that was made public last week.
Visit Sundre Soccer Club on social media to check for updates as they become available.
