To say the Viking Cup is merit based cannot be taken as entirely true. Nor could one say that the 32 best teams in the state attend.

The Viking Cup is the premier high school tournament for girls in South Carolina. Most of the top teams attend because it offers them good competition and a nice, large tourney atmosphere.

Some teams attend year in, year out and have neither the regular season record to back up their selection, nor the tournament record to back up a repeated invitation.

Is there anything crooked about this... probably not. Sometimes the coach of a mediocre team wants to go to a top level tournament for good reasons (to show his girls what that level of play requires, for the experience of tough competition before season play begins, to say he got to go to the Viking Cup). In the end, all of those reasons are justifiable.

Some teams get, or have gotten, repeated invites to the Viking Cup namely because it's probably difficult for one coach to peruse the records of countless teams, create a merit system based on quantitative statistics, and then call a coach he's known for 14 years and tell him, "Sorry bud, but we can let you come this year." Is this the good old boy system that the South is reknown for? Maybe, but again, probably not. It's just easier to let some teams that aren't top level squads continue to attend until their coach sees the writing on the wall.

Some teams also get to attend for the first time ever, pull an upset or tie a top squad, and thus create an interesting storyline for the season ahead.

The Viking Cup is not crooked. It is not perfect. It is the most prestigious girls high school soccer tournament in the state of South Carolina. Is it the BEST? That is debatable.

So, to answer a question posted earlier, should a team be "in" just because they previously attended the cup? No. Has this happened before? Yes. Does this mean the system is hugely flawed? No. Will the world continue spinning on its axis? Yes. Is the Viking Cup still a quality tournament that draws the interest of top teams year in, year out? Yes.