Due to Changes in NCAA Division I Recruiting Calendar, Surf Cup Olders Weekend is Pushed To Labor Day
To meet the NCAA recruiting timetable and provide a highly needed opportunity for college recruits to be seen by college coaches, Surf Cup has postponed its early August weekends for Olders Competition to after the recently extended August 31 NCAA recruiting ban.
Please note this article has been updated – Surf Cup is working on specifics for offering a digital recruiting solution for coaches who can not attend this year’s event and details will be announced in the coming weeks.
NEW Update on Surf Cup 2020:
Surf is moving Surf Cup Olders to Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 5-7, 2020.
Boys will play at SoCal Sports Complex in Oceanside, and Girls will play at Surf Sports Park in Del Mar. Surf Cup Olders was scheduled for Boys weekend on Aug. 1-3 and Girls on Aug. 7-9. The transition to Labor Day will also give teams an extra four weeks to allow the current COVID-19 spikes in several hot spots to reduce.
“We are heartbroken to see these classes impacted by the pandemic and are 100% dedicated to helping top recruits connect with collegiate coaches. That is the essence of Surf Cup,” said Brian Enge, CEO of Surf.
“There is a huge demand for Surf Cup this year, and we all know that college recruits haven’t had the opportunity to play live in front of scouts for the last 5 months,” added Enge. “The registration for Surf Cup 2020 has been extremely strong, and we are expecting approximately the same number of teams to compete and showcase their players as in the past.”
Just a few days ago, on June 26, the NCAA Division I recruiting dead period was extended through August 31. Originally, the recruiting ban was set to expire on July 31st. The deadline for the new dead period prohibiting in-person recruiting created a direct conflict with Surf Cup 2020 Olders’ weekend of August 1-3 and August 7-9.
“We had no choice, we had to move Surf Cup to a date when college coaches could attend.”
Brian Enge, CEO of Surf
Well known as one of the most popular hallmark events of the youth soccer summer, Surf Cup’s tag line is “The Best of the Best” and focuses on creating opportunities for college-bound players to connect with college coaches.
Immediately after the NCAA announcement on extending the dead period, Surf Cup sent out a notice to its registered teams and stakeholders; confirming that Surf Cup would still take place in 2020, but informing that a few days were needed to discuss the impact of the recruiting ban with their most important customers — college coaches and college recruits — and understand how to best serve their needs in 2020.
What is the dead period? According to the NCAA’s official definitions. “A college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.”
Here is an excerpt from the statement released from Surf Cup’s Tournament Director Michelle Chesters:
Given the NCAA announcement yesterday to extend the recruiting dark period through August, we feel it is best to pause and give ourselves a few days to think through our path forward.
The cornerstone of our Surf Cup Olders tournament has always been providing the nation’s best connection between college coaches and the top college recruits.
Recognizing that this year has been exceptionally challenging for college recruits and collegiate coaches due to the impact of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic — it was clear Surf Cup 2020 was more critical than ever to provide an opportunity for recruits and collegiate coaches to connect.
“Surf made the difficult decision to cancel Man City Cup 2020, originally moved from Memorial Day to Labor day due to COVID-19 and international travel restrictions.”
Brian Enge, CEO of Surf
Read: MAN CITY CUP 2020 CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
In its 6th year, the annual Man City Cup had already canceled the International Super Group due to travel guidelines and safety protocols to slow the pandemic.
Due to the change in youth soccer tournament dates, Surf is advising all teams that applied for Man City Cup 2020 to now apply for Surf Cup 2020.
The Big Question: Will college coaches attend Surf Cup over Labor Day Weekend?
“We expect college coaches to be able to attend,” said Chesters. “However, if collegiate matches or recruiting rules do not allow college coaches to attend in person, Surf has plans in place to help coaches recruit.”
Surf is working with NextPro and ScoutingZone to create an innovative solution to offer video options for college coaches. This solution will also make game footage available to all players within the recruiting age groups.
Surf Cup plans to record games in the college recruiting age groups to provide for digital player evaluations.
Considering there have been no youth soccer games for months, players also are in desperate need of new game footage for their recruiting videos.
In addition, Surf will be creating “marquee” matches within each age division, alerting college coaches to recruiting possibilities.
“Everyone at Surf realizes that with the changes and restrictions of COVID, we have to be flexible and innovative,” said Enge.
After speaking with Surf’s customers, Rob Becerra, Sr. DOC reported:
- College coaches still need to fill their upcoming classes and haven’t seen recruits play over the last 5 months.
- Virtual recruiting is now an accepted part of the recruiting process, and coaches are comfortable with assessing players via video.
- College recruits don’t have any fresh game content to submit highlight or game form to coaches.
- Both parties are asking Surf to help during this unique time.
“We do realize moving Surf Cup Olders to Labor Day and canceling Man City Cup will create conflicts and inconveniences for some of our participants, and we deeply apologize for this. This is an unusual move for us, but this is also an unusual period of time and we are focused on solutions,” said Romero.
This decision does not impact Surf Cup Younger Tournament events on August 15 – 16 and August 22 – 23, they will still be played on these dates:
OLDER BOYS & GIRLS (2006 & OLDER)
DATES: September 5 – 7, 2020 (Sat – Mon)
Registration deadline July 27, 2020
Teams will be notified of acceptance by July 31, 2020
YOUNGER BOYS & GIRLS (2007 & 2008)
DATES: August 15 – 16, 2020 (Sat and Sun Only)
Registration deadline July 12, 2020
Teams will be notified of acceptance by July 17, 2020
YOUNGEST BOYS & GIRLS (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
DATES: August 22 – 23, (Sat and Sun Only)
Registration deadline July 15, 2020
Teams will be notified of acceptance by July 20, 2020
Questions can be emailed to Michelle Chesters
