Editors’ note: Kurt and John are firm believers that Vancouver can and should be the Canadian epicenter for growing the sport and culture of soccer football soccer. This is a self-described healthy community. We can play outside year-round, as fields are rarely closed due to snow and/or freezing. And, most importantly, Vancouver is the place to expertly develop the sport of soccer because our city’s team, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, shares this goal and so demonstrates this vision through its Club Structure and the Whitecaps Foundation, which aims to create the fittest generation of BC Youth by 2020.
As Vancouver Whitecaps FC season ticket holders, Kurt and John are well-positioned to evaluate how the franchise showcases its commitment to “be a significant community asset” – so, following every match we will reflect on this commitment by answering two questions, which are below. Sometimes we bring friends and/or family-members to the game. And sometimes those awesome friends and/or family-members write awesome blog posts about the experience.
How is the team a significant community asset?
Vancouver Whitecaps FC is not only a bicycle friendly organization, they make cycling to games easy by collaborating with The Bicycle Valet. This encourages bike riding to and from the game, which certainly aligns with the club’s vision to develop the “fittest generation of youth in BC by 2020.”
I was lucky enough to attend both home games last week and rode my bike to the games with Michelle on Wednesday and Kurt on Saturday. There was certainly some powerful community building in the lineup for the Bicycle Valet, too, as cyclist chatted about Eric Hassli’s brilliant goal (below), tips about how to get to and from the game, and how beautiful a city Vancouver is for cycling.
WHAT COULD MAKE THE CLUB AN EVEN BETTER ASSET?
With the summer season upon us and BC Place located in our city’s gorgeous False Creek/Downtown ‘hood, Vancouver Whitecaps FC has an opportunity to leverage the beauty of its community – there might not be a better place to spend summer than in Vancouver. For some cyclists, though, getting outside for exercise isn’t enough, so my proposal is that the club incentivize cycling to and from games.
What does this look like and how can it be done? Simple gestures, such as coupons or gift certificates to Whitecaps FC business partners, represent great strating points. Grander gestures, such as “Bicycle Day” or “‘Capscycle”, would go a bit further to honour the folks that travel to experience sport by, well, experiencing sport and emitting far fewer emissions en route to doing so.
So, think about it, Vancouver Whitecaps FC. See you at the bike valet!
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Masthead photo courtesy of Mafue’s photostream on Flickr