6 Months after originally scheduled, the VISL Cup Finals were able to take place.
3 Finals were played at Westhills Stadium on Saturday Sept 19, and here are the results.
We also had 2 more Finals on Sunday Sept 27 at Westhills, the Challenge Cup and div 4 Playoff.
Information below as well.
The first game of the day featured Mid Isle Mariners vs Prospect Lake Lakers in the George Smith U21 Cup.
The game needed Penalty Kicks as the score was tied at 1-1 after 90'.
Prospect Lake was victorious after the kicks as they scored all 5 to Mid Isle's 4.
Final score was 2-1 for Prospect Lake.
Scoring for Prospect Lake was Michael Raper, and for Mid Isle - Douglas Mtatabikwa.
Game MVP, receiving the Walter Craveiro trophy, was Prospect Lake Keeper - Lucas Cracknell.
Next up on the agenda was the Tony Grover Masters Cup.
Before the game took place, the VISL had a trophy naming ceremony.
The Masters A Divisional trophy has been in play since 1996.
It is now called the David Ravenhill Memorial Trophy.
It was presented to UVic Alumni by the Ravenhill family.
Game wise, UVic Alumni were able to top off their perfect season by edging out Cowichan 49ers by the score of 2-1.
Scoring for UVic was Dean Anderson & Sean Battistoni.
The lone scorer for Cowichan was Tyler Hughes.
Game MVP, receiving the Alex Hylan Memorial trophy, was UVic Keeper Rob McIntyre.
The last game of the day was the 105 year old Sir John Jackson Cup competition Final.
This finished with Nanaimo United slipping by Lakehill FC by the score of 2-1.
Nanaimo goals were scored by Daragh Fitzgerald, and Colin Jacques in the first half.
The single goal for Lakehill was scored by Nico Cristante.
Game MVP, receiving the Denny Girvin Memorial trophy - from Nanaimo, was center back Mike Greenaway.
Here are the Champions who pick up their 2nd Jackson Cup in 3 years.
The Div 4 Playoff trophy was won by Fernwood Utd.
A 1-0 win over prospect Lake Lakers.
The loan goal was score at 88' by Ricardo Villanueva.
Game MVP honours went to Fernwoods Luis Ambriz-Gomez.
In the George Pearkes Challenge Cup Final, an upset of sorts.
After 90' and a 0-0 score, PK's were needed to decide a champion.
An exciting match saw Vantreights defeat Gorge FC by score of 1-0.
Game MVP, hoisting the Kjeld Brodsgaard trophy for multiple selfies - was from Gorge FC, was keeper Cam Turner.
2019/2020 is officially in the books - no COVID winners on any of the trophies.
Well done to all teams !!
Donate to the David Ravenhill Memorial Bursary The Island soccer community and beyond are shocked and hurt as a local legend leaves us too soon.The Reynolds School and beyond have lost an inspiration.
Above all else, gone is now a husband of 32 years, and a father of 2 young men.
We are all in a state of disbelief, and can only send the most positive of thoughts to Karen, Adam, and Andrew Ravenhill. (And the extended Ravenhill family)
The entire community now reflects on the life on an individual who made a difference in so many other lives.
An excellent role model to so many.
As a VISL player, David (better known as Raves) had a long career spanning over 5 decades.
Here are some of the things he was able to accomplish after his time at UVic:
1985 – Played with Victoria Shooters
1986/1987/1989 – Went on and
played with Gorge, and Victoria Vistas
1990 – Player of the Game vs Winnipeg
as a Victoria Vistas player.
1991/1992 – Was on the local All-stars
team as they played Chelsea, Dundee Utd, & Vancouver 86ers.
1993/1994 – Played with Vic
West Div 1 and was the Division 1 MVP.
1995 & 1996 – Played Victoria
Utd of PCSL - League Champions & Kennedy Cup Champions.
1997 – Awarded the VISL Wilf Sadler Award and again later
in 2003.
2000 – At the age of 38, he won the Div 1 Goal Scoring
Award – scoring 32 goals in an 18 game schedule. (None via PK's)
2001 – Start of Provincial
& National run with Gorge FC
2005 – Gorge FC MVP
2008 – BC Champions with UVic
Alumni Over 35’s
2009 – At age of 46, played on permit with Bays Div 1,
with his son, scoring the game winning goal against Sooke.
