This place is charging fees for teams that don't show up for games when our Provincial Health Officer has announced what basically amounts to a total lockdown (avoid contact with people not in your household). $200 fine and suspension from the league until you pay the fine. I'm not going to cover the other downsides of Urban Rec since those are covered in other reviews, but fining people for obeying directions from Bonnie Henry at what is, to date, the local peak of the pandemic is beyond the pale. Even if these folks ran things well, this would be enough for me to never want to deal with them again, and as you can see from the other reviews, they're not really all that great when there's no pandemic. read more

For their soccer league we were not give balls to play with it!! We had to bring our own balls which were kicked into the Construction Zone beside the field during game time. We ended up loosing a few balls in the season and did not receive them back from Urban rec. There is a 200$ fine for teams with less players (If players are Sick/Injured). Players get flagged if the fine is not paid. Meaning they cant sign up a team for future leagues if the 200$ fine is not paid. A bit too much, for a league that is self officiated and do not provide balls!! Its a money making racket. Our team is looking at other leagues options henceforth. Urban rec. should lighten up and realize ppl join their league to just have some fun. Loose the 200$ fines, flagging players so they cant join future leagues, provide balls etc. Let team just take a loss if they dont have enough players game day. Its not like we do it on purpose to be fined. Its a recreational league! There was no mention as to what the 200$ is going to. read more

Made a yelp account just to comment on how poorly Urban Rec treats their players... The league manager (Jason) was of no help and never gave us a reasonable explanation to why they would cut us short of our game time. I was participating in the indoor co-ed volleyball league, and what flusters me the most is that my team and I paid a total of $1200, and Urban Rec wasn't able to fulfill our team with Playoff t-shirts. They are making bank with all the teams that played in our league, wanting us to pay $10 for each additional shirt. We only received 6 shirts with a team of 11 that played throughout the season...does that even make any sense? Honestly, this is my first and last experience with Urban Rec after going back and forth with this "Jason" guy and wasting my time on this expensive league that doesn't meet the needs of the players. If you're planning on starting a team for any co-ed sports league, find another alternative. They just want your money, and will give you every excuse in the book not to help fulfill your needs. read more

Extremely pricey for no reason. Shortest game times compared to other rec leagues in the lower mainland (indoor co-ed 6 volleyball). Even though gym was booked until 11pm, the league manager only allowed game time up to 10:40pm. When I asked the league manager (Jason) about this and requested to extend each game to fill up the time to 11pm, he responded that as long as you start the game on time and don't waste time between points, there won't be an issue. But when it came down to playoffs, him and his own team extended their slot 15 minutes extra to finish their game LOL When we won the playoffs, we were given 6 shirts for a team of 12; the employee who gave us the shirts said to email Jason with the missing number of shirts with the sizes and we could pick them up. Which Jason responded to give him $10 per shirt (on top of the $1200 team fee we paid originally) and it would be no problem. His generic email explanation was: "While we have always ordered extra shirts in the past, we have found it unfair to fulfil some teams' requests, while others were left without shirts." Doesn't make any sense-why did they leave teams without shirts in the past? Horrible organizational skills probably. We had fun playing volleyball but that was in no way because of this company. Save your hard earned dollars and play in another league :) read more

My opinion of Urban Rec has fallen a lot over the last couple years. To the point where my friends and I have all decided not to return to the league. It's still a fun way to meet people and to stay fit, but the people that run the league are kinda there for themselves and their buddies, rather than the good of the league. There are some cool people there, but sadly they aren't the ones I have to deal with on a regular basis. After run ins with several aggressive teams and no action from UR, we have decided to take our business elsewhere. Actually, we just rent our own space and save a lot of money. UR keeps cranking up the fees, and we have seen nothing for all that extra money. There are pay leagues out there for people who want to play contact sports (UR is supposedly non-contact), but sadly, UR is becoming more about the competition and less about the fun, and won't stand up to these aggressive teams. Why 3-stars? Unfortunately, there really isn't another option when it comes to recreational sports and social leagues that cater to a wide range of activities, such as UR. I play softball with a different league, and I play floor hockey with friends in a rental gym. I enjoy both of these activities far more than my experiences with UR the last couple years, and I'm certainly not the only one that feels this way. I would love to stay with UR, but only if it was like it used to be. For now, they can suck it. Especially the jerk that doesn't return my emails. So, be warned. Try it out. Maybe you'll like it. But maybe you won't. read more

Massively disappointing. It's obvious this group is juggling way too much and only cares about money in the end. If you want to get out there and be social and active, find a league that is dedicated to the one activity that you want to do. You will have a much more enjoyable experience. read more

Urban rec has failed on so many levels. Would not recommend them do anyone looking for more social events as well as competitive atmosphere. We joined the league at a high price to be in the higher competition for flag football. They told us there would be 10+ teams and a different game each week. After 1 week we were put into a seperate divison of 4 teams. We've played 2 teams twice and haven't even played the other. The other 8 teams were put into another division and we would never play them, even in playoffs. They also promised a suitable ref to be around for any in game disputes. Urban Rec Failed on all these aspects. Other leagues in lower mainland offer a cheaper league with several teams, a good schedule and regular updates and communication. When we emailed Urban Rec they offered no solution, no proper explanation and no refund. Our whole team is not happy with the what we were expecting and what we have recieved thus far. Completely dissatisfied with them. Not worth the time or $1200 at all. read more

