Well, here we are in Mt. Pleasant for this tournament and the fields are closed! Did the staff not think about the possibility of rain. They need to suck it up and let the games go on; they can fix the fields with all the money we paid to come. We have a non-refundable hotel, played one game where the halves were only 20 minutes each, and now they have cancelled the rest of the games for today. Why are they allowed to host a tournament if they have no way of seeing it to the end!
Just receive a call for some folks in MB. Seems like the rain is not keeping them from playing. Maybe should have went there instead.
My team is also in this tournament, and I think the tournament officials are doing about all they can at this point. The Patriots Point complex is a nice facility when it's dry, but unfortunately it is in a low-lying area and holds water pretty badly when it's wet. We played on Field 1 at 9:45 this morning; there was standing water on the field. One of my players tried to dribble into the box on a breakaway and hit a deep puddle; the ball literally bogged down and stopped, and she tripped on it and nearly face-planted. (This is a player who does NOT make mistakes while dribbling.) This was happening to lesser effect all over that end of the field.
At some point you have to take into account not just damage to the field, but quality of the game and more importantly, player safety. There were several minor to medium injuries on both sides due to lack of control in the mud and water. I observed the tournament folks last night and this morning out on the fields with squeegees trying to sweep the excess water off the fields, but it was a losing battle as the rain continued; one last monsoon just around noon today pretty much finished off the flooding. Hate to say it, but I think for safety reasons, not playing those fields this afternoon was the right call.
We are waiting for a revised schedule for tomorrow; they are going to try to work in at least two games tomorrow for each team, even if they have to be abbreviated. The situation is unfortunate, but from what I can see, the tournament officials are NOT just saying, "oh, well, it rained, go home."
Well said
98 Luna-Chicks are also standing by
We tied our first game and did not get to play the second.
It will be interesting to see how they seed the remaining divisions.
We are playing up, so just getting to play the older girls will work for us.
Rain at 12! My game was at 12 with the raincoat in the car!!!
Clinton
Forcast for tonight is more rain.
MP Soccer is a joke...who is in charge. Went to all fields today and no standing water. Yes...it rained last night. Yes...they may have damage to their fields but that is the price you pay when you have a tournament. To cancel the games at all MP Soccer fields is irresponsible. I only drove 2 hours away and will not do a MP tournament again. We paid our money and MP ran with it.
In response to games being played with standing water...it is better than playing no games! I want a refund and will make sure my team doesn't come back!!
Instead of crying on a forum board, take your message to the tournament director. Do you need her contact information?
Yes...that would be nice. You should be really proud to be affiliated with such a club??? What happen to why we are all on this site...SOCCER!! Has MP forgotten already.
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Yes...that would be nice. You should be really proud to be affiliated with such a club??? What happen to why we are all on this site...SOCCER!! Has MP forgotten already.
Contact Mary Ellen Urig at [Email]meurig@mpsoccer.net.[/Email] I hope you get your money back, but you have to promise not to come back. There is a reason this part of SC is called the Lowcountry. When your fields are at sea level, they drain that fast and they don't have to standing water on them for tem to be soaked.
My daughter's games were cancelled and I wish they could play but they can't control the weather.
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Yes...that would be nice. You should be really proud to be affiliated with such a club??? What happen to why we are all on this site...SOCCER!! Has MP forgotten already.
Balls,
You can slam my club if you want. No big deal. The fact is that no matter what decision was made, your going home on Sunday. You don't have to practice this week on these fields. You don't have to play next week on these fields. So if MPSC feels they need to make a decision to save some fields from damage, so be it.
In fairness to all. Wait and see what MPSC is going to do as far as a refund. Hopefully it's not a credit to another MPSC tournament. There were a lot of unhappy parents and coaches of teams that traveled and used the MPSC hotels. It was also expensive as far as tournaments go. So hopefully a credit will be issued.
By telling someone to not comeback, does not help anyone. It will ensure there are no outside teams here next year.
MP was able to watch the weather forecast just like the rest of us. They chose to play saturday mornings games but cut them to 20 minute halves. The only reason they did this was so they could say that they don't have to issue refunds because all of the teams had played atleast one game. We played of field 7 at 12:30 and there were no issues with the field conditions. Yet, they cancelled the afternoon games as soon as our game was over, even though the rain had stopped! One Tournament organizer said it was so the fields would be in good shape for the tournament next week. MP knew the weather forecast and didn't want to give up the money. They only held out the "hope" of playing sunday to keep everyone in town. If you keep the Chamber of Commerce happy then you keep getting your sponsorships.
These are same people that lobbied SCYSA to cancel all of their home and away games because a CAT 1 Hurricane made it rain in Charleston. They could have traveled and played their away games.If rain closes the fields in Charleston, like they all ways do, then they should have to travel to their opponnets site to play the games.
You know what, I think they did all they could. I think they tried their best to put on the tournament so the kids could play.
Also, the fields in Mt. P are owned by the city. I don't think it was the club as much as the city.
I know we got burned by the Columbia United tournament last March....now that was ridiculous....they had the teams money and they did not care one bit. ON Saturday night they cancelled the games for Sunday...and we woke up and the fields were FINE. If I remember correctly it was because the fields had debris (leaves and twigs) and they didn't feel like cleaning them up. Columbia blew it on that one and I have no desire to ever play one of their tournaments again!
I'd rather the clubs do what MP did and give it a shot and not jump the gun, rather than cancel way to early and we get jilted out of games.
So you really think they ONLY cared about the money? I think they took an optimistic approach and tried very hard to see what they could play.
Maybe call the Town of Mt. Pleasant and ask them WHO made the final decision....the club or the town?
MPSC decided to gamble with a financial decision to host a tournament. At risk was damage to the fields. When they decided to fold because the stakes were too high they lost all claim to the pot.
Do you really think they should be able to keep the money? Should they be able to force me to come back down there for another tournament to get my " credit" back. They breached the agreement. the choice of a credit or a refund should be mine. I choose to get my money back because there is nothing about MPSC that would ever entice me to come back there for another tournament.
MPSC has a long history of this. If they can't garuantee a tournament then they shouldn't be allowed to host them.
You decided to gamble on going to a soccer tournament. Soccer is an outside sport....anyone and everyone knows that outside sports are at the mercy of Mother Nature.
You argument holds no weight with me.
Why should they have to refund money the weather was truly the culprit. You even say that yourself.
Look at what Columbia did last year....they cancelled games and the weather was beautiful Sunday morning. I still say MP did all they could. Some people just can't be pleased.
I'm checking now, but there are LOTS of clubs that have a no refund disclaimer. I don't know if MP had one or not.
EDITED TO ADD: Check the tournament rules. It was in there....black and white. No refunds for bad weather. EVERY team knew before going that this was an option. Now, if MP was really in it just for the money, they could have cancelled yesterday and been done with it. As it was, they went above and beyond to try and get as many teams a chance to play as they could.
Go check Charlotte United, Columbia United, CASL, Charlotte Soccer Club...just to name a few. They all have no refund policies.
They offered a product that they did not deliver. Even the first game was a farce. The didn't move up game times. All they did was make the games shorter. If you buy something through mail order and it gets ruined by a natural disaster before you recieve it, does the company that you ordered it from get to keep your money and not produce the product?
Read the rules........
LOTS OF CLUBS ARE DOING THIS NOW.....it is a sign of the times. Not just MP....but all the clubs.
BTW...the first game times were shortened in the hopes to save wear and tear on the fields. They were hoping to make sure they would have fields for Sunday AND next week.
But the bottom line is this...did you read the rules when you signed up for the tournament?
They took our money and ran! If you look at the brackets that were allowed to play they were brackets where MP teams had a chance at winning a medal. They knew the situation with the weather when scheduling and made sure these brackets were at venues that did not have to close due to weather and it would not affect their teams that had a shot at winning or gaining a medal. The director of the tournament is only a puppet and the DOC made these calls. Once again, MP made a poor decision and the new leadership is as worse than the old. I will make sure my club doesn't come back!
Tournament dates are set well in advance..The fact that the weather was going to bad could not be forseen months ago..
It's no secret that MPSC will close it's fields at the hint of rain..I found myself dropping my child off to ref Saturday morning at Park West to really saturated fields that had standing water in several areas..My opinion on this matter is that this tournament has been cancelled before due to rain and over the last few years some of the stronger clubs in GA and NC have started to pass on this tournament and to cancel this years event would be detrimental to the future success of this tourney..So they had the tourney and people are not happy..If they would have cancelled..people would not be happy..There was no way to win this one..I appreciated their efforts to get this tourney in
Weather did not cause the games to be cancelled. There wasn't any rain Saturday afternoon or on Sunday morning. In fact some games were played on Sunday. The decision was made based off of the field conditions, not the weather. Therefore, the adverse weather clause should not apply. I didn't read an,in case I get scared that someone will bend a blade of grass on my field clause.
Also don't type in all caps, it implies that you are yelling and that is also rude. Also the general rule of disagreements is the one that yells first is conceding that they have lost the debate.
How about this...next year you have fun at the tournament with only MP teams! They closed the fields...the tournament was not canceled due to weather it was closed because MP Soccer did not want to hurt its fields. That is not in the rules. Refunds are due to all. If you would like-donate your teams refund money to field up keep.
That would be an equitable lose-lose for everyone. MP loses the tournament money and we lose all of the ancillary costs like gas, hotels, coach's fees, restraunts....etc.
Seems to be a constant issue with tourneys in Mount Pleasant! That happened in the boys bracket last spring with the HS tourney. Now again, with the girls tournament. They really need to have a contingency plan for these "inevitable" issues with the field conditions.
The fields were in great shape. They weren't closed due to damage but due to potential damage. That would have been like playing barefooted so you didn't get your cleats dirty.
To quote Dadicated, "MP was able to watch the weather forecast just like the rest of us." And this one, "MP knew the weather forecast and didn't want to give up the money. They only held out the "hope" of playing sunday to keep everyone in town. If you keep the Chamber of Commerce happy then you keep getting your sponsorships.
This is a direct indication from you that you felt weather was the factor. So originally you thought they should have cancelled the games and refunded the money. Now that I have shown you the RULES where it says you would not have received a refund...you claim weather did not cause the cancellations.
