When US Soccer announced the format for the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a new name caught the eye of many a soccer fan—the United States Specialty Sports Association. The organization was awarded a spot in the tournament, beginning play in the Qualifying Round, and TheCup.us has confirmed that the Colorado Rovers will be their representative.

While Specialty Sports may not be a household name, it is actually quite a large organization. Specialty Sports is a national organization, featuring 13 different sports and about 3.5 million members. Baseball and softball account for most of that number, but soccer has made large strides since its inclusion into Specialty Sports in 2001.

By 2008, 11 states were holding championships, and the first Specialty Sports National Championship took place in Las Vegas. This year, 18 teams got together in Denver to determine who would become the first ever Specialty Sports club to participate in the US Open Cup.

For the full story visit http://thecup.us/colorado-rovers-to-represent-united-states-specialty-sports-association-in-100th-us-open-cup/

The USSSA Championship Series is excited to be heading into Kansas City, Lake Tahoe, Wisconsin Dells and Des Moines this year to celebrate the U.S. Soccer Centennial. USSSA is a member of U.S. Soccer and will be holding tournaments around the country to celebrate 100 years of U.S. Soccer.

Outside of playing in the tournament, teams will participate in an opening ceremony, centennial festivities and receive a centennial gift and souvenir program.

Below is the schedule of events and event websites

USSSA Des Moines Cup – June 14-16 – Ankeny, IA

USSSA Tahoe Cup – June 29-30 – Lake Tahoe, CA

USSSA Kansas City Cup – August 2-4 – Lee’s Summit, MO

USSSA Wisconsin Cup – TBA – Mauston, WI

Join USSSA this year and be part of our celebration of U.S. Soccer Centennial.

100^th EDITION OF LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP INCLUDES
INCREASED PRIZE MONEY, RECORD NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING TEAMS

A Total of 68 Teams Will Compete for Quarter-Million Dollar Winner’s Share;

Location of Semifinals and Final to be Determined by Coin Flip

US Soccer Press Release  

CHICAGO (March 5, 2013) – The largest field of teams and a significant increase in prize money highlight the 100^th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which kicks off May 7.

The 2013 tournament features 68 teams, an increase from the 64 that competed last year, marking the largest field in the modern era (1995-present). This year also marks the second-consecutive year in which all U.S. based Division I, II and III teams will participate in the tournament proper: 16 from Major League Soccer, six from the North American Soccer League and 12 from USL PRO.

The amount of prize money distributed will also see a substantial increase, with the overall champion earning a total of $250,000 (up from $100,000 in recent years). The tournament runner-up will receive $60,000 (up from $50,000) and the winner of each lower division will win $15,000 (up from $10,000).

Another significant change for 2013 is the process for determining the site for the Open Cup tournament semifinals and final. In past years, the sites for the final three matches of the tournament had been determined through a sealed-bid process, but this year the hosts of those games will be determined by a coin flip. Home teams throughout the entire tournament will be determined by random selection.

Beyond the Division I, II, and III teams, the remaining 34 spots in the tournament field will be filled by amateur teams from the Adult Council category. There will be 16 from the Premier Development League, eight from U.S. Adult Soccer Association regional qualifying, eight from the National Premier Soccer League, one from US Club Soccer and one from the United States Specialty Sports Association. Entry deadline for all amateur teams is March 15.

The tournament will begin with the Play-In Round to be completed by May 7 and will culminate with the tournament final, which will take place on Oct. 1 or 2.

2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Facts:

• Largest field of      teams (68) in tournament proper in competition’s modern era (1995-present),      eclipsing previous record of 64 (2012)
• Second      consecutive year in modern era where all U.S.-based Division I, II and III      professional clubs will participate in tournament proper
• Home teams      through entire tournament to be determined by random selection (change      from sealed bid process for semifinals and final)
• Largest field of      professional teams (34) in tournament proper in competition’s modern era,      eclipsing previous record of 32 (2012)
• Largest field of      amateur teams (34) in tournament proper in competition’s modern era, surpassing      previous record of 32 (2012).