Get active, get social and have a blast doing it! Urban Rec is a sports organization that offers a variety of "social / beer" co-ed sports leagues - beach volleyball, dodgeball, softball and so much more - perfect for people looking for a fun regular activity to do with friends and/or to meet some fun, cool people! Beach Volleyball @ Urban Beach (1st & Main-ish) - Highly Recommend! I played co-ed 6's on Wednesdays for three seasons over that past 2 years, and woo, has it been a blast! You can choose which division (1-5) you want to enter your team in and the teams are matched accordingly. This is great because even if you're team sucks, you can play 'competitively' against other sucky teams :) Why I LOVE playing: - The vballers are such a fabulous group of people! You'll meet kind, sporty and friendly people, mostly in their twenties and thirties. Everyone's out to have a good time! - The music is fun and pumpin' along the 24+ courts. You can send in requests to the Urban Rec team as well! - Courts and sand are perfect. - Organizers are helpful and keep things fun - Overall experience is awesome. Plus, the wrap-up party is always a blast! Similar to: Volleyball BC I've also played indoor volleyball with Volleyball BC @ Harry Jerome in Coquitlam. It was very disorganized with no one really running it and there was no music. read more

They are a little pricey but they are pretty good in their customer service when I emailed them gave a really personal reason for wanting to cancel my singles registration. It was no hassels and I was happy. read more

OK so taking a championship in my first season with urban rec (curling) definitely helps push this to 5-stars. But seriously, it's a younger crowd full of fun people and they have parties every now and then. So if you're a stick in the mud, stay away, cause everyone's here to have a good time. read more

*correction/update* Correction to the previous post it was actually Nazim Hasham of Urban Rec that I was speaking to, not Dale. Today another of our teammates had a discussion with him about the incident. After starting off aggressive with her, he eventually calmed down (she's great at being diplomatic), but then eventually said to her that *I*, the team member he was speaking to the previous day, was "attacking" him. That's interesting Nazim given that when I pointed out to you that I had managed about 16 other incarnations in previous seasons dating back to Fall 2009 your comment was verbatim: "Yes we know about you and the 10,000 times you've contacted us!" If I recall correctly the only times I had ever contacted you were to ask/request some individual signee's for our team in seasons it looked like we may not be carrying enough females. In those early days Urban Rec was happy to comply with these requests because, obviously, it was a win-win situation. Apparently now it's a no-no, and gets you branded as a complainer. Not once, Nazim, have we ever complained about losing. Not then (when the team was more competitive and we won most of our games) or the last 4 seasons in our less competitive state where we usually lose. We're there for fun. Something you seem to have forgotten about. So to sum it up. This team, the Impact, swore at our players (girls as well), were aggressive, and added insult to injury in going out and targeting one of our least experienced players to dribble and humiliate multiple times, and your best response is "we'll tell them to not run up the score". As I, and my colleague and teammate today have expressed, it's not about the score. It's about the attitude. Yours as well Nazim. Try to be more professional in the future. No one attacked you, in fact it was the other way around. You're a poor representation to your league. My apologies for mentioning Dale Matsuda in my last response. I missed catching the name (ie; that it was Nazim) mostly because Nazim went right into aggression mode and then believed it was the league coordinator. Regards, Not Impressed! read more

Urban Rec "Beach" Volleyball in Vancouver (Main and Terminal area) has a LOT to be desired. No water, very poor quality 'sand' (must wear shoes or sand socks), very tight courts and very $$$. On the plus side, free parking. Seriously, filter the gravel, rocks, sticks, and debris. read more