You want to change your argument because I pointed out to you the RULES of the tournament.
As to the lecture about all caps....if it makes you feel better. I can handle a healthy, mature, adult debate. In my world, one or two words or phrases in all caps is intended to indicate strong emphasis. Had I typed the whole thing in all caps, then I would be yelling.
I respect your right to your opinion and mannerisms....please show respect for mine.
You were probably in your nice warm bed not having to pay for meals rooms etc. The fields were fine for play just admit your club dropped the ball big time.
I can undestand your defending your club thought. Gotta get thoses point so your daughter will be assured a spot on the team next year. We understand.
My point about the weather forecasts was that they knew in advance that it was going to rain.If they were concerned about the effect that it would have had on the field conditions then they could have cancelled the tournament in advance. They chose to play shortened games in the rain to start the tournament. That way, once the tournament was started they could claim it was called due to rain. The only problem with that is that by the time they closed the fields the rain had stopped. That means that the tournament wasn't stopped due to rain. It was stopped due to the field conditions. Poor field conditions is not listed as a non refundable cause according to the rules.
Furthermore, Rain in and of itself is not a reason to stop a tournament and neither is field conditions. Many soccer games are played in much worse conditions than those that existed this week end. Lightening or Tornado watches would have been a reason becuse either would represent a substantial risk of injury to the players.
Last fall the boys weekend was canceled and the lost revenue blew a hole in the MPSC budget. That's why they had a golf tournament to make up the lost money. They could not afford to lose the revenue from this weekend and next weekend.
That's why one game was played and then the rest canceled.
Ensure the revenue from both weekends. Unfortunately everything about this club has become about money, but that could be another thread.
Just a note, but the fields are owned by the Town of Mount Pleasant, not MPSC, so it's their property that they are worrying about damaging. I wouldn't be at all surprised if field closure decisions were made by someone much higher on the food chain than just the club. If you look at the fields that stayed open, they're mostly either highly underused and "out of the way" fields or owned and governed by a different entity.
Old Wando - not a main field, usually well draining
Long Point - owned by Long Point Homeowner's Association
Moultrie - school is being rebuilt and not a main field
Town Hall - multi-use field with track, not main field
College of Charleston Stadium - CofC has the funds to ensure drainage and fix turf issues
That said, I doubt it's the conspiracy that several people are insisting upon. Did they make good decisions? Possibly yes, possibly no; it depends on who you ask. But did they conspire against everyone who spent money at the tournament? I doubt it. Their job is to elevate the tourney and bring people back and attract better teams, so conspiring against everyone completely negates that end. Or if that was the goal, it was probably made by someone high up in the food chain, because I doubt everyone would think that a great idea.
That said, MPSC teams were only even in contention for the title match in 2 or 3 of the 16 or so brackets...and on the cursory look, none or one of which actually played in a final match with results online.
Part of it comes down to who to please, the people who want to play at least one game or two games and then just tool around and enjoy the area before going home versus the people would have rather the tournament been flat called for the weekend, no games, go home.
The main problem for MP right now is that this is a trend. Every year since this tournament began, either the girls' or boys' side gets disrupted due to rainy weather. They need to either expect the rain and make contingency plans so everyone gets their money's worth or move the tournament dates, which may or may not be feasible. If they expect revenue and to build the tournament, they need to handle this more appropriately.
Again, did they make a good or bad decision? In the end, no matter what you do, you'll never please everyone. But I seriously doubt that they conspired against everyone at the risk of ruining the tournament they've been trying to build. More than likely, someone in MP Rec said to close the fields they own and MPSC did their best to try to let some people play anyway so the weekend wasn't a bust for everyone.
Hopefully though, someone will understand good marketing and customer service and respond appropriately to keep the tournament on some legs, but that's yet to be seen.
I do not pay for my daughter to play soccer so that I can support a rival (MPSC) club. SCYSA needs to step in and force them to refund us. This post clearly states that they chose to both start and cancel the tournament solely for financial reasons.
A lot of these posts clearly state things that are mostly or all speculation by the posters. I don't think these "clear statements" are going to be grounds for SCYSA to step in and force a club to offer refunds on a tournament that they sponsored.
Given the history of MPSC for these tactics it should be reason enough to investigate it.
LOL...I hate to burst your bubble...but it takes me rougly 2.5 hours to get to Charleston. I admit I did not drive down until Saturday morning...and I drove back home Saturday night to see another child play where we live today.
If they had cancelled the tournament Friday night due to the weather forecast, as you have alluded to, then that would mean there were no refunds. You can't have it both ways.
I'm trying not to make this a personal attack, but seriously, what clubs are you with?
What is their cancellation policy for their tournaments? What would YOUR club officers and DOC's do in the same situation????
When have your clubs been faced with this situation?
Did you go to Columbia last year and have games cancelled...under conditions WWAYYYYY better than what MP experienced this weekend. (I'm talking rainfall amounts)
And one last thought. Are you aware of the number of children INJURED playing soccer on wet fields...either during rain or after the rain has ended but before the fields are dried? Any of you ever experienced that?
Look, I honestly don't have any idea just why the games were cancelled. I don't have any "in's" like you indicate.
I just know that it only makes COMMON SENSE that on a weekend where the weather conditions were the way they were it should not be some huge surprise that some of those fields ended up getting closed. I agree that Park West probably could have had games. I know someone who went out there and told me the fields looked okay, didn't appear that wet, and probably could have been used. As to the rest of the fields, I don't live there, so I don't know what they looked like, I just know from talking to friends that were in MP, that some of the fields were in fact bad...and it was obvious why they were closed. They went to quite a few of them and said PW was the one that probably could have been opened.
I really would like to see your club's policies for their tournaments.
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I do not pay for my daughter to play soccer so that I can support a rival (MPSC) club. SCYSA needs to step in and force them to refund us. This post clearly states that they chose to both start and cancel the tournament solely for financial reasons.
Care to share you club name?
There was no reason to close Park West and that is where we were playing. They also had the option to play some games on Sunday afternoon on the fields that did remain open. They failed to hold the tournament when it was possible to hold it. That means they reneged on the agreement for reasons other than weather. Mismanagement seems to be one of those reasons.
DISCLAIMER:
I have no idea why MP handled things the way they did. I personally liked the fact that they tried to hold some games. I talked to my kids today and we discussed what happened and how things were handled and what they would have liked.
My children would rather have played the shortened format than to not have played at all!
My thoughts and words here are MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION. Not that of anyone at MP soccer. Just little old me offering my speculation on why they did what they did.
I agree with the other poster who doesn't believe this is some conspiracy by MP soccer. It makes no sense to believe that.
As people have previously posted, the Mt. P folks are pretty well known for closing the fields due to rain and field conditions; no arguing against that. Part of the unfortunate circumstance is that these fields are low-lying and very susceptible to holding water. I'm not sure where people were looking when they saw all of the fields that were "fine" on Saturday afternoon, but the one we played on (Field 1, U18 White division) was a pond on one end. Dribbling through sections of the field was impossible. The only thing that made it just a little fair was that we switched ends and both had to deal with the same conditions in different halves. The other field we warmed up on was a bit of a bog, and I watched another match on Field 5(?), the last of Saturday before the cancellation, and it turned into more of a mud wrestling contest than a soccer match.
Also, someone said there was no more rain. I can't say for sure about Mt. P., but it rained on and off pretty much all night in the North Charleston/Goose Creek area. Now, I have no affiliation with MPSC (I work for CUSC), I don't have a daughter who plays there, and I really could care less whether anyone "likes" my opinions, but I think there was some justification for closing at least some of those fields.
Am I really disappointed at not being able to play full matches? Heck yeah. Do I think the tournament results based on 20-minute "lightning rounds" on Sunday were representative of the relative abilities of the teams involved? Heck no. Do I agree with everything about the way the revised schedule and "Sunday rules" were executed? No.
Do I think that player safety may have been a factor as well as "bending a blade of grass"? Ask my player who was on crutches today after yesterday's match in the swamp.
The fields were no worse Saturday afternoon then they were Friday afternoon. They had moved at least one game as of Friday afternoon.
In Columbia last year there were severe thunderstorms with tornado's Saturday afternoon and evening. There were some areas of Columbia that were seriously affected by the tornado's.
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I do not pay for my daughter to play soccer so that I can support a rival (MPSC) club. SCYSA needs to step in and force them to refund us. This post clearly states that they chose to both start and cancel the tournament solely for financial reasons.
Dear "Dadicated":
After reading the numerous posts you have entered online regarding this tournament (so far we are up to 9....) and seeing that you just registered to be able to post TONIGHT on this forum, it is quite clear to all how very upset and angry you are. Thanks for enlightening everyone with your last comment which paints a clearer picture that your daughter is part of a "rival" club.........your credibility is impeccable. Your armchair quarterbacking is truly appreciated. Your lack of the entire picture is evident. Please take a deep breath before your pass out on all of us.
Thank you for informing everyone that you will not play in another MPSC tournament. We get the message. May I suggest an indoor sport in the future? This might help to ensure your satisfaction for future events.......possibly.
Kind of a moot point since they cancelled the games anyway.
I still think they are laughing all the way to the bank.
"If you look at the brackets that were allowed to play they were brackets where MP teams had a chance at winning a medal. They knew the situation with the weather when scheduling and made sure these brackets were at venues that did not have to close due to weather and it would not affect their teams that had a shot at winning or gaining a medal."
The above is the funniest thing I've read tonight. I think kitten blew that one up with her post.
Just an FYI as well, I was out playing an adult league on Wednesday at Patriots and there was some standing water in small areas on our field. Given how poorly those fields drain, I'm not at all surprised that they started to have early problems on some fields out there. As bad as I've seen those fields get, I'm also not surprised that there were injuries as well.
Hope your player gets well quickly, Coach Chass!
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Kind of a moot point since they cancelled the games anyway.
I still think they are laughing all the way to the bank.
So Dedicated, are not going to tell us your club name?
To arsenal2...
yep, there were severe thunderstorms in Columbia last spring.....but they were LATE Saturday...after the majority of games had been played for the day.
The FIELDS in Columbia were not affected by the tornadoes last spring.