Tournament Format and Match Dates:

Qualifying Deadline

Date: April 28

Play-In Round

Number of Games: 2

Date: May 7

One NPSL team will take on the US Club Soccer representative, while the other NPSL team faces the USSSA representative.

First Round
Number of Games: 18

Date: May 14

Two winners from Play-In Round join remaining 30 Adult Council category teams and four USL PRO teams (Dayton Dutch Lions, Pittsburgh Riverhounds and expansion sides Phoenix FC Wolves and VSI Tampa Bay FC).

Second Round

Number of Games: 16
Date: May 21

Eighteen (18) winners from First Round join remaining eight USL PRO clubs and six NASL teams.

Third Round

Number of Games: 16

Date: May 28

Sixteen (16) winners from Second Round are paired against 16 MLS sides.

Fourth Round

Number of Games: 8
Date: June 12
Sixteen (16) winners from Third Round face each other.

Quarterfinals

Date: June 26
Fourth Round winners face each other.

Semifinals

Date: Aug. 7 or 21

Quarterfinal winners face each other.

Final

Date: Oct. 1 or 2

Participating Professional Teams (34 total)

Major League Soccer (Division I – 16 teams): Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City.

North American Soccer League (Division II – 6 teams): Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Minnesota Stars FC, San Antonio Scorpions, Tampa Bay Rowdies.

USL PRO (Division III – 12 teams): Charleston Battery, Charlotte Eagles, Dayton Dutch Lions, Harrisburg City Islanders, Los Angeles Blues, Orlando City, Phoenix FC Wolves, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Rhinos, VSI Tampa Bay FC, Wilmington Hammerheads.

Distribution of Amateur-Level Places (34 total):

U.S. Adult Soccer Association Regional Qualifiers - 8 places: Four USASA regional qualifiers advanced to the second round in 2012, including Cinderella story Cal FC, who reached the fourth round.

United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League - 16 places: The PDL will have the largest representation among amateur leagues. In 2012 the Michigan Bucks were the lone PDL team to reach the fourth round.

National Premier Soccer League – 8 places: The NPSL is a national amateur league affiliated with the USASA. Prior to last year, its teams participated via USASA regional qualifying.

US Club Soccer – 1 place: US Club Soccer is an organization member of U.S. Soccer. It was first represented in last year’s tournament.

U.S. Specialty Sports Association – 1 place: The USSSA is an organization member of U.S. Soccer. Its clubs will be participating for the first time in this year’s tournament.

Ventura, CA – April 19-21, 2013

The USSSA College ID Championship Series is designed to give players the opportunity to compete in an event where they can showcase their skills not only on the field but through the latest technology. Our tournaments run in conjunction with training camps where players work with college coaches and receive an evaluation of the time spent in camp. This evaluation is then paired with their playing profile to give attending college coaches a great snap shot of each player.

Each tournament has a limited number of teams that will be accepted due to field space. To avoid disappointment register early.

Registration Deadline is April 8, 2013. For more information and to register visit our Championship Series site.

ABOUT USSSA:
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball, Karate and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!

USSSA is pleased to release the information on this year’s Adult National Tournament

2012 National Championships
September 28-30, 2012

Registration closes September 3, 2012

Location:

Dicks Sporting Goods Park

Denver, CO

Registration:

$550 per team with a three game minimum

Divisions will be provided in the following categories:

Men’s Elite (USSSA Teams Only) These teams must have competed in a USSSA qualifying league or tournament and finished in the top four placements in previous event.

Men’s DI Open (All US Soccer Members) This bracket is open to all members of US Soccer and is designed for competitive teams.

Men’s DII/Over 30′s (All US Soccer Members) This bracket is designed for teams that compete in lower level divisions or tournaments in their respective areas.

2012 Tournament Registration

Awards:

Awards will be presented to first and second place teams in each bracket. There will be a travel reimbursement of the following for each division:

Men’s Elite: Champions $1500  Runner-up $500

Men’s DI Open: Champions $750 Runner-up $250

Men’s DII/Over 30′s: Champions $750  Runner-up $250

Contact:

For all questions on the tournament outside of travel please contact the
Tournament Director.

