SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Atlanta Cup - Where are the SC Girls?

Congrats to Hurst......whose daughter's team won the second flight of U13 girls in Atlanta!!!

Atlanta tournament was spread out again as usual. Our bracket games and semi-finals were 15 miles north of downtown while the championship game on Monday was 45 miles south of downtown. Fields were very good and competition was excellent. Changing hotels on Sunday was an experience but the tournament people got us an excellent rate of $89 at the airport Hilton. Saw lots of Jerry's Kids all over the hotel as this facility was hosting Atlanta's MDA Telethon.

I am sure if someone(Chico) were to do a detailed statistical analysis (with key lime pie charts) comparing the Disney Qualifier teams v. Atlanta Cup teams, it would indicate that Atlanta fielded the far stronger teams. Most of the Qualifier teams are 2nd & 3rd tier Fla. teams. Very few out-of-state teams.
We went to Atlanta 3 years, and sure its kinda a hassle if you advance to finals to relocate. And the fields are spread out, but its a big tournament in a big city. Its not as convenient as tournaments in smaller markets, but the competition is much higher. However, still not on par with Surf Cup, Dallas Cup, Score at, Jefferson Cup, Tampa or CASL.

2004striker: I don't disagree with your overall assessment; but would again stress that the Disney Qualifier should really be judged only as a "front-end" for the Disney Showcase. As such, a club or team [e.g., CUFC] making the decision to go to the Disney Qualifer rather than the Atlanta Cup is an attempt to ultimately play a higher level of competition [i.e., in the Disney Showcase].

What I think is great about CUFC attending the Disney Qualifier is that it showed the ambition to try to get its teams into the Disney Showcase. As you know, the Disney Showcase selection committee is very, very tough [I'm still amazed that the Bridge U16B team got turned down], particularly for South Carolina teams, and thus going to the Disney Qualifier was a way for CUFC to attempt to "jump-start" its teams into one of the most elite tournaments.

While I don't like the past litigious nature of CUFC, and I was worried when there were rumors about their not letting some kids tryout for the club, limiting practice sessions to twice a week, and the like, I think it's important to call out when clubs seem to be trying to do the right thing.

I concur that the Qualifier can provide greater benefits for a team, once a team does qualify. If you look at the 2005 U18 boys brackets, even the lowest Copa brackets had stronger teams than the top Atlanta Cup teams-

http://www.gotsport.com/events/results.aspx?EventID=377&Sex=Boys&Age=18

I guess I was looking at more immediate tournament challenges for CUFC, rather than the ultimate, possible award of making the Disney Showcase.