They cancelled that tournament Saturday evening around 9 or so. We woke up to a dry, sunny morning on Sunday. AND...it did not rain hardly at all Saturday night.
If you want to defend Columbia, then there is no way you can attack MP for cancelling in much worse conditions than Columbia.
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Kind of a moot point since they cancelled the games anyway.
I still think they are laughing all the way to the bank.
So Dedicated, are not going to tell us your club name?
OR his club's tournament policies......or if his club has even been faced with the situation as MP was faced with this past weekend.
I'd like to know some of the other poster's clubs as well.....
Thanks, AK...and just to be clear, that wasn't a complaint about having to play on that field on Saturday--as I said before, I saw MPSC folks out on that very field with squeegees Friday night and Sat. morning trying to clear the excess off. I just mentioned that to say that there was mounting evidence as the Saturday games went on that player safety was becoming an issue in continuing to play on those fields. There was a torrential downpour around noon (luckily while we were at Alex's eating lunch) that I'm sure added an inch or so to the water level on the PP fields.
I'm not defending or attacking anybody, just stating a fact.
Hmmmmmm....your facts are not relevant though....
I was over in West Ashley all day Saturday, so I don't know the conditions, but I do know that it was raining pretty heavily all afternoon/early evening in Mt. P today as well.
Hopefully we won't get any more rain and my adult game Wednesday won't be cancelled!
What's not factual Soccer Mom???
For what it's worth, even with the shortcomings in the system, I would rather go ahead and play the "lightning round" games like we did today as opposed to not getting to come out and play at all. We did get a chance to test ourselves against some good teams, even if it was only a short sparring match. I would have loved to have an opportunity to go the distance with each of them; it's difficult to decide a match in 20 minutes unless you get pretty lucky, and we had a bracket of four very evenly matched teams. Ultimately, it was a PK that tipped the scales and gave one team the tie-breaking advantage to win the bracket. That is one thing I was pleased about; no lopsided, run-away matchups...good competition all the way throughout our bracket.
I used poor terminology, my bad. I have revised my post. Your facts are not relevant.
Yes, there were bad thunderstorms and tornadoes in the area...but they did not have ANY effect on a single soccer field involved in that tournament.
Now that was a club that laughed all the way to the bank over how they handled that tournament!
NO, I won't tell you what club I am a member of because my opinions are mine and not necessarily those of my club. As far as being a rival club. That is stated becuase I am not a member of MPSC. Yes, I chose to register today and post on this thread, that does not mean that I will not post on other threads in the future.
If this was the only time MPSC had canceled a tournament then maybe it would not be that big of an issue. However, This is a common occurance for them and presents a chronic problem. I cannot see why anyone would want to participate in this fraud of a tournament ever again. I certainly won't suggest that anyone does and hope that others will follow suit.
I am not defending Columbia, but they were not dealing with just rain.
I do believe that persons were seriously injured in Atlanta earlier in the day by the tornado's that went through Columbia. I know that portions of I-95 were seriously torn up. Correct no fields were effected, but there were serious concerns for peoples saftey both on and off the fields that night. I know some who were instructed to get into the stairwells of their hotel due to possible tornado's.
Again I am not justifying their decision.
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NO, I won't tell you what club I am a member of because my opinions are mine and not necessarily those of my club. As far as being a rival club. That is stated that becuase I are not a member of MPSC. Yes, I chose to register today and post on this thread, that does not mean that I will not post on other threads in the future.
If this was the only time MPSC had canceeled a tournament then maybe it would not be that big of an issue. However, This is a common occurance for them and presents a chronic problem. I cannot see why anyone would want to participate in this fraud of a tournament ever again. I certainly won't suggest that anyone does and hope that others will follow suit.
Now it's a "fraud". We all know you do not speak for your club and find it entertaining that you will not reveal. Take a deep breathe and walk away from the edge. There are more important things to get worked up about intead of your hurt feelings that the U10s only got to play one match.
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NO, I won't tell you what club I am a member of because my opinions are mine and not necessarily those of my club. As far as being a rival club. That is stated that becuase I are not a member of MPSC. Yes, I chose to register today and post on this thread, that does not mean that I will not post on other threads in the future.
If this was the only time MPSC had canceeled a tournament then maybe it would not be that big of an issue. However, This is a common occurance for them and presents a chronic problem. I cannot see why anyone would want to participate in this fraud of a tournament ever again. I certainly won't suggest that anyone does and hope that others will follow suit.
Hey, I never said your opinions were anyone other than yours. I realize they are not the opinion of your club. I just want to know what your club's policy is on their tournaments? I can't very well research that without knowing the name of your club.
Your club does hold a tournament every year...right?
Has it ever been rained out...and what did they do?
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I am not defending Columbia, but they were not dealing with just rain.
I do believe that persons were seriously injured in Atlanta earlier in the day by the tornado's that went through Columbia. I know that portions of I-95 were seriously torn up. Correct no fields were effected, but there were serious concerns for peoples saftey both on and off the fields that night. I know some who were instructed to get into the stairwells of their hotel due to possible tornado's.
Again I am not justifying their decision.
Okay....getting into hotel stairwells on Saturday night has absolutely no bearing on not playing soccer games on Sunday...on what turned out to be a gorgeous day....on fields that were in good condition but the tournament was already cancelled.
Guess again, Long way from U-10.
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Guess again, Long way from U-10.
My turn to guess (this is getting fun!)..........how about Bridge FA? I'll even take a stab at the team, Bridge FA94?
Yes, I mant to say fraud. They entered unplayed games as a 0-0 tie. I guess that means they have champions based on one condensed game.
To those that are complaining about how MP handled things.
Please, tell us what tournaments you plan to attend that you think would handle things differently than MP did this past weekend?
I'd guess concerns for people travelling around Columbia and surrounding areas with the forcast for much worse conditions than what materialized on Saturday night and Sunday, probably had something to do with it. The forecasts were pretty much doom and gloom.
You know what they say 20/20 hindsight.
I think the main point is that MPSC has a history of canceling, that's the problem most people had with this weekend. Either way it's not good for future attendance in MT. P. If you want to charge top dollar then you had better produce a product, that's what people are upset with.
The proof is in the pudding and people can vote with their feet. There are plenty of other quality tournaments to attend.
Dang, you got me, or did you? Guess you better keep guessing just in case. Would someone on a bridge team need a hotel. Well, maybe we(they, us, who knows)would since they had the monsoon in MP this weekend.
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Dang, you got me, or did you? Guess you better keep guessing just in case. Would someone on a bridge team need a hotel. Well, maybe we(they, us, who knows)would since they had the monsoon in MP this weekend.
Bad assumption on my part........I must have made the incorrect assumption (or did I) that by "rival" you meant "local"......my bad.
I meant Rival as,thankfully,not a part of MPSC
Dedicated,
You made your thought known about MPSC's decision. What the big deal about revealing your club? It's pretty clear to many people that your a parent. Are you really concerned that people will think your speaking for your club? How can that be? Nobody knows your name.
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I'd guess concerns for people travelling around Columbia and surrounding areas with the forcast for much worse conditions than what materialized on Saturday night and Sunday, probably had something to do with it. The forecasts were pretty much doom and gloom.
You know what they say 20/20 hindsight.
I think the main point is that MPSC has a history of canceling, that's the problem most people had with this weekend. Either way it's not good for future attendance in MT. P. If you want to charge top dollar then you had better produce a product, that's what people are upset with.
The proof is in the pudding and people can vote with their feet. There are plenty of other quality tournaments to attend.
Again, the poor weather LATE Saturday and into Saturday night had NOTHING should not have prevented the tournamant from going on. Col United cancelled WAY too early.
So what other times, besides last fall did MP cancel their tournament when the weather was NOT bad.
If I recall, Piggly Wiggly had rain late Saturday and Sunday last year. Fortunatley, it was not enough that it had a bad impact on the fields. If I recall, EVERYTHING went forward that week. MP did not cancel due to a manageable amount of rain. I think that says ALOT for their record.
And...please indicate what your club's policy is on their tournaments.
Has your tournament had to face inclement weather and deciding whether or not to hold a tournament.
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your or you are?
When threads get this long with this many posters involved, it is easier if you press the quote button in a post so that it includes the post you are referring to.
Folks, You can go back and forth about this all night but the bottom line is this is a part of soccer..These things happen.I traveled by air to New Jersey to have our games snowed out..Was I happy about it? No..Was it the clubs fault? again no..It was a wet weekend..The tounament should of been cancelled..It's raining right now and most of the fields I saw were unplayable
"Dadicated", try flying up to Wags, only to have it rained out.
Maybe you should get out more often.
Okay that was mean. It has just turned into a game to toy with all of you because you all refuse to admit that MPSC has a history of cancelling tournaments and despite agreements from oppossing partied that some of the closed fileds could have remained open, MPSC had options to complete the tournament but refused to do so.
SoccerMom85 -
I'm not commenting AT ALL about Charleston's decision to cancel ... I was in MB for a tourney and we played on a field with 6+ inches of standing water easily on 30% of one side of the field (worst I'd ever seen period) ... Again, though, no bearing on Charleston. I'm writing because as a member of CUFC and also being in Atlanta in the Georgia Dome during the storm last year, there were SERIOUS concerns about people's safety all the way through Saturday night. My sons were refereeing at 3p and were pulled due to tornado warnings. It was supposed to get bad Saturday night and while most of the bad stuff passed, CUFC did NOT want people worrying about getting to a field, IF it would be available, etc. They wanted families to be safe and put soccer second. So before you pass judgment on CUFC, know that your soccer-or-die attitude is not what club officials were worrying about when making the decision to cancel Sunday.
And, no, no one is due a refund for MPSC if they cancelled for rain - no matter when or how. However, I do think MPSC should have had much better contingency plans to play at other fields. Myrtle Beach scrambled, but one bracket (my younger team) actually went to 3 different sites on Saturday and finished playing at a 4th site later Saturday/Sunday. They went through hoops to make sure people got to play. I don't think it SEEMS MPSC (while NOT knowing their extra fields situation) did a whole lot to try and find alternate fields.
Again, I don't know any facts about Chas. and really don't care. But easy on CUFC for thinking first about EVERYONE'S safety.