The USSSA National, Regional & State Championship is an alternative national tournament series for adult soccer teams. It offers various levels of play not offered by other soccer associations.

These events are open to all US Soccer affiliated teams (USSSA, US Club and USASA).

The USSSA Nationals is a stay-and-play event. All Traveling teams must stay at one of
the approved host hotels. Reservations must be made through CSTT Sports.

USSSA Soccer is excited to reveal their new website and domain www.usssasoccer.com that will replace www.usssasoccer.net.

USSSA is pleased to release the information on this year’s National Tournament

2012 National Championships
Olathe, KS
June 22-24, 2012

Lone Elm Soccer Complex

2012 Tournament Registration – Click Here

For all questions on the tournament outside of travel please contact Tournament Director
brian.winners@usssa.com

The USSSA National, Regional & State Championship is an alternative national tournament series for youth soccer teams.It offers various levels of play not offered by other soccer associations.

These events are open to all US Soccer affiliated teams (USSSA, US Club, SAY, AYSO and USYSA teams).

The USSSA Nationals is a stay-and-play event. All Traveling teams must stay at one of
the approved host hotels. Reservations must be made through GCI Travel.

Click Here for GCI Travel Information

Chree Smith
913-660-7764
csmith@gcitravel.net

Katy Gray
913.660.7767
kgray@gcitravel.net

USSSA is happy to announce its entry into the world of social networking. With new Facebook and Twitter accounts, our main focus is to connect with both current and prospective members. Building membership throughout the country and beyond is important to the development of USSSA Soccer for both youth and adults alike.

“I’m really excited to be a part of this new media aspect of USSSA. I think it’s a step in the right direction towards promoting tournaments and growing our membership,” said Kaylen Shimoda, Director of Communications and Media.

With these new additions, USSSA will be promoting their tournaments and upcoming events with a goal to gain followers and keep them up-to-date on the latest news. It’s a great opportunity to encourage social interaction among our members as well as continue to support the growth of USSSA Soccer.

Shimoda adds, “We really want to engage our members by allowing them up-to-date access to tournament schedules, action and results. It will also encourage them to spread the word and promote the benefits of USSSA.”

This new media will help enrich our members and show them the development of our State and National tournaments at a reliable and timely manner. It will offer a variety of ways in which their teams will benefit from being a part of our organization and will allow them to follow us at any given time during the day.

Visit our Facebook page, Usssa Soccer or follow us on Twitter @SoccerUSSSA for the latest on USSSA Soccer. For more information check out our website at www.usssasooccer.net.

Kissimmee, FL–USSSA is excited to announce it is extending a partnership with WORLD CLASS COACHING. This will benefit all youth coaches whose teams are registered with USSSA. For the 2011/2012 year, all coaches will receive unlimited access to the WORLD CLASS COACHING Member Drills Database which will help them to improve upon their player’s skills through new and effective soccer exercises. The Member Drills Database is the world’s largest online, searchable database with over 5,000 pages of soccer drills and exercises.  FULL STORY

As the summer soccer season approaches, USSSA is excited to welcome SCORE Tournaments, host of SCORE at the Shore (Tampa, FL) and SCORE Showcase (Greensboro, NC). This partnership will provide a competitive atmosphere for players and members at USSSA, and will showcase their talents to some of the top college recruiters in the country.

FULL STORY

USSSA is pleased to release the information on this years National Tournament

2011 National Championships
Overland Park, KS
July 22-24, 2011

Overland Park Soccer Complex

2011 Tournament Results

2011 Championship Schedule

The USSSA National, Regional & State Championship is an alternative national tournament series for youth soccer teams.It offers various levels of play not offered by other soccer associations.
These events are open to all US Soccer affiliated teams (USSSA, US Club, SAY, AYSO and USYSA teams).

