Board of Directors

About the Board

The Vancouver Ultimate League (VUL) Board of Directors is elected by the Vancouver Ultimate League Society membership at the Annual General Meeting. Serving on the VUL Board provides a unique opportunity to contribute to a growing community, influence the direction of the sport, and connect with like-minded enthusiasts.

What the Board Does

Attend virtual board meetings every two months—providing oversight on the sound and ethical management of the society.
Lead or participate in committees in to develop initiatives, prepare reports, and draft proposals.
Developing, maintaining and approving governance policies.
Provide oversight to maintain smooth operations and support league growth.
Support special projects and events, such as awards ceremonies, helping bring ideas to life.
Most importantly, advocates for the sport of Ultimate.

Board Structure & Terms

The board is composed of 8 members: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Directors-at-Large.
Terms last two years and are staggered so only half the board is up for election each year, ensuring continuity and guidance for new members.
Meetings follow Robert’s Rules of Order, keeping discussions organized and productive.
New board members receive a detailed onboarding document outlining board operations and expectations, and other board members are available to answer questions and provide guidance as needed.

The VUL’s Impact
Board members play a key role in supporting a league with a wide and growing impact, working to expand ultimate into the North Shore, Richmond, Surrey, and beyond. The VUL runs youth clubs and leagues to develop the next generation of players with the Canyon, Misfit, Reign, and Vortex programs, and supports touring teams and school programs. The league also organizes major community events and tournaments, including Shades ‘n’ Hats and Life’s a Beach, bringing players of all levels together and fostering a vibrant, inclusive ultimate community.

Serving on the VUL board allows members to leave a lasting mark on Vancouver’s ultimate community. Board members gain insight into how a successful, community-driven sports organization operates, help shape its direction, and grow personally and professionally through collaboration with other passionate leaders. Contributing to the VUL board provides the satisfaction of seeing initiatives come to life, supporting a vibrant community, and advancing the sport we love on and off the field.

Find full information about Board of Directors responsibilities and obligations in our Bylaws and Policies. Contact our board at board-contact@vul.bc.ca if you have questions or feedback.

Apply for the Board

The deadline to submit a nomination to board-contact@vul.bc.ca is 6:00 pm (PST), Friday, November 28, 2025.

Your nomination must include the following:
1. The full name of the nominee.
2. Nominee's complete mailing address, including postal address, email address and phone number *.
3. A summary of the nominee's reasons for joining the Board and relevant experiences.
4. If you are nominating someone else, you must include the nominee's consent to be nominated by copying them on the email.

* This information is collected to verify the nominee's good standing with the VUL.

2025 Board of Directors

Michael Robertson

With over 15 years of experience leading diverse teams in Canada and driving strategic branding and marketing initiatives for companies and nonprofits, Michael brings a wealth of professional expertise to the VUL Board of Directors. Before his wife imported him to Canada, he worked as a high-school teacher in New Zealand, and as a private chef on a luxury yacht in Monaco.

A long-time ultimate player and passionate community builder, he has played recreational and competitive ultimate around the globe and has been part of five World and World Clubs campaigns for New Zealand, France, and Canada. Drawing from these experiences, he is dedicated to fostering a vibrant, inclusive community that provides opportunities for all players—from beginners to elite athletes.

Term Ends: 2026 AGM

Roles: President

Teams: Bad Jelly, Orbis Canis, Pukana (WUCC 2002), Capital Fury, Blue Fish, Les Ziggles, Tantrum, Mastodon (WMUCC 2018), Armada, Prism

Previous World's Squads: La France Mixte (WUGC 2008), Tuatara (NZ Masters, WUGC 2016), Tuatara (NZ Masters, WUGC 2024)

Sophia Chan

I believe in the VUL's mission: To organize, promote, teach, and support spirited Ultimate in a safe and inclusive environment for all.
I love ultimate and want more people playing at a high level - and I've been a VUL member for over 10 years. I have also been a Project Manager for 4 years, and believe that will help make things a lot more efficient.

Term Ends: 2026 AGM

Roles: Vice President

Maria "MM" Tuazon

Maria “MM” Tuazon’s ultimate career started when she was 13 in 2015. For 5 years of her high school career and summers, she spent months on and off season training in competitive junior divisions before finding passion in coaching and teaching ultimate after graduating. Her coaching/instructing resume spans from high school teams to helping coach her university’s recreational and competitive teams at SFU and soon at the BC summer games for the ultimate division in the Fraser Valley zone.

She believes she can bring a sense of unity and voice to the Board as a youth representative since she’s found that the spirit of the game has been lost in translation over the recent years and the lines between competition and for fun have been blurred in the junior divisions. As a player who went through the devastations of covid for both her high school and junior club years, she has first hand experience seeing what the effects have in the youth scene now. Her goal as not only a leader but as a friend to her players, is to make a safe space for everyone and bring back the friendly competition that ultimate embodied before covid.