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Okay that was mean. It has just turned into a game to toy with all of you because you all refuse to admit that MPSC has a history of cancelling tournaments and despite agreements from oppossing partied that some of the closed fileds could have remained open, MPSC had options to complete the tournament but refused to do so.
Huh.......
The only part of this post I can respond to is the part about MP having options. Please, tell us what those were. Who all did you speak with at the club and at the town to come to this conclusion.
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Folks, You can go back and forth about this all night but the bottom line is this is a part of soccer..These things happen.I traveled by air to New Jersey to have our games snowed out..Was I happy about it? No..Was it the clubs fault? again no..It was a wet weekend..The tounament should of been cancelled..It's raining right now and most of the fields I saw were unplayable
I'll let this be the last word for me. I yield to Truth's experience. Since Dedicated doesn't want to play by revealing his club, I'm going to watch Chargers and Patriots.
Who said MPSC does not have a history of cancelling games? I stated that earlier..Of course they do..I think that's the reason that they tried to get it in and should of cancelled the weekend
I can understand why people are disappointed about the results of the tournament this year. I'm disappointed, and my team didn't have to travel or pay for hotels; we just had to drive across the bridge. Still, some folks are turning from unfortunate facts to speculation.
It does seem that due to the nature of the facilities and environment, Mt. P. does have a challenge in pulling off a full-length tournament. Conditions are far from ideal, and that's a fact that would be hard to refute. However, to assume (speculate, assert) that all decisions are made due to some insidious plot to defraud the participants is a little over the top. I think the directors did make an effort to make sure that as many teams as possible at least got some experience out of the tournament. Less than ideal situations often result in less than ideal outcomes. That doesn't necessarily indicate the intent of the people in charge. It's really easy to shout fraud and conspiracy without knowing the entire situation and the constraints people are working under...just like it's really easy to stand on the sideline and declare authoritatively that a field is "fine to play" without ever stepping onto the pitch to find the consistency of the turf and the barely-hidden mudholes.
The fields that were used on Sunday Morning could have been used on Sunday afternoon to play the games that were instead cancelled. I believe it was you, but may have been another, that stated that Park West could have remained open. Since they played abbreviated games on Saturday morning they could have moved up start times on Saturday morning and could have played more games prior to closing the fields at 1:30 on Saturday afternoon.
Really, the only three options MP has for the tournament other than staying with the unreliable system they have now are:
1) Somehow make agreements with the entities that own fields in WA, JI, or S'ville for back-up fields. Weather patterns here are erratic enough that what can drown Patriots leaves a field playable in the other areas.
This can be expensive or hard to manage.
2) Find a new date. October is notoriously rainy in the last few years and, as I mentioned previously, the Shootouts have been affected every year since their inception.
Again, hard to do, depends on availability, being allowed to do so, and not conflicting with competing tournaments.
3) Drop the idea of a select tournament and stick with Piggly Wiggly.
This is also expensive with regard to lost potential revenue, but also for each team involved because they will inevitably be paying for an away tournament elsewhere.
(4) Town Council can get off their butts and create a Carolina Park set of fields and we can have more options other than flood-y Patriots.
Lets see. No players slipping and sliding. No rooster tails on the ball. No splashing as the girls run. Good control of the ball, plenty of crisp cuts. We were the last ones on that field minutes before they were deemed unplayable. Doesn't seem like the fields were dangerous to me. My kid said the fields played great. Gee coach seems like that field was good for play.
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SoccerMom85 -
I'm not commenting AT ALL about Charleston's decision to cancel ... I was in MB for a tourney and we played on a field with 6+ inches of standing water easily on 30% of one side of the field (worst I'd ever seen period) ... Again, though, no bearing on Charleston. I'm writing because as a member of CUFC and also being in Atlanta in the Georgia Dome during the storm last year, there were SERIOUS concerns about people's safety all the way through Saturday night. My sons were refereeing at 3p and were pulled due to tornado warnings. It was supposed to get bad Saturday night and while most of the bad stuff passed, CUFC did NOT want people worrying about getting to a field, IF it would be available, etc. They wanted families to be safe and put soccer second. So before you pass judgment on CUFC, know that your soccer-or-die attitude is not what club officials were worrying about when making the decision to cancel Sunday.
And, no, no one is due a refund for MPSC if they cancelled for rain - no matter when or how. However, I do think MPSC should have had much better contingency plans to play at other fields. Myrtle Beach scrambled, but one bracket (my younger team) actually went to 3 different sites on Saturday and finished playing at a 4th site later Saturday/Sunday. They went through hoops to make sure people got to play. I don't think it SEEMS MPSC (while NOT knowing their extra fields situation) did a whole lot to try and find alternate fields.
Again, I don't know any facts about Chas. and really don't care. But easy on CUFC for thinking first about EVERYONE'S safety.
Well, this kinda makes my point about this whole Monday morning quaterbacking of MPSC.
Here is how I would have handled that last spring in Columbia....I would have told all the teams to be on standby. Pushed all the games for Sunday back one hour and told everyone to be on standby in the morning. I agree with the cancellations on Saturday. That made perfect sense and was totally appropriate.
But I really think they jumped the gun for Sunday. The issue then was the storms impact at the very moment the storm was passing overhead...NOT with the amount of rain it dropped on the fields.
I don't know the situation for fields in MP, so I don't know what other fields there could have been. Are you indicating they should have tried Summerville, or Chas So, or James Island?
(BTW...I appreciate your wording. I'm sorry if I came off too harsh on Col United. I'm just a bit frustrated at seeing such venom directed toward MP when I think they did try to offer a solution.)
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Lets see. No players slipping and sliding. No rooster tails on the ball. No splashing as the girls run. Good control of the ball, plenty of crisp cuts. We were the last ones on that field minutes before they were deemed unplayable. Doesn't seem like the fields were dangerous to me. My kid said the fields played great. Gee coach seems like that field was good for play.
What are you responding too????????
Re: Charleston Women's Shootout [Re: Coach Chass]
If you had looked at the top of my post you would have seen this. Please try to be more observant.
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Re: Charleston Women's Shootout [Re: Coach Chass]
If you had looked at the top of my post you would have seen this. Please try to be more observant.
Looks like you just want to fight with someone....I have no desire. I divorced one that wanted to do that all the time!
Again, it usually works best if you use the "quote" button. Coach Chass has posted multiple posts...so it's hard to know just which one you are responding to. If you use the quote button it makes it easier to distinguish what post you are responding to.
I'm not trying to fight...but you are new to the board....it is meant as a suggestion to help you participate.
Have you said what tournaments your team plans to attend that gives refunds for bad weather?
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Lets see. No players slipping and sliding. No rooster tails on the ball. No splashing as the girls run. Good control of the ball, plenty of crisp cuts. We were the last ones on that field minutes before they were deemed unplayable. Doesn't seem like the fields were dangerous to me. My kid said the fields played great. Gee coach seems like that field was good for play.
Cool...which field?
The softball fields at Park West.
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Well, this kinda makes my point about this whole Monday morning quaterbacking of MPSC.
Here is how I would have handled that last spring in Columbia....I would have told all the teams to be on standby. Pushed all the games for Sunday back one hour and told everyone to be on standby in the morning. I agree with the cancellations on Saturday. That made perfect sense and was totally appropriate.
But I really think they jumped the gun for Sunday. The issue then was the storms impact at the very moment the storm was passing overhead...NOT with the amount of rain it dropped on the fields.
I don't know the situation for fields in MP, so I don't know what other fields there could have been. Are you indicating they should have tried Summerville, or Chas So, or James Island?
(BTW...I appreciate your wording. I'm sorry if I came off too harsh on Col United. I'm just a bit frustrated at seeing such venom directed toward MP when I think they did try to offer a solution.)
My point is I think that's exactly what MPSC should have done. If they have had weather issues in the past (which it seems), they should do their due diligence to get backup fields in order. If they cannot do that, then they need to come up with some sort of 25-50% refund policy based on X number of games being played by each team. Or they can just state what they did about no refunds, but be EXTRA wordy to say "rain has affected this tournament in the past and we will not be held accountable for refunds for any weather or field-related decisions."
And, yes, CUFC did get a little of the storm and had some minor damage to some of the fields. I know this for a fact because my oldest son practices at BB&T and their workout that week was cancelled.
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Re: Charleston Women's Shootout [Re: Coach Chass]
If you had looked at the top of my post you would have seen this. Please try to be more observant.
Looks like you just want to fight with someone....I have no desire. I divorced one that wanted to do that all the time!
Again, it usually works best if you use the "quote" button. Coach Chass has posted multiple posts...so it's hard to know just which one you are responding to. If you use the quote button it makes it easier to distinguish what post you are responding to.
I'm not trying to fight...but you are new to the board....it is meant as a suggestion to help you participate.
Have you said what tournaments your team plans to attend that gives refunds for bad weather?
You joined this forum 4 months ago and have used it sparingly, yet you act as if you were a veteran of this board. I'm sorry that I didn't help you out by using the quote button but I assumed as active as we have been on this thread that people would remember a post that was made moments earlier.
All MPSC fields were closed for practice on both Thursday and Friday. So someone must have know there "might" be a problem with the weekend.
Didn't get a chance to look at those...we were at Pat's Point, which was pretty swampy. I wonder if they would have been able to continue competition throughout the bracket by only using Park West? Or would that have let some teams get in their games and leave other teams in the same bracket canceled?
I missed that field too..All I saw was water logged pitches and mud holes filled with sand between games
I wouldn't be surprised if, like I said earlier, the decision to close is a Town decision and they just do a "close everything we own" decision instead of a "let's check and pick and choose." The trend with the complaints in here suggests that this is more likely as I'd imagine to keep some sort of reputation that they'd have used PW if possible.
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Didn't get a chance to look at those...we were at Pat's Point, which was pretty swampy. I wonder if they would have been able to continue competition throughout the bracket by only using Park West? Or would that have let some teams get in their games and leave other teams in the same bracket canceled?
.
Our entire bracket was playing there. No reason they couldn't have finished there.
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I missed that field too..All I saw was water logged pitches and mud holes filled with sand between games
I was at Park west from 8:30 util 1:30 (watched the competition). I never saw any sand muchless anyone speading it on a field.
