– Bill Currie, Editor-in-Chief

Happy 2016 to you! I hope your holiday season was one of joy, reflection and health for you and yours. We’re ready to turn the page on a new chapter for soccer in British Columbia, and I’m glad to have you back with us for another year.

2016 marks a milestone for us as BC Soccer Web turns 20 years old. Since 1996, millions have visited the website, and hundreds of thousands rely on it every year as their home base for what’s happening on the West Coast soccer scene. Over those two decades, Martin Rose, Richard Howes, and now myself & Monique Lamoureux have done our best to keep you informed, and to help you get the most out of your soccer life. 2016 is the year we build on our commitment to the game and to you.

We’ve spent months thinking about how to appropriately mark BCSW’s two decades. In the end, the answers came from the ways you use the website.

For example, before I became the site’s latest caretaker, I was a daily visitor and occasional contributor for many of those 20 years. I wanted to know what was happening with the 86ers, and later, the Whitecaps. I found teams to play for, and organized pickup games at English Bay through the site. When our Friends of Soccer movement looked for support in our efforts to to convince governments to move forward on a soccer stadium, BC Soccer Web’s ability to unite the soccer community was a game changer. Through your emails and messages, I’ve come to know first hand that you look to BC Soccer Web to keep you connected with the soccer world around you. You’ve made it the online home for our province’s soccer community.

So, in 2016, our first major theme will be community. We want to help players, youth coaches and organizations find the resources that will help them improve and enjoy the game more. Our focus is to be the home of new ideas and proven techniques in developing players. We also want to call attention to the people who are making a real difference in soccer throughout our province and beyond. We need your help with this, and I hope you’ll contribute your news and ideas.

The second theme for BC Soccer Web in 2016 is history.

We’re not only talking the last 20 years. Looking back at just the website’s past would be a navel-gazing exercise that would get old very quickly, both for you and us.

When we say history, we mean all of it.

British Columbia has the richest heritage and history of soccer in Canada. For over 150 years, our year-round soccer climate has produced the best players and teams in our history. Yet, our story is also littered with setbacks and decisions that played a role in determining Canada’s place in the game today. This year, BC Soccer Web will look back at the colourful stories and moments that shaped the game, for better or worse. We’ll also celebrate the players and teams that made their mark, often against tremendous odds.

Community and History; universal themes that connect us with soccer around the world and here at home. That’s how we’re celebrating the first 20 years of BC Soccer Web.

Yours in Sport,

Bill Currie

Editor in Chief

BC Soccer Web