We are excited to announce a few updates/changes to our State Cup program. For the 2010-2011 State Cup season we are introducing a New State Cup Administrator, New State Cup Names, and Updated Structures for the competitive level State Cups. We are looking forward to the benefits these new changes will bring to our State Cup Program and have outlined the details for you below.
New Administrator of State Cups and Special Events
Brenda Heintz, who has been with Washington Youth Soccer for 4 years, is our new Administrator of State Cups and Special Events. Brenda will now oversee all operations of our four State Cup Tournaments. Her seasoned expertise in both the soccer world and the Washington Youth Soccer community will bring tremendous value to our State Cup programs. If you have any questions about State Cup, Brenda can be reached at Brenda@WashingtonYouthSoccer.org or 253-476-2237 x101.
Updated State Cup Names
Recreational Cup (formerly named President’s Cup) – In 2009 US Youth Soccer renamed one of their regional/national tournaments for developmental level play to “President’s Cup” – to avoid confusion between our Washington Youth Soccer recreational tournament and the US Youth Soccer regional/national tournament, we have renamed this year-end tournament.
• Applications for the Recreational Cup open on September 1, 2010 and the close date* will vary by Association/District so please refer to your Association’s Tournament Committee Representative for these dates – their contact information will be posted under the Recreational Cup page once registration opens.
Founders Cup (formerly named Commissioners’ Cup) – Washington Youth Soccer has a rich history of being at the forefront of the introduction of organized soccer in the United States. In fact, many of our founders went on to create and structure US Youth Soccer. To honor those who built our organization, we have renamed this developmental cup.
Challenge Cup – the name of this competitive cup has remained the same.
US Youth Soccer Washington State Championships – the name of our most competitive cup has remained the same.
• Applications for the Founders Cup, Challenge Cup and US Youth Soccer Washington State Championships will open on October 4, 2010 and close Nov. 3, 2010* for all players except for the high school girls (GU15-18), which will open on Jan. 31, 2011 and close on Mar 2, 2011.
*Payments must be received will all applications.
For further details on who is eligible for each State Cup, visit the State Tournaments page at WashingtonYouthSoccer.org.
New Structures for Challenge Cup and State Championships
After careful consideration of the feedback we have received from parents, players, coaches and volunteers, along with the observations of our State Cup Committee, we have changed the bracketing process, created a new Washington State Cup Play-in format and regionalized tournament play in preliminary games. These changes will enhance the quality of play in the tournaments.
1) Bracketing has changed to include seeding and State Cup Play-in opportunities
a. Seeding – For ages Under 14 and up, Competitive Analysis Program (CAP) scores from 1 to 8 (up to 12 in some brackets depending on the pool size) for State Championships and from 9 to 16 (or 12 to 24 depending on the pool size) for the Challenge Cup will provide bracket seeds
b. State Cup Play-in – Washington Youth Soccer will now allow teams to literally play their way in into the most appropriate State Cup level by deciding placements on the field of play. Any team may apply for the State Championships or Challenge Cup but will play-in if they do not hold a seeded position
2) Regional/Local Groupings for Tournament Play-in Preliminary games – By regionalizing play in the early rounds of each State Cup, host sites will be able to handle larger team pools for each age and gender in smaller periods of time, increasing competitiveness and reducing travel demands on families.
A full description of each of these changes can be found on the State Championships and Challenge Cup pages of WashingtonYouthSoccer.org
For more information, visit washingtonyouthsoccer.org or call 1-877-424-4318. If you have questions about the new State Cup formats and dates, please contact Brenda Heintz, Administrator of State Cups and Special Events at Brenda@WashingtonYouthSoccer.org