In her free time, she loves being with friends and family. She often hikes, works out and cooks with her brothers. On her own, she writes music and likes to practise photography.

Term ends: 2025 AGM

Roles: Secretary

Teams: Mildly Threatening, E.Z. Clap | Coach for Reign, Vortex and SFU

Brandon Yau

Brandon has been playing Ultimate since 2006 with the Annie B. Jamieson team (Lower Mainland Regional Champions in '07 and '08!). He continued playing throughout high school and university, and has been an active participant in the Vancouver Ultimate League (VUL) every year since 2015.

Professionally, Brandon is an accountant by training and currently works as a Corporate Development Manager at TELUS. In this role, he helps execute TELUS' growth strategy, with a primary focus on merger and acquisition transactions. By combining his professional expertise with his deep connection to Ultimate, Brandon is eager to support the league's continued growth and success. He is particularly excited to contribute to strengthening the league's financial sustainability, strategic direction, and ability to foster inclusivity and engagement among players. Joining the Board would allow him to give back to the sport and community that have given him so much over the years.

Term ends: 2025 AGM (1-year appointment)

Roles: Treasurer

Jessie Tai

Jessie has been involved in the Vancouver Ultimate community for 10 years and has a strong interest in women-matching teams and player development. She has experience as a coach for the Misfit program, UBC Thunderwolves, and various skills clinics. Over the years she has played many seasons of summer and winter VUL league, and has very fond memories of all the fun VUL tournaments she's competed in.

Outside of ultimate, Jessie is a project manager in the software industry, where she enjoys leading diverse teams and enabling collaboration.

As an advocate for the sport of ultimate, she is excited to be part of the VUL Board of Directors and looking forward to the work ahead!

Term Ends: 2026 AGM

Roles: Director

Teams: Traffic, UBC, Shhippos, UBC B, Zephyr, Wendigo

Noah Berson

Noah is an experienced leader and advocate with a passion for member engagement and community building. He simultaneously served as the Chair of the Alliance of BC Members and the Vice President External at the Capilano Students Union, he brings deep leadership skills to the table, fostering collaboration and fighting for member rights. A graduate in Labour Studies from Simon Fraser University, Noah combines his academic knowledge with practical experience, advocating for fair labour practices.

Beyond his academic and advocacy pursuits, Noah's love for Ultimate Frisbee spans over a decade. Having captained more than five teams, he brings teamwork, strategic thinking, and a spirit of the game to every endeavor. Notably, Noah has played a pivotal role in welcoming a multitude of new individuals, showcasing his strength in community building and expanding engagement within Vancouver Ultimate.

Term ends: 2025 AGM

Roles: Director

Derek Knoechel

Derek has been playing in the VUL since 1999, and has played ultimate at the recreational, competitive and touring levels, both nationally and internationally, most recently at the 2022 WMUCC in Limerick, Ireland. He has served as a captain/co-captain of numerous teams, and was previously a member of the VUL Skills Clinic Team. He served as a member of the VULS Governance Committee in 2023.

In his professional capacity, Derek is a lawyer, practicing primarily in the areas of labour, employment and human rights. He has experience in providing advice to organizations on human resources, governance and disciplinary matters, as well the development and implementation of codes of conduct.

Derek and his wife continue to play ultimate recreationally, and have two school-aged boys who are just starting their own ultimate journeys. In his free time, he also regularly plays goaltimate and coaches his boys’ soccer teams.

Term ends: 2026 AGM

Roles: Director

Joshua Tan

Josh has been playing Ultimate with the VUL since 2011. He first found the sport through the SFU Ultimate Frisbee Club and has been playing ever since. He has had the opportunity to play on various touring teams (Furious,Blackfish) and the Vancouver Riptide while the city still had an AUDL team. He has also had many years contributing as a coach to juniors in the Misfit program and has recently returned to co-coaching the Blackfish Open team alongside long time coach Derek Cheng.

Having met his wife and many lifelong friends through Ultimate, Josh is excited for an opportunity to give back to the league and community.

With his passion for the sport, Josh has played in every iteration of the VUL league that has been around:

Term ends: 2025 AGM

Roles: Director

Teams: Summer VUL (G-raff A-ttack, ClamWoW, Stranger Danger, 90’s Throwback) | Fall Grass (SSB, Fruit Ninjas | Fall Turf Hat | Winter VUL (Gxcci Gxng, Winter Coat, B-I-N-G-O)
Tournaments: Turkey Tourney, Life’s a Beach, Indoor Beach 4v4, Elimination 8’s and Shade’s n’ Hat’s

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