WELCOME   

• The Soccer Association of Columbia/HC invites you to apply for participation in the 37TH Annual Columbia Invitational Soccer Tournament to be held May 26-28, 2012
• Columbia's travel teams are affiliated with WAGSL (Washington Area Girls Soccer League) and NCSL (National Capital Soccer League).
• Columbia is centrally located between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD. For simply the best soccer competition, play in Columbia over Memorial Weekend and experience for yourself why Sports Illustrated, upon visiting our tournament, proclaimed that, "Here (Columbia), arguably is the heartland of U.S. Soccer."
• Fees: U9-U10 $600; U11-U12 (8v8) $625; U12 (11v11) - U14 $795; U15-U19 $825
• ASL Championship Fees: U14 - $895; U15-U17 - $925

 

The Columbia Invitational is open to all competitive and classic club teams. This is a US Club Sanctioned tournament. All teams must be affiliated and their players registered with USYSA through their respective state associations or US Club Soccer.

There is optional tournament insurance available for individual non-US Club Soccer teams where the State Association has wrongfully denied them insurance to attend. Individual teams should check with their state associations about their secondary insurance coverage as each state may be different. Individual teams in need of more information regarding insurance can find it click here. Completed forms and any questions regarding individual team insurance can be addressed to Sharon Young insurancequestions@usclubsoccer.org

 

CONTACT INFORMATION   

• Tournament Director: Michael Libber
• Contact Information: mlibber@elitetournaments.com 

ELIGIBILITY & GUEST PLAYER POLICY  

• The Columbia Invitational Soccer Tournament is open to US Club Soccer teams and the following US Youth Soccer teams:

• Intra-club tournament team – a team put together for the purpose of playing in a tournament whose roster includes only players who are members of one club.
• Inter-club tournament team – a team put together for the purpose of playing in a tournament whose roster includes players who are members of more than one club.
• League team – a team which participates in regularly scheduled league play.
• Premier team – a team which participates in a premier league.
• Select team – the official all-star teams of USYS

• All teams must be registered and in good standing with their affiliated  State Association. Notification of travel forms, validated player passes with photos; official team rosters with uniform numbers and medical release forms will be required of all teams accepted into the tournament.
• Teams requesting to use guest players may have no more than 18 players (U12 thru U19), up to 5 guest players. U9- U12 (7v7 and 8v8) age groups maximum roster size is 14 whose number may include up to 4 guest players.

NUMBER OF GAMES, CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTANCE, RULES, and AWARDS

• Your team is guaranteed a minimum of three (3) games. Playoff rounds will be played on Saturday and Sunday. All finals will be played on Monday. Criteria for acceptance and seeding of teams will be based on the following:

• National / Regional Competition
• State Cup Competition
• League Record /Level of Competition
• Tournament Competition
• Geographic Location
• Team Sportsmanship at US Soccer Sanctioned Tournaments
  
• All teams must submit accurate information and complete the application in its entirety.
• Please note that if a club enters multiple applications for its teams, each team will be evaluated individually and a decision will be made on a per team basis and NOT on a club basis.
• All games shall be played in accordance with FIFA Laws, except as specifically modified by Tournament Rules. A complete set of Rules will be posted on the tournament website.
• Awards will be presented to all Champions and Finalists.

AGE GROUPS and LENGTH OF GAMES   

 

 

COLLEGE RECRUITING   

The Tournament will be host to numerous college coaches. Annually, more than 275 coaches visit during the Tournament weekend. This high level of exposure has enabled us to strengthen the competitive levels of play in the U-15 thru U-19 program and attract highly skilled teams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLAYER PROFILES   

Player Profiles (U-15 thru U-19) will be made available to all college coaches in attendance at the Tournament. This information will be extracted from the team roster form provided on the website.  Therefore, it is important that ALL information requested on this form be submitted by the requested deadline date.

REFEREES   

• Every effort is made to provide the three-man system of officiating at every age level. Two other major tournaments are held in the Baltimore/Washington area over the Memorial Weekend thereby limiting our resources. If you are a certified referee or know referees in your area, we would welcome you/them to become a part of the Columbia Invitational. Additional information is available by e-mailing Assignor Mark Jennings mark0159@aol.com

APPLICATIONS

• Applications will only be accepted through the SoccerSheduler program. If you have previously registered for another tournament whose applications are processed by SoccerScheduler, you will already have a team page in their system. If this is your first application to a tournament processed by SoccerScheduler, you will need to create your team page at the start of the application process.
• Deadline for on-line registration and payment of entry fee is April 1st, 2011. Applications received or applications still unpaid after April 1st will be placed on a waiting list.

Applications are not considered complete until payment of the entry fee is made. We suggest that you send your tournament fee payment check by postal mail to the Elite Tournaments' office immediately after you apply online and receive your application confirmation number. Enclose a copy of your confirmation e-mail with your check (and confirmation number or team name on the check) to assure your check is credited to the proper team. Mail requiring a signature (certified, registered, etc.) will not be accepted.

• To complete applications:
  • Submit by the deadline in one envelope:
    1. Your confirmation of Registration from SoccerScheduler.com.
    2. A check or money order for the full tournament fee payable to SAC (U.S. dollars only), if entry fee is not paid by credit card. Application will not be considered complete without payment. If your team is accepted, the fee is non-refundable. If your team is accepted and later withdraws, the fee is non-refundable and sanctions may be placed against your team for participation in future tournaments. Should your team not be accepted, the fee will be returned by April 11, 2011.
    3. Mail a confirmation of registration and the entry fee to:

Columbia Invitational

401 Center Street

Suite 205

Mount Airy, MD 21771

Acceptance

• Acceptance notification will be posted on this web site by April 11, 2011. Upon acceptance, teams will need to complete a number of tasks, including:
  1. Booking hotel reservations with THS.  All teams that are accepted in this tournament and have a need to stay overnight must use the THS reservation system. Any team that does not use the hotel booking agency will be disqualified from the tournament.  No refund will be issued.
  2. Entering player names and jersey numbers into the roster page of the team's SoccerScheduler page for use in the tournament game reports.
  3. For U15 - U19, it is recommended for teams to fill out the player profiles for the on-line access for the college coach search and also for placement into the player profile book that is handed out to all collegiate coaches in attendance.

Rosters

• The following are the maximum roster size per age groups:
  • U12 - U15 (full sided) - 18 man roster
  • U16 - U19 (full sided) - 22 man roster, but only 18 are to be dressed and considered eligible for each match

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS   

• All teams are required to use THS for all hotel arrangements. Information about hotel arrangements will be available soon.
• Any team not using our hotel booking agency will be subject to a $500 housing fee.

AIRLINE TRANSPORTATION    

• If you are arriving by air, the Baltimore-Washington International Airport is closest to Columbia - travel time is 20-25 minutes. Many of the hotels located at the BWI Airport offer complimentary transportation from the airport to their establishment. If you are driving, Columbia is located off I-95 between Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C. Route 175 West from I-95 takes you to the center of Columbia.
  • Other airports in the Metropolitan area include Ronald Reagan Airport, D.C. (45 minutes) or Dulles International Airport, VA (60 minutes).