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Re: Charleston Women's Shootout [Re: Coach Chass]
If you had looked at the top of my post you would have seen this. Please try to be more observant.
Looks like you just want to fight with someone....I have no desire. I divorced one that wanted to do that all the time!
Again, it usually works best if you use the "quote" button. Coach Chass has posted multiple posts...so it's hard to know just which one you are responding to. If you use the quote button it makes it easier to distinguish what post you are responding to.
I'm not trying to fight...but you are new to the board....it is meant as a suggestion to help you participate.
Have you said what tournaments your team plans to attend that gives refunds for bad weather?
You joined this forum 4 months ago and have used it sparingly, yet you act as if you were a veteran of this board. I'm sorry that I didn't help you out by using the quote button but I assumed as active as we have been on this thread that people would remember a post that was made moments earlier.
I am a member of another on-line board that uses this same format.
I know you just want to fight...but no matter how many posts I have made...it makes it easier when you use the quote feature.
EDITED TO ADD: Maybe I am posting more so I can get off the bench.
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I wouldn't be surprised if, like I said earlier, the decision to close is a Town decision and they just do a "close everything we own" decision instead of a "let's check and pick and choose." The trend with the complaints in here suggests that this is more likely as I'd imagine to keep some sort of reputation that they'd have used PW if possible.
If that is the case then MPSC should have negotiated with the town for a better policy. This is a chronic problem with MPSC. They should have made sure that all closures would be on a field by field basis. I guess that goes back to poor planning.
To whomever posted they were watching the game....sure hope you are rooting for SD....I wouldn't want to be rooting for NE tonight.
(Ducking and running for cover)
You overestimate the power of MPSC. A lot of the problems they've had since the merger have been because the Town or Rec Dept. are immobile on most decisions. Two examples are the attempt to hire a DOC and the current attempts to get Carolina Park Soccer Complex built rather than baseball.
The field closures are probably not their fault. If you reference my previous post, there are other options that MPSC could have explored, but none of us know if any were tried or if they are even feasible without having an in with the club, so arguing is mostly moot. Coulda, shoulda, woulda...hard to say without knowing for sure.
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I wouldn't be surprised if, like I said earlier, the decision to close is a Town decision and they just do a "close everything we own" decision instead of a "let's check and pick and choose." The trend with the complaints in here suggests that this is more likely as I'd imagine to keep some sort of reputation that they'd have used PW if possible.
If that is the case then MPSC should have negotiated with the town for a better policy. This is a chronic problem with MPSC. They should have made sure that all closures would be on a field by field basis. I guess that goes back to poor planning.
Will you at least tell us if your club sponsors a tournament every year? If yes, how many teams enter each year?
We did (luckily for us) get field-by-field closings for the Sunday morning matches; our bracket got the Town Hall field, which was one of the ones that remained open. Again, 20-minute lighting rounds were better than nothing at all, and the bracket winners got a full-length championship match. We had our shot at it, just didn't quite pull it off with three ties.
As far as the internal politics between MPSC and the town of Mt. Pleasant, I remain a blissfully ignorant casual observer.
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I wouldn't be surprised if, like I said earlier, the decision to close is a Town decision and they just do a "close everything we own" decision instead of a "let's check and pick and choose." The trend with the complaints in here suggests that this is more likely as I'd imagine to keep some sort of reputation that they'd have used PW if possible.
If that is the case then MPSC should have negotiated with the town for a better policy. This is a chronic problem with MPSC. They should have made sure that all closures would be on a field by field basis. I guess that goes back to poor planning.
Will you at least tell us if your club sponsors a tournament every year? If yes, how many teams enter each year?
If it will appease you. Yes they do and each age group usually has 6-10 teams for each gender.
I don't know a lot of the internal workings, but just from having been around for so long...it's a ***ch. But who's to say that Hungryneck would have survived without the merger because, unfortunately, they would have had to lease fields and find room and possibly compete against a MP run league using the local fields.
It's really just one giant mess though...with no sign of anyone willing to clean up.
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I wouldn't be surprised if, like I said earlier, the decision to close is a Town decision and they just do a "close everything we own" decision instead of a "let's check and pick and choose." The trend with the complaints in here suggests that this is more likely as I'd imagine to keep some sort of reputation that they'd have used PW if possible.
If that is the case then MPSC should have negotiated with the town for a better policy. This is a chronic problem with MPSC. They should have made sure that all closures would be on a field by field basis. I guess that goes back to poor planning.
Will you at least tell us if your club sponsors a tournament every year? If yes, how many teams enter each year?
If it will appease you. Yes they do and each age group usually has 6-10 teams for each gender.
And what is their weather policy? How many times have they ever had weather issues?
Okay.....I'm falling asleep.
And I got off the bencho...woohoo!
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I wouldn't be surprised if, like I said earlier, the decision to close is a Town decision and they just do a "close everything we own" decision instead of a "let's check and pick and choose." The trend with the complaints in here suggests that this is more likely as I'd imagine to keep some sort of reputation that they'd have used PW if possible.
If that is the case then MPSC should have negotiated with the town for a better policy. This is a chronic problem with MPSC. They should have made sure that all closures would be on a field by field basis. I guess that goes back to poor planning.
Will you at least tell us if your club sponsors a tournament every year? If yes, how many teams enter each year?
If it will appease you. Yes they do and each age group usually has 6-10 teams for each gender.
And what is their weather policy? How many times have they ever had weather issues?
I don't believe we have ever had a rain out. I know they wouldn't start a tournament, play games in the rain, and then stop the tournament because they thought the fields might get bad. I have seen games at other tournaments get halted because of poor conditions and then continued on a field that was in better shape as soon as it become available.
We just merged with SAPP, and I've noticed a greatly increased quickness to close practice fields at the first indication of bad weather...seems like it's a pattern! (Other than the field closings, it's been a pretty seamless merger, so I'm not complaining!)
Here's hopes for you guys that it goes the way of the CESA merger product rather than the Hungryneck-MPRD merger.
It was obvious on Friday that bad weather was coming to Charleston. given their history of closing the fields, the responsible thing to do was cancel the tournaments and offer to refund or reschedule the tournament. If you start a tournament knowing that the chances of completing it are dismal then you are not acting in the best interest of the teams involved or in the future of your club. They made a less than honorable decision and now their club will have to live with the infamy of it.
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Here's hopes for you guys that it goes the way of the CESA merger product rather than the Hungryneck-MPRD merger.
Yeah, from the sound of it, CESA isn't having problems with field closings. 
I also hear they aren't having to fight Town Hall over building superfluous baseball fields instead of more soccer fields.
I mean, seriously, who REALLY cares about baseball anymore anyway?
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It was obvious on Friday that bad weather was coming to Charleston. given their history of closing the fields, the responsible thing to do was cancel the tournaments and offer to refund or reschedule the tournament. If you start a tournament knowing that the chances of completing it are dismal then you are not acting in the best interest of the teams involved or in the future of your club. They made a less than honorable decision and now their club will have to live with the infamy of it.
October 11, 2008...a date that will live in infamy.
(Apologies to FDR...overdramatize much?) 
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I also hear they aren't having to fight Town Hall over building superfluous baseball fields instead of more soccer fields.
I mean, seriously, who REALLY cares about baseball anymore anyway?
True...who wants to watch a sport where the players just get to stand around and scratch 95% of the time? 
I hear they can sometimes SUB in a runner for someone batting too.
CHEATERS! CHEATERS I SAY!
I've got a player who's a great dribbler...when she beats a defender, can we freeze the field so I can sub in a pinch-shooter?
Infamy- A very bad reputation. (Websters New World Dictionary)
Granted this does not rise to the level of WWII. but a very bad reputation is exactly what MPSC has acquired for itself by having a history of cancelling tournaments that they should have known they were not going to be able to complete before they began them.
I wonder (just for the sake of argument) what sort of backlash would have happened if MPSC had canceled the tourney a couple of days ago on the chance of rain, and luck/fate/divine intervention/the axis of uncontrollable forces had sent us a mild, barely-damp weekend?
That's really all that we had Saturday at our fields.
I just had a great mental image of a field full of players freezing mid-stride and face planting. Though, if I face plant onto the ball, does that mean it's my ball now and I get the possession on restart?
Seriously though, I think infamy is a bit of overkill. Bit of a bad rap as usual, yeah. But rain happens across the country and tournaments are affected everywhere with rain or snow or whatever, several mentioned here.
Part of what anyone has to consider too though is location, season, history, etc. whenever you apply to a tournament and you've already noted knowing the history of rain and cancellations. WAGS can snow-out. We had a Raleigh snow-out when I was young. Field quality/etc. decisions are generally made with the club and the rest of the season in mind, not one weekend of games.
There is always the team's ability to step back and say, hey, we don't want to risk it...let's go elsewhere.
That said, do people ever always make the right decision? Of course not, but they do what they think is best, with whatever justifications, and it won't please anyone. Will they experience this again? Probably, unless something is sorted out. But that doesn't mean anyone needs to be flipping out over it...just quietly vote with your feet because that speaks more eloquently than any threat.
On another note, can we institute Challenges and Replays for when your player beats mine en route to goal and mine falls over?
EDITED FOR CLARITY
The English Leagues have actually discussed Instant Replay but have opted not to institute it in favor of continuous play.
OK, then, I'm getting confused...I get a little lost sometimes when faced with seemingly contradicting points. Is your argument:
A. MPSC should have canceled the tournament early because they knew the weather would cause closings.
B. MPSC should not have canceled the tournament games at all because the weather they should have known would cause closings should not have caused closings.
or
C. Some teams should have gotten their "money's worth" while others were penalized, based on luck of the draw on field locations rather than universal rescheduling.
Please clarify, as I am a little slow.
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I just had a great mental image of a field full of players freezing mid-stride and face planting. Though, if I face plant onto the ball, does that mean it's my ball now and I get the possession on restart?
That is an awesome mental image...I'm going to be chuckling at that one for a while. 
And I just had an even better one...coach replacing the dribbler with the pinch-shooter and rolling her away on a trolley, still frozen.
