The 20th Annual Palmetto Cup kicks off tomorrow in Cayce, South Carolina. This year's field is outstanding and the weather forecast looks good.
However, we have already had a bump in the road as we were informed via the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) that Norman North will only be allowed to participate in three tourney matches per OSSAA rules. Thus, Norman North has agreed to forfeit their first match tomorrow night versus Christ Church and will simply travel to SC on Wednesday. We will move the Fort Mill vs. Wando match (originally scheduled for 6:30 pm at Granby Education Center) to The Cage at BCHS at 8:00 pm.
Norman North will compete on Thursday (vs. Northwestern), Friday (vs. Bishop England), and Saturday (vs. Irmo) as scheduled, but will not be eligible for the championship match Saturday afternoon if indeed the TimberWolves should advance.
Parking -- Buses parking at The Cage are to use the space between State Street Baptist Church and the stadium. Signs are posted directing you to do so. At Granby, buses will be allowed to park behind the school building on the small access road off Dunbar Road. No spectators will be allowed to park there. Also, there is no parking for visitors at Granby in front of the house on the corner of Wilkinson Street & Dunbar Road. Spectator parking at BCHS is restricted to the area outside the brick gateway. There is ample parking in the lots off State Street and behind the softball field off L Avenue and 7th Street.
Seating -- At Granby, there is very limited seating, so please encourage your supporters to bring folding chairs, etc. At The Cage, all spectators are to sit on the press box side. The small "visitors" side on the teams side is reserved for tourney personnel and teams waiting to play.
Concessions -- At Granby, there will be limited items for sale. The Cage will have a full canteen available, plus Zeus Pizza!
Restrooms -- At Granby, there is a Port-A-John as well as indoor facilities (follow the sidewalk around the building). At The Cage, the restrooms are available at the canteen building.
Inclement Weather -- At Granby, in the event of inclement weather, teams will be allowed to huddle in the gymnasium, but must take their cleats off. At The Cage, if inclement weather occurs, teams will be moved a locker room or the small gym.
Warming Up -- Teams are asked to warm up behind either goal or on the softball field outfield or baseball field outfield (after Wednesday). There should be no warm-ups on the infield. Also, we ask that you conduct as many of your warming up outside of the goal mouths at both facilities. Teams should have about 20 minutes on the field for pregame warm-ups.
Practice -- If you are traveling from out of town, please consider using Granby Education Center soccer field or Northside Middle School soccer fields for practices. Also, there is the BCHS Annex Field on campus (no goals) if you should need it.
Team Benches -- Light Colored Jersey Teams will occupy the Home bench (team shelter end, B-C as host will always use this end). Dark Colored Jersey Teams will use the team bench closest to the scoreboard end of The Cage. Please make sure to clean up after your match and leave the area clean.
Trainers -- The trainers will ONLY be available at BCHS. All taping, etc. must be done at BCHS (make arrangements). Please allow an hour before your scheduled kickoff to address this issue. We will have water provided for you at both sites.
Checking In -- All teams should first check in at BCHS to get their t-shirts, game ball, coach's package, etc. Also, if you owe an outstanding balance for entry fee or t-shirts, please pay at this time.
Format -- 80 minute matches. Two 40-minute halves continuous clock; 7-minute halftime. Forfeits are recorded as 3-0 wins for tourney scoring purposes only (10 points maximum). Points System: 6 points for a win; 3 points for a tie; 1 point for every goal to three; 1 point for a shutout; 0 points for a loss; -2 points for a straight red card; -1 points for an accumulated red card. There is NO overtime. Matches after 80 minutes end in a tie except for the Championship which will be determined by SCHSL Regular Season Rules (Two 5-minute overtimes; Penalty Kicks).
Social Media / Publicity -- Follow the Palmetto Cup via:
Twitter - @kpheise2; @BCBearcatSoccer; @SCSoccer
Websites -
B-C Bearcat Soccer --
www.scsoccer.com/bcsoccer;
SCSoccer.com --
http://www.scsoccer.com/forum/showflat.p...e=1&fpart=5;
ESPN HS --
http://espn.go.com/high-school/boys-soccer/ From Sheldon Shealer of ESPN HS: Our video editor would like the following: match highlights of Irmo vs. Newman and/or the championship match. I can explain to whomever how to send us video highlights. They will be used in next week's ESPNHS Weekly Report, which is like an online SportsCenter for HS sports.
Finally, if you can let the programs who video know, we are always looking for Goal of the Week candidates. We have this week covered already, but if any great goals are scored this weekend, we'd love to have the video file to put that in consideration for future Goals of the Week.
Entry Fee:
Tournament Pass -- $18
Individual Match Ticket - $5
SC High School League Pass - Will be honored
