Hello fellow Southsiders,

Many of you have been inquiring about tickets for our May 25^th match against Inter Miami and we have an update to give. Unfortunately we were not able to escape the insane ticket mark-up for this game either; however with some creative thinking and some restructuring of our regular GA ticket pricing we are pleased to announce that we will be able to provide a limited number of tickets for $30 (an incredible $205 discount) for our Southside members.

Due to the very limited amount of tickets in our inventory and the anticipated demand for this game, the Vancouver Southsiders Board of Directors have decided that the best way to distribute the tickets evenly and fairly is to hold a Ticket Lottery for current members as of May 4th, 2024. The Draw will be limited to 1 per member and take place one week before the match with oversight from the VSS Ombudsman.

Tickets will be distributed on the day of the match, and to ensure tickets are not re-sold a valid VSS membership card (digital card will be accepted) will need to be shown to the Director of Ticketing at Gate G prior to being sent the ticket immediately before entering the stadium. If you plan to use the ticket for your +1 please ensure they are also there for ticket transfer. Further details will be distributed to the winning ticket holders upon the closing of the draw.

To opt-in to the Lottery for these tickets please fill out the following survey. The draw will be made on May 18th.

https://forms.gle/PRf6dgiDAby2SCpn6

See you in the Southside, and ‘mon the Caps!

-Kevin C

The time has finally come as the pre-season draws to a close this Saturday. Our boys are back in MLS action against Charlotte FC on March 2nd at 4:30 PM. Our GA allotment is sold out and the club is expecting a record-breaking home opener crowd. We have some last-minute info to share with everyone:

The Supporter Warm-up returns

As is tradition, the Southsiders are hosting a pre-match supporter warm-up at Dublin Calling. The membership table will be open, so if you’ve been putting off renewing your membership or signing up, this is a perfect opportunity to do so! Come by, warm-up your voices and grab some pre-game pints with your fellow supporters.

In other news, our 2024 scarves have arrived earlier than expected and will be available for pickup!

Please note that we are experimenting with a later march to the match start time. The march will be leaving 3:30 PM, 1 hour prior to kick-off.

Fundraiser for Chris Gauthier

We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our friend, Chris Gauthier. Chris was a well-respected actor in the film industry and a long-time, passionate Whitecaps supporter. We will be running a “pass the boot” fundraiser at Dublin Calling during our supporter warm-up in support of Chris’ family during this heartbreaking time. Any contributions are greatly appreciated.

Season kick-off party success

Our annual season kick-off party on Feb 24th was a great success and we would like to thank everyone who came out to take part!

In addition to the festivities, we managed to raise $200 for the GoFundMe campaign in support of our favourite anthem singer Marie Hui’s husband Chris as he recovers from a sudden amputation.

We look forward to supporting with you this season. See you all soon!

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an Annual General Meeting of the Members of The Vancouver Southsiders Soccer Supporters Society (the “Society”) will be held as a hybrid meeting, in person at Dublin Calling Pub (900 Granville St, Vancouver, BC) with an option to attend online on January 6, 2024, at 2:00pm for the following purposes:

1. To receive and consider the report of the Directors, and the financial statements of the Society for the financial year ended December 31, 2023 (copy available for inspection upon request);

2. To waive the appointment of an Auditor for the ensuing year;

3. OR To appoint an Auditor for the ensuing year;

4. To elect Directors for the year; and

5. To conduct such other business as may properly come before the meeting.

DATED effective as of the 23rd day of December, 2023

• RSVP and ZOOM signup form
• Notice of AGM 
• Agenda
• Election rules 
• Constitution
• Bylaws

Nominations

It is important to note that some of the 2023 board will not be seeking re-election and there will be boots to fill. We encourage everyone to step up and get involved and help to keep our group the best supporters group worthy of its past.

URGENT! Season tickets in GA for 2024 📣

As you may have seen, the core of our operations, the GA section is growing in popularity, it’s usually the first section to be sold out for big games. Working with the club, we want to make sure that Southsiders and our fellow youngsters the Albion have a chance to take the remaining seats offered as season tickets in GA. We have a supporters exclusive link active ONLY UNTIL BOXING DAY and was sent out to the membership.
This also means that single ticket availability will be very limited. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Southsiders and fellow supporters,

It has been a busy month, and we are thrilled to finally kick off the 2023 season. Let’s get started!

First and foremost I’d like to thank you all who signed up for volunteering. Our first corps of volunteers meetup up was a great evening and I’m looking forward to our ongoing discussions. If you are interested in helping out as a volunteer, it’s never too late, you can always fill out this form https://forms.gle/tVfjZRzEsmi2nMcV9 or email secretary@vancouversouthsiders.ca

The executive board also had a meeting. Since there were multiple applicants to fill the vacant board position, we conducted comprehensive interviews and after much deliberation, the board appointed Sarah Petrie as the 5th Member at Large with the title Director of Ticketing. While Dim McNami extended his portfolio to cover Communications. See the breakdown of responsibilities and the various emails you can reach the board herehttps://vancouversouthsiders.ca/page/contactus

That covers the formal business, let’s have some fun!

First Kick is tomorrow, and if you missed our kick-off event, where both Axel and Vanni expressed how are eagerly awaiting to showcase the new team. Follow our social media for details about pre-game festivities and the March to The Match. https://links.southsiders.ca

Soccer is about passion and we are a group that thrives on passion. When the team is struggling we lift their spirits. When they win we celebrate our victory in the stands until our players have left the pitch. Let’s show our support for them and each other as we kick off another season.

Are you ready?