I believe that given the forecasts, the fact that their fields were closed most of the week prior due to the conditions,and their history of closing the fields on the whim of a notion, that the tournament should have been cancelled.
Once it was started they should have used all options to complete the tournament. They did not do this.They had other options that they failed to excercise. Among those were using the fields that were open for play on Sunday morning to play games on Sunday afternoon. By sunday afternoon more venues would have dried up considerably and should have been available for play.
Option A should have been to cancel the tournament before it began. Once they failed to do that then they had an obligation to finish as many games as was possible. They failed to do that.
As it stands now, some brackets did manage to finish it with these 20 minute Jamborees while other brackets were awarded ties for unplayed matches.
(pausing surreptitiously to turn a frozen defender a quarter-turn to the left before leaving the field)
That poor defender will be wondering why they're suddenly running off the field...oh well, just tell them they were headed to the bathroom, they won't know the difference
Another note, I know for a fact that it was raining just 6-10 minutes down the road at Snee Farm and Town Centre, pretty steadily, a good part of the afternoon and evening. It's not impossible that some fields would have been unscathed, but most would certainly not have dried out.
Again, in all fairness...I don't think there was any way to satisfy everyone when something as unpredictable as the weather is involved. Had they canceled the tournament before it got started, they would have been seen as alarmist and unwilling to follow through; people who had planned their weekend around this tournament, reserved hotel rooms, canceled other plans, passed up other opportunities for competition, etc. would have likely been most unhappy about canceling a few days before the start time on a chance of rain, refund or no refund. We were supposed to be playing in a tournament in Jekyll Island next weekend, and I just got official notice yesterday that our bracket was canceled due to a shortage of teams. We have a refund coming, but there was a lot of preparation (not to mention difficulties in rescheduling rained-out games) involved in planning to attend. I'm not particularly happy about it, especially since they surely knew before this weekend whether enough teams had signed up to play.
So....if you cancel early, you get a bad reputation for being unreliable as a tournament host. If you try to follow through and the weather and the people who control the fields don't cooperate, you get a bad reputation for being unreliable as a tournament host. The only way to come out on top is if things that are under your control AND things that are beyond your control come together just right, and that is a gamble in any circumstance. I don't think there was any intentional attempt to mismanage the tournament. Perhaps some mistakes were made, but I don't think it's reasonable to say that it's all a plot to defraud and disappoint. It's a bad situation we all got caught up in, and we might as well deal with it and move on.
I agree that we must move on. But, We must also learn from our mistakes and avoid this tournament in the future and warn others to do the same. If you enter this tournament there is very little chance that it will be completed. So I encourage all teams to save the money that you may spend on this tournament in the future and apply it to a quality tournament that will in all likelihood provide your team with quality competition and the opportunity to play the scheduled matches.
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I wouldn't be surprised if, like I said earlier, the decision to close is a Town decision and they just do a "close everything we own" decision instead of a "let's check and pick and choose." The trend with the complaints in here suggests that this is more likely as I'd imagine to keep some sort of reputation that they'd have used PW if possible.
If that is the case then MPSC should have negotiated with the town for a better policy. This is a chronic problem with MPSC. They should have made sure that all closures would be on a field by field basis. I guess that goes back to poor planning.
Will you at least tell us if your club sponsors a tournament every year? If yes, how many teams enter each year?
If it will appease you. Yes they do and each age group usually has 6-10 teams for each gender.
And what is their weather policy? How many times have they ever had weather issues?
I don't believe we have ever had a rain out. I know they wouldn't start a tournament, play games in the rain, and then stop the tournament because they thought the fields might get bad. I have seen games at other tournaments get halted because of poor conditions and then continued on a field that was in better shape as soon as it become available.
I'll ask this question again. Since you have made reference to your club's tournament, will you identfy the club so we may do a fact check or will your continue to hide behind your keyboard?
Sorry, but I really don't feel that I "must" attempt to destroy this tournament's future, or that I "must" encourage others to do anything other than make well-thought-out decision based on risk vs. opportunity, act accordingly, and be willing to live with the results. This is my third year in a row bringing a team to this tournament, and the first time anything like this has happened. Of course I'm disappointed, and no, I don't think we got our money's worth as originally planned, but I also don't think it was an evil plot worthy of launching a crusade to destroy the perpetrators. If you want to start passing out the torches and pitchforks, I guess that's your privilege, but don't be too disappointed if you have a bunch left over when cooler heads opt out.
Soccer is for the most part an outdoor sport. All to often in the last few years clubs have closed their fields due to rain, cancelling league and tournament matches. If it is just rain the matches should go on. Injuries can occur in any weather conditions on the pitch. Paying club and tournament fees gives teams the right to damage wet fields, and the fields are the only concern when matches are cancelled for only wet conditions.
I tend to move the other way..Tournament should of been cancelled on Friday morning..Fields were not wet..they were saturated with standing water in several areas..Watched the early games on Saturday to see goalies sliding through puddles and players holding back...The lines where the ARs run were mud before noon..Now I do agree that soccer should be played wether or not it is raining but given the few days prior to the tournament and the chance that things were not going to improve they should of called the games off...SSC called off all games for Saturday due to conditions..
I agree. Furthermore, playing twenty minute games (yes folks an entire twenty minutes being considered a whole game) was not a good choice on Sunday. Therefore, we played the time equivalent of a game and a half. Thus, I believe MPSC should refund half the tournament fee. I think they were thinking of a way for the teams to play three games, as promised, so they would not have to refund any money. I understand the dilemma. However, money influenced their judgement - which I have determined to be poor. Last year we received a call at 1am about game changes (moved the time from 11 am to 8 am). Our experiences with this tournament have not been good. The decisions are what I have a hard time with. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses! I think CUFC did the right thing last year with their tourney-touch of class goes a long way!
you want wet? Think regionals at Oklahoma City or Dallas or even parts of Raleigh last year. Imagine driving 16 hrs and playing 40 minute games that will determine if you move on to nationals or not.
Truth is that MPSC does have a tendency to close the fields (if it is the Municipal guy then still MPSC- guilty by association). This is not a perception it is fact and one that you should be aware of when planning tournaments that you will attend.
The kicker is the use of the word SHOWCASE... College coaches will not attend if the history of cancellations is known. They simply cannot spend the money to have it cancelled at the last minute. If you want to be a showcase then you must play the games. Maybe cancel the younger ages to save fields for the older ages, but we all know the older kids are the ones who wear the fields down to nothing
In all fairness, the CUFC tournament got hit by a tornado that did damage at some of the venues, maybe not the one you were at but there were other considerations. They also gave partial refunds and/or discounts for registrations fees to future tournaments, all dependent on number of games your team played.
What do people do when they go on vacation and it rains so they have to do something other than lay on the beach?
Quit all the whining and just be thankful that your kid is able to play soccer. If your kid plays soccer long enough this type situation is surely to happen. There is plenty of soccer left to be played for your kid. No one at MPSC is trying to scam you out of your money. Don’t whine in front of your kid, either. Tell him/her to look forward to playing in their next games.
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In all fairness, the CUFC tournament got hit by a tornado that did damage at some of the venues, maybe not the one you were at but there were other considerations. They also gave partial refunds and/or discounts for registrations fees to future tournaments, all dependent on number of games your team played.
What do people do when they go on vacation and it rains so they have to do something other than lay on the beach?
The 'damage' we were told of last year were that some of the fields had lots of leaves, small tree limbs (the kind kids could have picked up) and lots of twigs all over them. The tournament did not get hit be a tornado. The tornadoes that were in the area were not at any of the venues for the tournament.
I don't look at that as damage. I was told that there was one field that had a small tree that came down, but it was nothing that a few men could not have picked up and moved out of the way.
I would have gladly volunteered my time to go to a field and remove the twigs and leaves in order for our kids to play that Sunday.
I agree that Saturday cancellations were the correct call for the weather conditions that day.
My issue was with Sunday, in my opinion, those games were called and I think more could have been done to ensure those games were able to be played.
If there was significant damage to a field somewhere...please post and let us know.
I even went back and read the thread that dealt with this issue. Lots of words about "damage" and then some posters who said they walked the fields and only found standing water.
Again, if there was actual damage like downed power lines at a venue, then I will stand corrected....but I don't think that was the case.
Do you actually think that before Sunday at 7 in the morning when their website was updated that the actually went to all the fields to check on them? Come on they knew Saturday night nothing was going to be held on Sunday. I know we got a email on Friday saying from MP "We fully intend on playing every game in this tournament" I knew then seeing the weather that this whole tournament was going to end this way.. I just saw Mount Pleasants webpage also.
Congrats to the u-15 girls elite team for making the finals.
Wish we all had the chance to make a final. Mount Pleasant sure got thie moneys worth.
I may be wrong so please let me know if I am but didnt Columbia United fefund some money to teams?
meant refund So before you slam my spelling I know i messed up
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I may be wrong so please let me know if I am but didnt Columbia United refund some money to teams?
Yes, they did. Of course they were under no obligation to do so.
I imagine that people who don't understand canceling soccer games when there is a tornado watch in effect are the same people who think you can tell if it's safe to be on a pitch by counting the time between a lightening strike and hearing the thunder.
I believe you just said it all HappyDaddy.
1 one thousand
2 one thousand oh sorry bout that
The MPSC tournament director is the club's Business Manager, whose annual salary is mostly commission from their tournaments (team entries, hotels, merchandise, food and drink, etc). Don't kid yourself, that has a major effect on refunds and cancel decisions since its dealing directly with someone's opportunity to make money.
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I may be wrong so please let me know if I am but didnt Columbia United refund some money to teams?
Yes, they did. Of course they were under no obligation to do so.
I imagine that people who don't understand canceling soccer games when there is a tornado watch in effect are the same people who think you can tell if it's safe to be on a pitch by counting the time between a lightening strike and hearing the thunder.
Please read my post for clarity. I do UNDERSTAND the games being cancelled on Saturday. Why throw nothing but insults.
I do not understand why games were cancelled for Sunday....AFTER the tornado watches were OVER. The bad weather was gone on Sunday. The games could have been played.
Do you have knowledge of the extent of the damage to the fields in Columbia last spring?
