Welcome to the first entry of our Newsletter, Tidal Talk! This is a space where I get to share with you, the fans, some Tides updates and all that goes into building a professional women’s soccer club from the ground up. I hope to share with you monthly updates so you can really feel like you too are a part of this journey with our team, both on and off the pitch.
We’ll start with the fact that it’s been three months since we hosted our official brand launch party. It feels like yesterday and last year all at once. The summer months proved to be busy times for the Club with all sorts of announcements and initiatives like our coaching announcements, getting out into our community, hosting an Argyle Street Olympic Viewing Party, and the recent launch of our Season Ticket Deposit sales. Every step of the way we have been overjoyed with the amazing welcome and support from our fans & community.
The launch party and big reveal of our club name & branding was one of the most exciting dates in our young Club’s history, and I suspect it will stay that way until our home opener, here in Halifax. We were joined by more than 600 of our friends, family, supporters and soccer fans at the Casino, Nova Scotia. It was a fantastic night of support and excitement for all of us, and our community. A big thank you to all who came out to be among the first to see our club’s logo and name.
On the business operations side of the club, we have welcomed an incredibly solid team of people; Valerie Malone our president, Harish Phadke our Chief Business Officer, Danae Iatrou-Davis our Director of Marketing, Marilyn Burke our Marketing Manager, Ally Pedvis our Business Development Manager, and our newest member Jessica Bussey Administrative Coordinator. Something very fun that this team has done over the course of the summer has been to move us into our new office space in Burnside. There has been a lot of painting, furniture assembly, and in-person kitchen table board meetings. We’re keeping busy building both this club, this business and our office and it’s been fun to do it with such a great team off the pitch!
Over the past few months you might have noticed that we’ve released new Tides merchandise and announced our new in-person pick-up option so you, the fans can save on shipping fees, and visit us in our new office space! One of my favourite new items are the Tides Shoe Charms, aka the Croc Jibbitz we’re offering, inspired by my own kids! It’s been so fun to see Tides fans in the community sporting the gear our team has worked so hard on delivering and we very much appreciate you sporting the badge with pride.
Our marketing team has kept busy over the summer months making sure you’re up to date on all the exciting Tides news, while also keeping you posted on all the fantastic sporting events we saw over the summer. One of the highlights for us was following the CanWNT overcome all the challenges they faced in the summer Olympics, talk about perseverance! We also really enjoyed taking in all the Copa America action back in July. We were so thrilled to see the impact hometown hero, Jacob Shaffelburg, had on the pitch. He even took time to give the Tides a shout out while being interviewed by TSN sharing that his soon to come daughter would someday be playing with the Tides. Jacob, as you know, we look forward to recruiting her as soon as possible, and congrats on your new addition!
On the football operations side, our Sporting Director Amit Batra has been very busy putting together his coaching staff, which so far includes Lewis Page and Kennedi Kiarash. These three are already working closely together to strategize on team/roster development and Club culture. We are pleased to share that we have offers to players starting to go out and the team is receiving inbound interest from many players around the world. We know how exciting player announcements are for our fans, and trust us, we’re just as excited to share the exciting news with you all when the time comes. Remember to sign up for our Newsletter so you’re the first to know, when that time comes!
In our deposit sales, we’ve seen a lot of keen Tides fans show their support, and we’re so very appreciative of that! The beauty of the deposit is that you’re directly investing in the future of professional women’s sport, here in Halifax, while also making sure you get a spot in line to pick your season seats before non-deposit holders. To those who have put their hand up and made their deposit, thank you so much for your support.
This summer truly flew by, and I can’t believe it’s already September! We’re only 7 months away from kick-off, it’s been a whirlwind of a journey and as suspected, it’s moving faster than imagined. With that, we have a lot coming in the next few months and I can’t wait to share with you what our team has been working on.
Thanks for reading the first entry of our Tidal Talk Blog, I’m excited to share with you more exciting news next month.
Sincerely,
Halifax Tides FC, CEO
Courtney Sherlock