2011 – Took Highlanders to
U.K.
2011/2012 – VISL Masters MVP
2019 – Still playing with UVic Alumni at age of 55, has
been team captain for all 14 years of that team existing. He was an original member, and still able to play on permit with the Div 1 team.
2019 – An Assistant Coach
with Bays Div 1.
In April of 2019, Raves was presented to highest level of award that the VISL has - the Presidents Award.The Presidents Award is our version of the Hall of Fame.
In his acceptance and addressing the people in attendance with the utmost humility, it was obvious that he was so deserving.
Raves was so much more than a great soccer player though, he was such a good human. He treated others with respect, he was a welcome ear when somebody had an issue, and he was so valued that many people wanted to hear his angle on things.
The word Legend gets used a little too easily sometimes, but there is no doubt that David Ravenhill was an absolute Legend. His legacy surrounding the game and how to interact with others with always live on.
RIP David/Ivan/Original Stepover/Long-cross/Raves Ravenhill.
Donate to the David Ravenhill Memorial Bursary
VISL Membership;
Further to the administrative emails and league wide emails sent out over the course of the past 3 months, here is the latest from the Board of Directors. There has been a couple Board meetings as well as a special meeting as also previously noted. Here is the bulk of follow up information from those meetings. You are able to get further detail from the resources tab, then the DOCUMENTS drop down.
1)The Board of Directors did pass this motion in the special meeting:
VISL supports members to sanctioned soccer if they can
follow the following steps:
- Review BC Soccer’s
Return to Play Plan Phase 1 – Recommendations and
Guidelines and ViaSport’s Return to Sport Guidelines for B.C.
- Fully complete
Canada Soccer’s “Return to Soccer Assessment Tool” which requires you to
commit to offer soccer activity under the terms in BC Soccer’s Return to
Play Plan Phase 1 – Recommendations and Guidelines.
- Pass a board motion
supporting the soccer activity that your organization is choosing to
offer under the terms. (If member has a Board)
- Establish the
training program(s) and offer the safest possible environment for all
participants that choose to participate.
- The VISL shall
require a copy of the report from Canada Soccer’s “Return to Soccer
Assessment Tool” upon completion & CSA Assessment.
This is a time consuming process, but several clubs have already started the process. Gorge Soccer was (I believe) the first Club to do so, and you can see the detail they went through in order to get back to the appropriate level of allowable soccer right now. Visit
http://www.gorgesoccer.ca/club-info/covid-return-to-play.html to get a full understanding. You can see the Return to play document at
http://www.gorgesoccer.ca/images/Gorge-RTP-Plan-v20200614.pdfThanks to Gorge for sharing that. Again, have a look to see what you would need to get back on the field in an above board fashion.
2)Registration has been open for a couple days now. Forms and deposits for the 2020/2021 season are required by July 15/2020. The cost of registration is $300.00 for returning teams, and $800.00 for new teams. Payments and forms received after July 15 will have an additional $50.00 cost. Authorized team administrators can go to the Registration tab on the website, then select TEAM REGISTRATION from the drop down menu.
The Board has decided that there are no scheduled increases for the upcoming year.
We are planning for the standard 11 v 11 season. Should we not be authorized to start that format, we will look to drop down into a suggested BC Soccer small sided format.
If for some reason we are unable to start a season, all deposits will be returned.
If we have to adjust the season after it has been started, fees that have been paid will also be adjusted.
3)Now is a good time to get your Criminal Record Check application submitted if you plan on having any youth players participate. Email me for the no cost link and code to get it started for you.
4)The U-21 division will have at least 1 more change. Besides not entering the Provincial Cup for the 2020/2021 season, the Board has decided to limit the number of permits for each player. As noted in the meeting minutes, U-21 players in the VISL will now only be able to permit up 5 times in total. (no longer unlimited) They are still permitted to play for any team (other than Masters) and not restricted to teams they are affiliated with.
****This is not to be confused with youth from the U-18 Associations on the Island. Those have separate rules as indicated on the permit forms. We are also looking to start those permits online as well - eliminating the scanning of forms and getting people to hand write information. They will look similar to the intra club permits that we currently have.