Urban Rec has seriously declined in the past few years. Today I spoke with Dale Matsuda, (I believe), about an incident that happened at our game on Sunday whereby the other team was short one girl and still played with a full team. They also ran up the score something like 12-1. Our team is quite new and inexperienced, despite having played in UR for 3 seasons, we still only have less than half that have played competitive 11 on 11 football and so this is a large learning experience and more for fun turn out for us. We've lost before by large scores and that has not been a problem either. It happens and we wouldn't want other teams to just stop played despite being up 4 or 5-0. However, on Sunday there was an exception. Not only did this team keep trying to run up the score, but they were verbally belligerent and insulting citing our team was a bunch of "girls" and "little boys" and "sucked. Excuse me? Isn't it a coed league? The other team was the Impact. At one point in the game their #19 player dribbled one of our girl defenders towards net. After getting behind her, he turns and comes back, effectively reversing and running away from our goal. For what you ask? To dribble her again. He did this three times before going in to score. I called him out on it from the sidelines for poor sportsman ship. The game was already done at 10-1 and with the coordinator saying there were five minutes remaining. He didn't seem to care. Instead on the ensuing shift, he went on and did it again. During the hand shake I asked him if he knew what sportsmanship was and he told me to "get f-cked". We gave them zero fun points and asked Urban Rec to not give them the point for the game. Not because we're poor sports. Not because one measly win is going to help us in the standings as we sit at 0 wins and 5 losses, but because this other team was not just in it to win-it, but to add insult to injury, be rude, and completely remove the fun out of the game. They should at least be penalized the point for only playing with one girl (and not a man down) I might add. So this afternoon I get a call from one of their coordinators. As I said, I believe it was Dale but I didn't catch the name. He listened to my complaint and basically said that he would tell the other team to "pull the pedal off the medal" next time. That's it? Yes. He cited that we didn't inform the coordinator till the end of the game that they were playing with a full squad (even though in their rules there is no mention that this is allowable if the team fails to field two females) http://www.urbanrec.ca/Vancouver/UserFiles/Vancouver/File/Outdoor%20Soccer/Outdoor_Soccer_Rules.pdf further insinuating that we were just out for the points and that our captaincy situation seems incompetent and unorganized. He then proceeded to read the rules to me: "Teams are to play with 7 players on the field (6 players and a goalie) - At least 2 females must be on the field at all times. If a team chooses to have a female goalkeeper - she does not count towards the 2 females on the field. In order to avoid defaulting, a team must show up with at least 5 players (including at least 1 female). The opposing team can agree to lend players." Yes. "two females at all times" So what happens when there's one? He wouldn't answer, stating he would go and look into it further, then continued attacking our "competency" to provide adequate leadership because I cited that I was late to the game. Very unprofessional behavior in my opinion. The end result we're boycotting the league altogether. There are alternatives out there and it sounds like we're not the only team to have this experience. When management fails to enforce their own rules, then the interests are not solely on teams having fun anymore. Regards read more

As a former long time member of the UR Soccer league I've had a fair bit of time to put together an accurate opinion of the league. For the cost of joining a UR team for a 12 week season you can join a well organized league for roughly the same registration cost, with the added benefit of having referees, training nights and games for 28 weeks (full season), professional conduct, progression and FUN! You will also get your share of playing time as for Urban rec you are at the mercy of your team mates to make substitutions. As for the infield play in the UR soccer league, if you are a beginner to the sport you will feel frustrated and intimidated even in the lowest division. Soccer is a contact sport and the policy of the league is no contact. However there is plenty of contact, some of which will be intentional and some of which will be accidental. Be aware! I've personally made several complaints to the UR staff and management concerning some of the rules regarding physical contact and tackling. All of which have fallen on deaf ears. UR soccer is a self officiating league and in a sport like soccer where contact is inevitable, this is a mistake. Some of the most basic rules concerning fouls are not enforced. No slide tackling of course, but yet I've seen it many times over the years and in one case twice in the same game by the same player in belligerent fashion (The player remained on the field for the remainder of the game = self officiating ). There is a clear neglect for the safety of the players within this league when the rules are ignored, insufficient and not enforced. Additionally there is often a toxic animosity between teams and individuals, which often results in heated arguments and fighting on and off the pitch. I've played at three different locations within the Vancouver area and no location is unalike. If you enjoy the sport and are beginner or expert, join a legitimate organized league and you will save money, progress greatly, have more fun, and avoid unnecessary injury. read more

Worst customer service ever. A complete rip off for flag football. They don't even provide refs that watch the game or help in anyway, and after they received our 1200$ they completely changed what we agreed to, and put us in a league with 3 other teams instead of the guaranteed 10 teams. Definitely going to play 604 flag football next year, never again playing anything associated with Urban Rec. read more

Urban Rec has been a HUGE disappointment to myself and a whole team of flag football players. We have signed up this year expecting to play 10 teams. After 1 game two divisions were created and we were put with 3 other teams, So far we haven't even rotated through those 3 teams , but have played some twice. No matter how many emails we sent with concerns and asking for change, no actions were taken , or solutions offered, and they will not go back on their decision. The teams we are playing are aggressive and Urban Rec does not have a good ref system into place if we need someone to lay the rules. Urban Rec is a passive business that clearly only has money in mind and does not care about customer satisfaction or it's reputation. I will make sure that from now on, I tell all my friends and acquaintances , or anyone considering signing with Urban Rec to take their money and sign up with another business as there are more than one offering this type of service . I know my whole team will do the same with all the people they know. 1200$ for this kind of service makes it one of the worst customer experience I have ever had. read more

The best aspect of Urban Rec's outdoor soccer is the artificial turf playing surface at UBC. Everything else needs improvement. Some, but not all aspects are the fault of the Urban Rec organizers. If you email the staff, they will ignore you 9 out of 10 times. If you join a team as an individual, there is absolutely no guarantee that the other individuals on the team will be committed. Nobody really follows the rules, especially the one about no contact. Recommendation: get a team together of around 12 to 14 people, with at least 4 members of the gender that is the minority, who are interested in practicing at least once a week between games in order to win (which is more fun); be prepared to have only 9 to 11 people show up for each game (because we all have other lives); during a game, if the other team starts to get physical, be prepared to push back a little (if you want to win) or accept the frustration (which is no fun); and after games, plan to go to the pub. read more