Click Here for More Information

2010 Tournament Recap

The 2010 National Soccer Series held its first ever National Championships in Overland Park, KS this past October. The tournament was played at the Overland Park Soccer Complex and under perfect conditions with the temperatures in the high 70’s all weekend. The world class facility was only opened in 2009 and has already hosted two National Tournaments, all twelve synthetic fields are lighted and allow for teams to experience top quality fields for the finals.

National Champions were crowned in seventeen divisions from U9 to Adults. The finals were played on Sunday afternoon with teams progressing from qualifying groups. Teams participated from: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Georgia, Oklahoma and Arkansas; the total number of teams was 83.

Games started on Saturday with teams playing two group games to work towards qualifying for the knock out stages and finals. In the evening teams took place in the tournament parade which was held during the half time period of the Kansas City Wizards and Seattle Sounders Major League soccer game. For some of the teams it was their first opportunity to witness a live professional game and these players enjoyed being on the field during half time.

Overall the first National Championship started and ended with many high notes and memories for players, coaches, fans and tournament staff. We are pleased to announce that USSSA National Series will again end in Overland Park in 2011 with qualifying tournaments starting in January at Coco Expo, Florida.

View the Overland Park Soccer Complex which will hosted the 2010 USSSA National Tournament.

Find a Qualifying Tournament near you and qualify for Nationals

2010 Tournament Results

USSSA Adult Nationals

Denver 2011 – October 14-16 – Dicks Sporting Goods Park

Tournament Formats

All groups are 11v11 brackets with a maximum roster of 22 players
Elite                                                 1st place $2,000 travel reimbursement
Invitation only, must be approved by USSSA or State Director

Men’s Open                                   1st place $1,500 travel reimbursement
Division is open to all US Soccer (USSSA, US Club, USASA) a registered team, this division is designed for competitive men teams.

Men’s DII/Over 30’s                 1st place $1,000 travel reimbursement
Division is open to all US Soccer (USSSA, US Club, USASA) a registered team, this division is designed for lower competitive and recreational men teams. This is a combined bracket between DII and over 30 teams.

Women’s Open                             1st place $550 travel reimbursement
Division is open to all US Soccer (USSSA, US Club, USASA) a registered team, this division is designed for competitive women teams.

Women’s DII/Over 30’s
Division is open to all US Soccer (USSSA, US Club, USASA) a registered team, this division is designed for lower competitive and recreational men teams. This is a combined bracket between DII and over 30 teams.

Teams are expected to attend from the following States; Colorado, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Nebraska.

About USSSA Championships
The USSSA National, Championship offers an alternative national tournament series for adult soccer teams. The tournament is aimed to offer elite, competitive and recreational teams a quality national cup tournament.

The tournament is open to all teams, the elite division is only for teams that competed and qualified through a USSSA state, regional Tournament, or league.
This tournament offers a US Soccer approved Championship to all levels of play (including some divisions not offered by other associations). The event will have two brackets in the competitive divisions and a true recreational only division.

Each team will play a minimum of 3 games, all players and teams are required to be registered with US Soccer. (USSSA, US Club and USASA teams all accepted.)

Dicks Sporting Goods Park is located just 25 minutes from downtown Denver. DEN Airport is a 25 minute drive from the complex. This tournament has reserved rooms at the following hotels, ALL teams are responsible for their travel.

During the weekend the following events will be held:

• Opening Party with the Colorado Rapid Bulldog Supporters Club
• Hog Roast before the MLS game between Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake

Tournament Information

Venue: Dicks Sporting Good Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City, Colorado

Registration cost: $550 per team, maximum roster of 22 players

Registration closes October 6, 2011: Register today (https://register.htgsports.net/default.aspx?id=854 )

Local Airport: Denver International (DEN)

Schedules: Will be released one week prior to the tournament. Games will start on Friday morning and conclude Sunday late afternoon.

Host Hotels:
Comfort Inn and Suites 4685 Quebec Street, Denver
(303) 388-8100

Courtyard Denver Stapleton 7415 E 41st Avenue · Denver, Colorado 80216 USA
(303) 333-3303

Tournament Director: Brian Winners brian.winners@usssa.com

Referee Assignor: TBA

Tournament Website: www.usssasoccer.net