I know why pretty much the only fields they could open were the Polo road fields. Balentine and the Irmo fields were severly damaged cause of tornados touching down. They were not closed so the fields wouldnt get torn up they were badly torn up from debris and fallen trees.
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I may be wrong so please let me know if I am but didnt Columbia United refund some money to teams?
Yes, they did. Of course they were under no obligation to do so.
I imagine that people who don't understand canceling soccer games when there is a tornado watch in effect are the same people who think you can tell if it's safe to be on a pitch by counting the time between a lightening strike and hearing the thunder.
Was it a cash refund or a credit toward another CUFC event?
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I may be wrong so please let me know if I am but didnt Columbia United refund some money to teams?
Yes, they did. Of course they were under no obligation to do so.
I imagine that people who don't understand canceling soccer games when there is a tornado watch in effect are the same people who think you can tell if it's safe to be on a pitch by counting the time between a lightening strike and hearing the thunder.
Was it a cash refund or a credit toward another CUFC event?
Our team attended the Columbia United tournament, and it was NOT a cash refund. Our team received a $100 voucher (good for a period of one year) to be applied by our team only towards another Columbia United tournament. We played less than one half of one game only. Did we travel to this tournament? Yes. Did we incur hotel expenses? Yes. Did we receive instant notification that the tournament would be cancelled? No. Did we have to wait longer than what was originally stated for an answer regarding the remainder of the tournament? Yes. Did we receive a phone call on Saturday night at 11:45 p.m. informing our team that everything was cancelled? Yes. Did we wake up to a gorgeous morning with not a cloud in the sky and bright sunshine? Yes. Did all of the fields truly sustain damage? Unlikely. Could Columbia United try to salvage part of the tournament like MPSC did this weekend? Yes. Did they make the decision to do so? No. Did they receive criticism for cancelling the tournament completely? Yes. Can you please everyone who attends a tournament? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
As for MPSC's Tournament Director also being their club's business manager. That's a fact. Is she paid a "commission" as stated in a previous post off each tournament she organizes? No. Does she have a contract for a set amount for each tournament REGARDLESS of whether that tournament registers 25 teams or 200 teams? Yes.
Have MPSC tournaments been cancelled in the past due to bad weather? Yes. Did MPSC purposely engineer all that has been implied in some of these ridiculous posts? No. Did MPSC choose the easy option to just throw in the towel and cancel the entire tournament? No. Did MPSC try to salvage as much of the tournament as they could given the circumstances? Depends upon who you ask. I wonder when so many will stop making inaccurate assumptions and slanderous remarks and move on to another club to massacre. Time will tell. Welcome to the world of soccer........
MPSC knew well before the first kick off that the tournament wasn't going to be completed. The fields were closed almost all week the week before> They chose to start a tournament that they knew they couldn't complete so that they could keep the money.
If player safety was really an issue in their decision to stop the tournament then they never would have started it. There was not a heavy downpour after the tournament started on Saturday. That is why people are upset. If the fields were too bad to play on at 1:30 that afternoon then they were too bad to play on at 7:30 that morning. MPSC knew that they wouldn't complete the tournament and wanted to protect the field. That is why they started off with abbreviated games- so they could protect the fields and keep the money.
Just a correction...I know for a fact that Patriots fields were open through Wednesday, so "closed almost all week" is an inaccurate statement. Thursday, I don't know, so I can't say anything, but Adult League definitely played all their games on Wednesday and the latest ones start at 9pm.
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Just a correction...I know for a fact that Patriots fields were open through Wednesday, so "closed almost all week" is an inaccurate statement. Thursday, I don't know, so I can't say anything, but Adult League definitely played all their games on Wednesday and the latest ones start at 9pm.
Ok so they were closed the two days prior to the tournament.
Bottom line they were closed prior to the tournament.
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MPSC knew well before the first kick off that the tournament wasn't going to be completed. The fields were closed almost all week the week before> They chose to start a tournament that they knew they couldn't complete so that they could keep the money.
If player safety was really an issue in their decision to stop the tournament then they never would have started it. There was not a heavy downpour after the tournament started on Saturday. That is why people are upset. If the fields were too bad to play on at 1:30 that afternoon then they were too bad to play on at 7:30 that morning. MPSC knew that they wouldn't complete the tournament and wanted to protect the field. That is why they started off with abbreviated games- so they could protect the fields and keep the money.
Spending any more time trying to convince you ("Dadicated") of anything other than what you believe is pointless. Your mind is made up. Your entitled to your beliefs, however farfetched they may be.
For everyone else who might have an open mind, read on.........the fields were closed before the tournament because of all the rain they received earlier in the week. This was in an attempt to have them in a playable condition by the start of the tournament. To accuse MPSC of maliciously calculating to "swindle" other clubs out of their money is simply untrue. Believe what you want to believe. The tournament is over - move on. Whether you choose to believe MPSC tried to salvage what they could of a very difficult decision is up to you.
You imply that I am close-minded yet you seem pretty set in your beliefs also. Wouldn't that make you close-minded also?
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MPSC knew well before the first kick off that the tournament wasn't going to be completed. The fields were closed almost all week the week before> They chose to start a tournament that they knew they couldn't complete so that they could keep the money.
If player safety was really an issue in their decision to stop the tournament then they never would have started it. There was not a heavy downpour after the tournament started on Saturday. That is why people are upset. If the fields were too bad to play on at 1:30 that afternoon then they were too bad to play on at 7:30 that morning. MPSC knew that they wouldn't complete the tournament and wanted to protect the field. That is why they started off with abbreviated games- so they could protect the fields and keep the money.
Okay...your argument is full of holes...
I'm not sure where you were, but there was a downpour Saturday afternoon (in the Patriot's Point/Town Hall fields area) after our first match was completed; easily rained enough to add another inch to fields that already had water up to my ankles.
And what do you think deems fields unplayable? Your argument states that if the fields were bad at 1:30, then they were just as bad at 7:30 that morning. When you already have standing water on the fields, as matches are played the fields get worse and worse. Thus, the fields were NOT the same between 7:30 and 1:30--they were playable (by the standards of the powers that be) at 7:30 that morning and NOT playable (by the standards of the same people) at 1:30 on that same afternoon. Get over it.
And did you ever think abbreviating games to start off with could have been a measure taken (due to the threat of bad weather) to ensure that all teams were able to participate at all on Saturday?
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If player safety was really an issue in their decision to stop the tournament then they never would have started it. There was not a heavy downpour after the tournament started on Saturday. That is why people are upset. If the fields were too bad to play on at 1:30 that afternoon then they were too bad to play on at 7:30 that morning.
Uhm...dude. About noon on Saturday, the bottom fell out over Mt. Pleasant. It didn't last all day, but for a little while there, it was coming down in sheets; I was in Alex's restaurant trying to make out the signs across the road. Maybe you were in your hotel room asleep dreaming up conspiracy theories, but it happened. I was thinking, "Well, that's it for this afternoon's games." Yes, the fields were already very iffy, and this was the final straw that tipped the scale.
Making judgements about people's motivations is one thing...completely ignoring physical realities takes it to a whole new level. Learn to ease back, man...I know your daughter was probably disappointed in the outcome of the tournament, as were the girls on my team, but that's no need for her dad to turn into "that guy."
Again, That didn't happen at park west and those fields were closed for no reason. So Dude, learn to pay attention and follow the facts. The conditions at your venue were different than those at mine. You have already said that you never made it to my venue to check out the fields.
As for BHS, the same point. You joined the the conversation real late. So before you post read the thread completely and realize that you have little to contribute unless you were at the same venue that we were at and know the field conditions there.
Also,I never said it was a conspiracy theory. I think they made a poor decision based on financial considerations. I actually believe it was due to imcompetence and financial duress.
There were 17 tornadoes in SC on Saturday. There was a tornado watch in effect until 8:00am Sunday morning. The Club did the responsible thing by canceling the tournament due to the condition of the fields and the potential for more bad weather. Yes, the front hauled butt through the state and was gone Sunday morning. Nearly all of the fields were unplayable and remained closed for several more days.
If you want to play in soccer tournaments that are free from weather issues, move to San Diego. If you're going to live in the SE, you need to deal with the fact that it is always a crapshoot.
I don't know anything about the particulars of the Charleston event. I do know that it is never in the best interests of a club to cancel an event before it is completed. The decision is not taken lightly and usually involves hours of deliberations and consideration of alternatives. There are two factors - player safety and field protection, in that order. If anyone thinks that the clubs make more money by canceling, you would be wrong.
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So before you post read the thread completely and realize that you have little to contribute unless you were at the same venue that we were at and know the field conditions there.
Don't worry--I did...all sixteen pages of it.
And, I responded to more than just your issue with rain at Patriot's Point vs. Park West. I posed very relevant questions to your idea that the fields were the just as playable at 1:30 AND your notion that starting games off abbreviated was some scam. You have not responded to either question which leads me to believe it is you with little to contribute.
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Again, That didn't happen at park west and those fields were closed for no reason. So Dude, learn to pay attention and follow the facts. The conditions at your venue were different than those at mine. You have already said that you never made it to my venue to check out the fields.
As for BHS, the same point. You joined the the conversation real late. So before you post read the thread completely and realize that you have little to contribute unless you were at the same venue that we were at and know the field conditions there.
Also,I never said it was a conspiracy theory. I think they made a poor decision based on financial considerations. I actually believe it was due to imcompetence and financial duress.
Question, How do you "know" what happened in Park West from when the games were suspended on Saturday until the tournament was called for those fields at 6:30 a.m. the following morning? The closest hotel to those fields is approximately five miles away. Everyone knows that there can be rain in one location and lesss than a mile away might not be a drop. re you going on speculation that because where you were from that time period you did not receive rain? Did you bother to inquire if Park West received any rain, because, sir, the bottom opened up late that evening and into the morning. That's a fact. Did the rain come later that Saturday afternoon/early evening? No. But did the Park West fields sustain more, consistent rain that evening into the morning? Absolutely.
Look, my daughter's team was scheduled at the Park West fields as well. Is her team disappointed that they only played one abbreviated game for the tournament? Yes, they are. Are they still talking about this and ranting and raving the way that you are? No sir. Are they focusing on their training this week, league games and their next tournament? Absolutely. I suggest you do the same.
