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This our first year covering the Carolinas Cup. Previously the tournament has received little media attention and has been hard to follow from a distance.
We learned last night that there is a difference between the amateur men's "gold" and "silver" divisions. 1/
We learned last night that there is a difference between the amateur men's "gold" and "silver" divisions. 1/
The gold division is the grouping that can qualify for the USASA regional tournament to earn a spot for the National Amateur Cup. The tournament does not do a good job spelling out that silver division is less competitive 2/
Exhibit 1: The teams are shown here broken down into two division, Gold and Silver. Each division has 8 clubs and makes a balanced schedule.
Of note, the the gold division looks to be made up of primarily CLT metro clubs. More on that later. 3/
Of note, the the gold division looks to be made up of primarily CLT metro clubs. More on that later. 3/
Exhibit 2: The rules and regulations document for the tournament state that divisions will be added based on number of entries, previous results, geographical location, and timelines of the application.What isn't noted here anywhere is that divisions beyond the Gold cannot win 4/
Exhibit 3: in a previous email with the NCASA we were told that the winners of a respective division are guaranteed a spot in the USASA Region 3 regional competition. 5/
On the 11v11 page of the website it lists the divisions (likely supposed to be a header?) including "open men" which would indicate that every team has an opportunity to win the overall prize that enters. 6/
By now you may be asking:
1) is silver division at a lower entry fee? No it is not.
2) were clubs made aware they are not playing for a spot? Unclear. Our sources made it sound like they weren't told, but we are unable to verify that as of now. 7/
1) is silver division at a lower entry fee? No it is not.
2) were clubs made aware they are not playing for a spot? Unclear. Our sources made it sound like they weren't told, but we are unable to verify that as of now. 7/
In conclusion, we have serious concerns if the NCASA is taking a set entry fee under the assumption of clubs playing for a spot in the USASA regionals and then providing no opportunity to do so.
It lessens the value of the competition greatly. 8/8
It lessens the value of the competition greatly. 8/8
