Board of Directors
Directors for 2009/2010
President - Brian Gisel
Vice President - Joe Remedios
Treasurer - Gina Hopper
Secretary - Gordon Wong
Member At Large - Ed Burnet
Member At Large - Alex Davis
Member At Large - Steven Tannock
Email the Board if you have any questions or comments.
Biography and Roles
Brian Gisel
Bio: Brian started playing Ultimate in the Summer of 1993 just as the VUL was beginning its most dramatic growth period. That summer the VUL had only 25 teams. In the next few years the number of teams would grow to 40, 60, 90 and then more than 100 teams.
Early on Brian was attracted to the organizational aspect of the sport, possibly stemming from a void in this area. As people were still learning to play the sport there was a lack of people willing to put in the time to help run leagues and tournaments. The VUL League Coordinator each year was picked at the Summer Captains Meeting and in most cases it was a matter of bullying someone into the job.
In 1993 Brian started running Babes ‘N Hats, a local co-ed hat tournament that continues to this day. Shortly after that he joined the BCDSS and became aware of the World Flying Disc Federation. For reasons he cannot remember, Brian put together a bid to host the 1997 World Ultimate Club Championships. The bid was submitted in early 1996, less than 3 years after he started playing. Thanks to a lot of hard work, and maybe because they didn't know what Worlds was supposed to be, WUCC 1997 was an incredible success. After Worlds it seemed to makes sense to Host Nationals, which he helped to organize in 2000 and 2004. During that time he also was elected (or selected) as part of the first VULS board.
In 2004 Brian became the Event Chair for the WFDF, and attended WUGC 2004 in Finland. His experiences there confirmed his belief that Vancouver should run the other half of the Worlds Events, The World Ultimate and Guts Championships. After a successful bid, and 2 years of hard work, WUGC 2008 in Vancouver was seen by everyone as a massive success.
While Brian still plays, and his playing career has had a certain amount of success in terms of Nationals and International play, helping out with the development of Ultimate off the field remains his focus. He hopes to continue to push the Sport forward for many years to come.
And for those who asked him during Worlds if he would ever do it again, he says: "WUGC 2020 is only 11 years away".
Term: 2008-2010
Roles: President, Growth Committee Chair
Teams: Current: Big Red Ford, Weeble. Past: Sweet FA, Galapogus Ho-Hum, Yo-Yo Ma, Yo-Yo Maui. Touring: Canada Mixed 1998, Ro-Sham-Bo, GRIND, Gauntlet.
Joe Remedios, CMA
Bio: Joe got hooked on ultimate at SFU in the early 90's. When not playing in Vancouver, he tossed discs with treeplanters in northern BC, gave away a disc to youngsters in southern India in an attempt to convert them from cricket to ultimate, spent 2 years playing ultimate in Victoria, and spent a summer organizing ultimate in Charlottetown, PEI. His favourite tournies are Split Disc, UHF, C-Fest, Udder Bowl, Catch'n Release, and Babes'n Hats. Joe is currently serving his second term on the VULS Board of Directors, after having served on the inaugural VULS Board (1998-2000). He is curently interested in HR performance evaluation and sponsorship policy development.
Term: 2008-2010
Roles: Vice-President
Teams: Current: Joey. Past: Illegal Smile, Discombobulators, Bottom Feeders, Flikerish, Fugu.
Gina Hopper
Bio: Gina has been an active member of the Vancouver Ultimate community since her arrival in the fall of 2005. While Constantinople is where she calls home during league play, she has graced many a roster over the past few years. In the competitive arena, Gina has proudly worn jerseys for Joy Ride 2006, Blue Bombers 2006, and Crush 2007. Off the field, she is the organization force behind the Women in Ultimate clinic series and Vancouver's latest women's team, Snack Shack.
Term: 2009-2011
Roles: Treasurer
Teams: Constantinople
Gordon Wong
Bio: Gord's daytime hours are spent working as an Optometrist. On the Board, his area of special interest is Communications. He loves the sport of ultimate, as all his friends can attest.
Term: 2008-2010
Roles: Secretary, Communications Committee Chair
Teams: So Flicking Awesome, Betty Cracker, Buck Fugly
Ed Burnet
Bio: Ed was a member of the VUL Board from 2004 - 2006 and is happy to return for another term, after having spent the past 2 years in Sydney, Australia. By day, Ed is a lawyer with the Department of Justice Canada.
Term: 2008-2010
Teams: Current: Huck Finn. Past: Big Red Ford. Touring: various masters teams including NegliGents, Grind, Retro, Sabotage and Gauntlet.
Alex Davis
Bio: Alex is an engineer by trade with an impulsive taste for all things ironic, esoteric, and physically demanding. Formerly a competitive runner and cross-country skier, he originally became entangled in ultimate in 2001 as a form of cross-training, but immersed himself in it after realizing how much he had missed team sports.
Having previously dallied in Vancouver for a summer in 2004, Alex made a permanent move from life in Quebec/Ontario to B.C. in late 2007. He has been enthusiastically involved in the local ultimate scene since, and now brings his project management knowledge and sense of organization to the VUL Board.
Alex coaches junior ultimate at Eric Hamber Secondary School and also serves on Ultimate Canada's Competition Committee. He currently competes on behalf of Furious George on tour and with Ho Baby in league play. He also makes regular coaching appearances at VUL clinic events and is easily drawn into discussions concerning the technicalities of UPA and WFDF rules.
Term: 2009-2011
Teams: Current: Ho Baby. Touring: Furious George
Steve Tannock
Bio: By day, Steve is a veteran web developer who was worked with non-profits and progressive companies since the mid 90's to improve organizational communications and increase community involvement. Steven is the co-owner of Pencilneck Software, a local software development company. He currently sits on the board of ThinkCity and is an advisor to the Vision Vancouver park board caucus.
By night, Steve is hopelessly addicted to playing ultimate.
Term: 2009-2011
Teams: Current: Hookers & discs. Past: TJs Hookers, Gang Green, Menace to Sobriety, Tubthumpers.