BIFC Families,

It is an exciting time of year - BIFC’s 40th! - for all our Development Academy and Select program players and families. With the start of tryouts for the high school ages just around the corner we can almost feel spring in the air (okay, maybe not yet) and before you know it the younger kids and their families will be thinking of their tryouts and summer seasons.

This is also a time during which the BIFC Board plans for the coming year, including creating a budget that will allow the club to continue to provide the same high-quality programming as it has done for the last 40 years.  The Development Academy and Select program components of the budget are consistently the largest, and the possibility of raising fees is always part of the discussion. As many of you may know, the club was able to avoid raising the participation fees for all age groups from 2016 through 2021. Our ability to maintain those fee levels was largely based on a large multi-year field fee credit from the Parks Department for our role in the development of Battle Point turf. During the 2021-22 season this credit was exhausted, and in preparation for this to occur as well as other rising costs, fees were raised last year. We fully anticipated that we may need to continue to raise fees annually, with an eye on being as frugal as possible while maintaining the excellence of the programs.

This year the board has had to again address the issue of rising costs. In addition to sharp increases in field rental fees, the costs of labor and equipment have followed the inflationary trend of the wider economy. Our club-wide needs have continued to expand and we have created new positions that will greatly enhance our ability to deliver and improve the quality of programming and experiences for players and families. Importantly all of this was viewed in the context of minimizing the impact on our overall expenses.

In light of all these considerations, the Board approved a budget that will include raising the fees for the DA and Select programs. This amounts to the following increases:

• U15-19: $175
• U11-14: $150
• DA: $100

As a non-profit we work to have our revenues and expenditures at the break-even point annually and this increase will ensure we can maintain this goal. This is also a budget that allows us to maintain our ability to deliver the best experience for all our players involved in these programs. As always, our focus as a club is on the players, their well-being, their love of the sport and their growth, both on the pitch and off.

We as a club want this opportunity to be available to everyone, regardless of financial circumstance and towards that end we have also established a significant scholarship program for those who would like to apply.

The chart below provides more detail on our fees since 2016.

To provide some context our fee levels compare well with similar clubs in our region:

• Kitsap Alliance - ranges from $1550 - $2200 for comparable age groups
• Harbor Soccer Club - ranges from $950 for Development Academy to $2500 in the older age groups
• Seattle United Select - all older age groups - $1725

Looking over these other clubs brings the assurance that we are well in line or below the cost associated with local player fees.

It should be noted that this has no bearing on the potential funding for Fields for the Future (adding another lighted turf field for youth sports on the Island) that the club may become involved in as that would be an entirely different funding stream.

No one likes to see fee increases and the Board has done its best to minimize fee increases over the years. Given recent history and our best efforts to foresee the club’s needs, we strongly believe that BIFC fees for the coming year are thoughtfully realistic in keeping our kids thriving and the organization healthy.

If you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to reach out.

Sincerely,

Peter Murchie                                     Brett Deits

BIFC Board President                         BIFC Board Treasurer