Truly, you are taking this to an absolutely ridiculous level. This was not state cup, this was not some "plot" to ruin everyone's weekend, this was not "incompetence and financial distress." This was unfortunate, bad weather, these were decisions that were made based off PLAYER SAFETY, and yes, also conditions of the field. Some of the tournament was salvaged, your daughter's play and mine were not. I'm moving past this, can you?
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Also,I never said it was a conspiracy theory. I think they made a poor decision based on financial considerations. I actually believe it was due to imcompetence and financial duress.
Your on correct regarding conspiracy, but you did use the term "fraud".
Just for the record, the fields were also closed yesterday.
Mount Pleasant SC weather as reported:
Wed Oct 8th Rained .28 inches
Thurs. Oct 9th Rained 1.42 inches
Friday Oct 10th Rained .91 inches
Sat. Oct 11th Rained 1.08 inches
Sunday Oct 12th rained .28 inches
That's close to 4 inches of rain. Sounds like a nasty weekend!
I guess we better go ahead and Cancel the Boys tournament as well.
Extended Forecast
Fri
Oct 17
Isolated T-Storms
83°
62°
30%
Sat
Oct 18
Partly Cloudy
74°
50°
20%
Sun
Oct 19
Sunny
71°
50°
0%
71°F
Hey Dad,I was at Park West at 7:30am till 1:30pm..I don't know where you were but I got wet..I was at Park West on Sunday at 7:30am also..Fields were saturated..I went over to Longpoint and got rained on again..2pm championship game..Guess what? Rain!!
I will do better than a guess.
Dudicated's team is the LCSC United 95 Girls Blue
They must be so proud.
Welcome to the board Buster!! Nice first post..
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Again, That didn't happen at park west and those fields were closed for no reason. So Dude, learn to pay attention and follow the facts. The conditions at your venue were different than those at mine. You have already said that you never made it to my venue to check out the fields.
And there you have it, from CHT who WAS there. Attention paid, facts followed, cold hard truth revealed. It rained. At Park West. On Saturday.
Nice to see all of MPSC members circle the wagons to protect the payroll. I think my posts have raised enough questions to make other teams question making that much of an investment into your tournament again.
OH you ever get tired of being there - you can try out across the bridge.
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Nice to see all of MPSC members circle the wagons to protect the payroll. I think my posts have raised enough questions to make other teams question making that much of an investment into your tournament again.
I know all the people here on not MPSC, just reasonable people. I guess we'll know if a year if your campaign works. We'll compare the numbers of teams from 08 to 09.
I think this is a very dead horse, enough beating it over and over.
This from the tournament director today...
Coaches and Managers,
We wanted to keep you abreast of the fact that we are addressing the rain out last weekend. Once our Board can meet, we will notify you of our decisions. We ask for your patience but also commit to having a answer back to you within 2 weeks.
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Nice to see all of MPSC members circle the wagons to protect the payroll. I think my posts have raised enough questions to make other teams question making that much of an investment into your tournament again.
I think I already posted clearly that I'm not affiliated with MPSC, nor do I have any interest, personal or team-wise, in their payroll. I've identified myself as a coach with another "rival club," as you put it, (except for the view that a different acronym before the team names doesn't put us at odds with each other; we'll do more for the sport and the kids by supporting each other than by tearing each other down), and even went so far as to identify the club I am affiliated with. What were you saying earlier about paying attention and following facts?
Will Chassereau
CUSC 90G White
I think almost everyone who's participated has either explicitly said that they're from another club or intimated that they took their daughters to the tournament from out of town and were disappointed too...thus, they're from other clubs as well.
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IThis from the tournament director today...
Coaches and Managers,
We wanted to keep you abreast of the fact that we are addressing the rain out last weekend. Once our Board can meet, we will notify you of our decisions. We ask for your patience but also commit to having a answer back to you within 2 weeks.
To what coaches and managers was this sent? I coach a team that was in the tournament and I received the email messages they sent out before and during the weekend, but I have not received the message you copied above.
Nor have I. Maybe it was just to teams who didn't get to play at all on Sunday.
I'm happy to see this thread showing some signs of sanity!
Dadicated....get over it. This kind of thing happens.
I was treated poorly at this tournament twice. Once while coaching boys and once while coaching girls.
I let the first one go....when treated poorly the second time, I simply didn't return to the tournament.
The tournament will continue to be played whether you are there or not.
Weather happens...on your insurance poicy they call it an act of God.
Move on. This won't be the last time your team will be impacted by weather.
Life isn't fair, and neither is soccer. If it was, we wouldn't have most of the center referee's that we now have!
(that was sarcasm, folks!)
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I think this is a very dead horse, enough beating it over and over.
This from the tournament director today...
Coaches and Managers,
We wanted to keep you abreast of the fact that we are addressing the rain out last weekend. Once our Board can meet, we will notify you of our decisions. We ask for your patience but also commit to having a answer back to you within 2 weeks.
It actually appears that this thread may have served its purpose. There may be some justice done for the pitiful manner in which this tournament was conducted.
Many of you you have asked who I am and where I'm from. You may guess and ponder this for years to come or you may return to your normal lives. But as I ride out of town, to the clatter of hooves, you may ask yourself," Who is that masked man?" But if this injustice ever rears its ugly head again, look to the horizon and you may see me riding in again.
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... you may ask yourself," Who is that masked man?".
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
Dadicated,
I hope you aren't naive enough to think that your rantings on here actually helped in getting MP to think about refunds or credits!
I would think that they would have to have done something, even a small gesture, to make it seem that they understand everyone's loss (economically and emotionally).
They aren't complete idiots. They just happen to be a Club that lets themselves be run by a bunch of politicians.
You say you are going away. Why?
A couple of weeks ago, I posted that this site had gotten boring. You brought some life back into it.
You are completely wrong, of course, but that's another story.
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But if this injustice ever rears its ugly head again, look to the horizon and you may see me riding in again.
And as we gaze at the horizon to the sound of approaching hooves, we may ask each other, in hushed tones, "I hear the hooves...I see the horse...but hard as I look, I can't quite tell..."
"Is he coming, or going?"
(And that, cowhands, is the difference between silver bullets, and Silver's nuggets.)
From reading the thread I have learned that:
1. It was so predictable that bad weather was imminent that the tournament should have been preemptively canceled; and
2. The weather was so nice, there is no excuse for not having gotten all the games played
Glad we were able to clear it up.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
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Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
you turning into a Talking Head?
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Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
you turning into a Talking Head?
...asks the talking bust of Marcus Aurelius...
My team's division, U16, was able to complete play albeit with 20 minute games on Sunday. I have no complaints about the unavoidable delay of games due to Mother Nature's whims. However, I do feel that our team was unnecessarily jerked around on Saturday.
Saturday morning we found that, due to the closing of fields 3 and 4 at Patriot's Point, our games were moved and rescheduled as follows:
1:30 PM at Moultrie Middle School
7:10 PM at Town Hall field.
Around 11:15 AM, we found out that the team we were scheduled to play at 7:10 PM did not show up for their 10:50 AM game and were not coming. We were awarded a 3-0 victory by forfeit.
After locating the field at the under-construction Moultrie Middle School (not the current Moultrie Middle School), we arrived at 12:45 for warmups for our first game. The rain ceased, the referees arrived and all looked well. At around 1:00 we received a call from a tournament official who said all games were canceled for the rest of the day. I told her the field and weather looked good and we should be able to play. She said, "I'm sorry, it's canceled." The referees, who couldn't believe that, called their assignor who confirmed that the game was canceled so they left. I met with my team and sent them all on their way.
Around 1:20, after we had all left the field, I received a call from the tournament director who said the game was back on at 2:00 PM. So, we had to get on the cell phones and call all of our players who had dispersed to various places in the Charleston area. One family was already 15-20 miles up I-26 on their way back to Columbia. Fortunately, we were able to get everyone back in time to start the match with a full side at 2:00 PM but we had some pretty frustrated and upset parents. Not sure why this off and then on-again indecision took place.
Due to the forfeit, we only played 2 games on the weekend, one was 30 minute halves on Saturday and the other was 20 minutes total on Sunday. So we played 80 minutes, the equivalent of one full game, all weekend.
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Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
you turning into a Talking Head?
...asks the talking bust of Marcus Aurelius...
Have they canceled the men's tournament this weekend yet?
I don't see why they would cancel the tournament; weather forcast looks pretty good for the weekend (sunny most of the time with possible light showers Saturday morning). And after playing on the same field last night that I did last Saturday at Patriot's Point, the fields are looking MUCH better--they remain some of the better fields I've played on this season.
I guess MPSC wasn't in it just for the money as stated by dadicated. My team received a cash refund, not a voucher. Thanks MPSC.
Thanks for the positive update..I don't think we will hear from medicated since he has no reason to complain.
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I guess MPSC wasn't in it just for the money as stated by dadicated. My team received a cash refund, not a voucher. Thanks MPSC.
To expand upon Fireant's response, for those teams who had their games cancelled and were unable to finish the Women's tournament, those teams received a refund of approximately 2/3 of the cost of their tournament application fee. As stated, this was not a voucher to use towards a future tournament, but a substantial refund. MPSC went above and beyond what most clubs would have done considering the circumstances and unfortunate weather.
Stop the presses! What is that I hear???? Wait, if I put my ear to the ground, I think I can tell what that is.....Could it be the sound of hooves coming to a grinding halt? Where, oh where, are you now, Mr. Masked Man, aka "Dadicated"???
He and his conspiracy are hiding behind the grassy knoll
Let's not sing MPSC's praises too much for doing the right thing and for doing something they haven't done in the past when weather has caused issues. This time, they had no choice if they want teams/clubs to return. Those that put up negative posts did so because this has been an ongoing issue with MPSC, fields and weather, so their arguments are valid no matter what the outcome this year.
Agreed..But if you are going to critize when a club gets it wrong..at least be big enough to say good job when they do something right..How many clubs have given cash refunds? Not to many I know of
My U16 girls' team played 2 games, one 40 minutes (20-minute halves) and the other 20 minutes (total time). No refund.
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Interesting.
what is interesting?
that he got no refund or they played 2 games.
Or that there maybe something in the water in Lexington?