Twenty-seven voting members of BICS gathered at the T.B. Costain/SC Johnson Community Centre on Tuesday night to vote on a proposed name change for the club, to further align it with the Canadian Soccer League’s Brantford Galaxy.

After an hour of discussion, with input from members of the Galaxy, Brantford Sports Council and BICS, the idea was put to a vote and a unanimous decision was made to change the club’s name to the Brantford Galaxy Youth Soccer Club.

Andrew Pilkington, club chair, said it was sad to see the name change after 25 years, but that it was necessary to signify the steps being taken in the soccer community in the last year.

“I will be sorry to see the name go as it has served the community well for 25-plus years,” Pilkington said. “The umbrella has been a desire of the BICS board for well over five years. The time has never been better for that to happen.”

In order to change the club’s name, BICS was required to hold a special general meeting in which a two-third vote of those members in attendance was needed to change the club’s constitution.

Prior to the special general meeting, Galaxy managing director Gerry Crnic said he had been in talks with several minor soccer organizations to forge a pyramid of play, but that he had become frustrated when talks broke down.

Crnic had been working to bring both BICS and the Brantford City Soccer Club together under an umbrella, which he said would bolster the overall strength of the soccer community.

However, after several attempts to bring the clubs together for discussion, Crnic said he gave up on any hope of achieving his desire for a complete pyramid of play in the near future.

“I had some assurances from both groups that discussions would be happening,” he said. “We’re not asking them to do anything other than what everyone else in the soccer world is doing, which is to build a pyramid of play.

“The rumour is we’re doing stuff only with BICS and that this is where our allegiance is. This is not true. Our doors are open, our business model has us talking to all the organizations.”

But with the successful name change at the BICS special general meeting, Crnic was confident things were back on track and said the further affiliation with the professional club would provide the “apex” for a local pyramid of play.

This, he said, would allow the minor rep program to filter players up and into the Galaxy’s development programs.

“We have started something here that other clubs will look at,” Crnic said. “I would like nothing more than to have a united soccer front in Brantford and a year from now it would be great to have an entire pyramid of play.”

Coach Tennyson Ulysse echoed the thoughts of both Crnic and Pilkington, touting the decision as a major positive step for Brantford’s youth soccer players.

“The key question to ask is, is this in the best interest of the kids and the answer in terms of aligning with the Galaxy is ‘yes,’” he said. “This is something we can look back at and be proud of.”