Copa Charleston IV is not going to happen?!?! Such a sad bit of news to hear this morning. But not surprised by it at all. Those of us that have had dealings with Lowcountry Soccer have had many highs in the past and just as many lows to talk about. You could almost call my experiences as manic. The focus there is clearly on the money side of things and not the soccer side. Of course it is a business and I used to work for them. But the business is just that, a business. Hey, we all gotta make money, I understand. But for me, it's all about the soccer. Promoting it, growing the tournament, spending the time to make it special and relevant...that will reward you with the paycheck in the future. If you provide a good experience now, you will reap the future rewards. But to let it die out just a couple of weeks away from the start is unprofessional and shows a complete lack of focus and care for the players and fans. Without player interest, you have no respect. Without respect you have no following. Without a following...you have no support for your business. No advertising, no emails, not any communication at all concerning the Copa Charleston at all this year. When I helped to develop this tournament, I spent many hours calling and talking to managers, finding sponsors, volunteers, and lining up the teams and referees that would make the Copa successful. Obviously, that kind of nurturing is needed to get the turnout from the elite soccer players in the lowcountry and the sponsors to make the whole event worthwhile. So instead of reaching out to those of us in the soccer community to help pull this off...ehhhh...whatever. Nothing surprising and nothing new about that kind of behaviour from Lowcountry Soccer. Hopefully a winter tournament can still be organized quickly. I will be making some calls tomorrow to try to salvage the Copa.
The Copa has a great history so far. Full of drama on the field, it was just as much fun and exciting to watch as it was to play. Here is a snippet from the Post and Courier a couple of years ago. Check out my previous post for videos and pictures of the past Copa Charleston tournaments.
Another ridiculous news item that saddens not only the Lowcountry soccer community, but the greater Southeast region...the City of Charleston has cancelled their support of the Lowcountry Soccer Festival. This tournament was held over Memorial Day Weekend. A 20+ year running event, it attracted teams from all over the US and International teams alike to our city. Cutbacks have forced the city to toss a great tournament into the dustbin of history. However, there is another page to this story...
Lowcountry Soccer has stepped in to host the Charleston International Cup. Given what we know about the business side of Lowcountry Soccer...this could be good or could be awful. I am going to have to shake my head a bit and clear the negative thoughts. Since this tournament is a HUGE money maker, you best believe that the mind behind Lowcountry Soccer will be hard, and i mean ROCK SOLID HARD at work to promote and make this tournament what it has the absolute potential to be. The biggest change to the tournament besides the name is the fact that CA$H PRIZE$ are awarded to the top flights. Only downside I see so far is that the entry fees are astronomical. In past years, the local teams were allowed in for $300. Now we have to find $650 to enter. This is a $150 raise in the entry fee from what the City charged out-of- towners last year. If this is going to work, it is going to need to have a lot of exposure and the confidence from teams that they will have a good experience. I am hoping that it is successful. I definitely back Lowcountry Soccer in putting on this event. I have seen the success in growing the James Island Cup (among other youth tournaments) from year to year...but what happened to the Copa Charleston, a tournament that teams talk about all year long and embodies the soul of local competition, is unforgivable.
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