We will do this via the website and opening up a pool of U-18 players once they do a full 1 time, no fee registration online.
5)An update as far as what options the Board has with the funds from the banquet from this past year.
Since the banquet did not take place, the following options were suggested by Board members or individuals from membership:
-credit for the next banquet, so no charge on the upcoming years banquet = $160.00 off the upcoming years invoice for returning teams.
-still having some sort of recognition and applying the funds to that. (will be very different and modified from previous years)
-depositing the money into the growing internally restricted field fund account.
6)Times have changed, and we will obviously have to adapt accordingly. A couple things we plan on doing:
-providing a mask for all membership for the upcoming year.
-having educational sessions for Board and club members so they can be prepared for new sanitary processes moving forward.
7)We are still going to have an AGM.
Date is TBA. We are also looking into additional ways to have people attend. (Like virtually through Zoom)
8)You have most likely heard that all Provincial & National Championships have been cancelled for the 2019/2020 season. The VISL still has our league Cup Finals as a priority to complete. All teams still involved will be contacted when we get the go ahead. Hopefully you are still training on your own, safely, etc etc.
9)Officiating...............do you want to become a referee? If you do and sign up via BC Soccer, the Board is looking at ways to support that. We have paid for some of the registration costs in the past. We are potentially looking to pay for the entire cost of registration after you register with VISRA (the local refereeing chapter) and complete 3 games for the VISL.
10)There is a new sponsor initiative.
Island Savings came on board last year, and have decided to extend for the next 2 years - and then hopefully into the long term.
If you are not a credit union member already (so through Coast Capital or Van City Savings or Coastal Community type thing) and you become a member of Island Savings, you can start by getting $200.00
Follow this link to become a member, then let me know when it is done.
Is pretty simple.
Set up a personal account. Set up a recurring, pre authorized transaction = get $200.00
Set up a team account, make a deposit = get $200.00
The promotion code is VISL.
Again, let me know once you are set up.
Any questions Island Savings related, contact Jesse Honkanen at JHonkanen@islandsavings.ca or 778-587-0479
That is about it, a chunky update.
Keep staying safe, and keep the hope alive that we will have a season sooner than later.
Any other questions or comments or concerns, feel free to drop me an email.
Vince Greco
VISL Executive Director
(M)250-889-1213
(T)@vincenzo25
(I)vancouver_island_soccer_league
vincentgreco@shaw.ca
Via E-mail
March 13, 2020
Attention: BC Soccer Membership (and affiliated soccer clubs)
From: BC Soccer Association
Re: COVID-19 update
BC Soccer suspends sanctioned soccer activity regarding concerns over the spread of COVID-19
Over the last 24 hours there have been even more heightened concerns over the potential spread of COVID-19. Therefore, as of March 13, 2020, with this growing and unprecedented uncertainty surrounding this health pandemic, and in accordance with Canada Soccer’s direction, BC Soccer is directing all members and affiliated clubs to suspend all sanctioned soccer activities in the province until further notice.
BC Soccer sanctioned soccer activities include, but are not limited to, all competitions, training, practices, matches, coach and referee education and team building activities. The intent of this suspension is to limit situations of physical contact.
BC Soccer restates that the health and safety of all participants in the soccer community in BC is of the utmost importance and is central to any decision-making process. Further, in the first instance, all involved in our sport should take direction from the appropriate health authorities, including the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Ministry of Health.
To ensure the health and safety of the players, coaches, match officials and administrators in BC, BC Soccer recommends that all Youth Districts, Adult Leagues, Associate Members and Affiliated Clubs communicate to their members that they will cease operations immediately and until further notice.
BC Soccer will continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the public health authorities, government agencies and soccer governing bodies and will provide appropriate updates as things continue to unfold.
BC Soccer thanks you for your understanding while we work through this challenging and unprecedented time. We also want to take this opportunity to recognize the extra work that this decision is placing on the soccer community in BC.
Canada Soccer
Government
- The Canadian Government (and specifically the PHAC) has assessed the public health risk associated with COVID-19 as low for the general population - https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html
- The BC Ministry of Health has also stated that the risk to British Columbians remains low - https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-feature/coronavirus-disease-covid-19
See below for previous memos from BC Soccer regarding COVID-19.
-End-