See you all at BC Place

Cheers,
Peter

Greetings Fellow Southsiders,

As we are all awaiting an action packed Whitecaps FC season, I’d like to give you an update of a very eventful 2 weeks.

Our group held our very first hybrid Annual General Meeting on January 15. The members attending in person and over zoom, elected an executive board for the 2023 season. We had 7 nominees contested for the 5 Members at Large director positions. The following executive board had been elected as follows:

• Greg Petrie, Ombudsperson
• Steve Maddess, Club Treasurer
• Peter Czimmermann, Club Secretary & President
• Shayne Grimmer, Member At Large – Director of Game Day operations & VP
• Craig McCulloch, Member At Large – Director of Communications
• Dim McNami, Member At Large – Creative Director
• Tony Santos, Member At Large – Director of Membership and Recruitment
• Leanne Theiss, Member At Large – Director of Events and Partnerships

I’d like to thank our outgoing executive Cameron Prior for his service on the board in the past years. While he won’t be serving on the executive board, he’s already been appointed as the chair of our Charitable Works Committee and also volunteered to help in other areas, such as events and ticketing.

Unfortunately, Craig McCulloch tendered his resignation from the Director of Communication position for personal reasons. In the name of the whole membership, I’d like to thank Craig for his immense contributions to our group in the past years.

This leaves a vacant seat on the executive board as well as a major gap in the responsibilities covered by current executives. As per current bylaws, the executive board can appoint any members in good standing to serve as a director. Regardless of the formal and legal processes necessary to fill the vacant seat, we need members to step up and cover these responsibilities. e.g. running individual social media presence and informing the membership via newsletter, website or social media. This can be interim coverage and or permanent with the supervision of the appointed or elected communications director.

If you are interested in helping out either as a board member or a volunteer, please fill out this form https://forms.gle/tVfjZRzEsmi2nMcV9 or email secretary@vancouversouthsiders.ca
Board member applications close on Feb 5th at midnight.

We have a few other things already in motion:

• Southsiders Season Kick-Off party February 19th
• GA home tickets & Cascadia Away tickets sales
• Hotel & Hotel+Flight discounts for away matches

2023 Membership is now open for renewal and new sign ups!

https://vancouversouthsiders.ca

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cascadia supporters groups announce 2023 Cascadia Cup rules, call for balanced schedule

[Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; and Vancouver, BC; December 27, 2022] 

The supporters groups from the three Cascadia MLS clubs have agreed on rules for the Cascadia Cup after MLS announced an unbalanced schedule in 2023.

The Emerald City Supporters, Vancouver Southsiders and Timbers Army have agreed that all matches will count towards the Cascadia Cup, even though the new unbalanced MLS schedule means each team will play a different number of home games against their Cascadia rivals this season.

“We all agreed that we are going to count every match. This format will be one that all supporters will find easiest to follow,” says Fernando Machicado, Timbers Army spokesperson.

Portland Timbers will host both Vancouver Whitecaps twice and Seattle Sounders once, Vancouver will see Portland once and Seattle twice at home, and Seattle will host Portland twice and Vancouver once. Despite the imbalance, the three supporters groups agreed to count all matches equally in order to keep the 2023 Cascadia Cup format simple.

“Ultimately, the Cascadia Cup is by the supporters, for the supporters, and we realized this was the best decision for the 2023 season,” says Tom Biro, co-president, Emerald City Supporters. “While we can appreciate MLS needing to make different scheduling decisions due to expansion, it’s pretty obvious the league recognizes where to generate the most attention each season.”

The Cascadia Cup will be awarded to the team with the most points after all matches have been played or when there is a clear winner. In the event of a tie, the Cup will be awarded to the team with the best goal difference. Should the MLS schedule remain unbalanced in 2024, the Emerald City Supporters, Vancouver Southsiders and Timbers Army insist that it should allow for a balanced distribution of the home and away matches amongst the Cascadia clubs.

“Scheduling all Cascadia Cup matches to be played on a Saturday is a positive adjustment” says Peter Czimmermann, president of the Vancouver Southsiders. “It is imperative that traveling to rivalry games is as accessible as possible for all supporters”

Background:

The Cascadia Cup was created in 2004 by supporters groups of the three Cascadia teams, and is awarded annually to the best team in the Cascadia region. Seattle  has won it seven times, and Vancouver has won it six times, and current Cascadia Cup holder Portland has won it five times.

2023 Cascadia Cup schedule:

With the unbalanced 2023 MLS schedule, each team has 3 home and 3 away matches, two home games and one away against one Cascadia Cup rival and one home/two away against the other:

• April 8: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Portland Timbers
• April 15: Portland Timbers v. Seattle Sounders
• May 13: Portland Timbers v. Vancouver Whitecaps
• May 20: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders
• June 3: Seattle Sounders v. Portland Timbers
• July 8: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders
• August 26: Portland Timbers v. Vancouver Whitecaps
• September 2: Seattle Sounders v. Portland Timbers
• October 7: Seattle Sounders v. Vancouver Whitecaps

(Home team is listed first)

Full Cascadia Cup criteria:

1. Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned
2. Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned
3. Greater number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned
4. Reapply first three criteria if two or more teams are still tied
5. Greater goal difference in all cup matches
6. Greater number of goals scored in all cup matches
7. Smaller number of disciplinary points in all cup matches (yellow = 1 point, red = 2 points)

About the Cascadia Cup Council
The Cascadia Cup Council is a recognized not-for-profit entrusted with the management of the Cascadia Cup. The Council is made up of one representative from each of the three founding Cascadia Cup supporters groups, the Emerald City Supporters, Timbers Army, and Vancouver Southsiders.