Manchester City Tournament Problems

The hellish parking lot line on Saturday was due to some idiotic decision to keep the cars in a single line entering the lot rather than letting the cars fan out across the different parking spaces on all sides of the fields. One car waiting for another car to pull out of their spot would hold up the entire line behind them.
 
Was easier getting in today. Only took 25 minutes today compared to 45 minutes yesterday. Finding a parking space closer to my field was impossible and the lot was a muddy mess when it was time for me to leave. Still heard a lot of complaints about parking, porta-potty locations and the lack of trash cans. What I thought was funny was the mom that told her boys, “Here is some money. Go to the prison and get something to eat.” I asked her what is the prison and she said it is the nickname for the “fenced in entry area is The Prison.” She said she heard some other people calling it that. The tournament at the Polo Fields was a shit-show. I am sure Surf Cup Sports will learn from it and fix the many problems.
 
Game times were also running way behind. Our second Saturday game started 25 minutes later than the scheduled start time. Never seen that before in a tournament.
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
Game times were also running way behind. Our second Saturday game started 25 minutes later than the scheduled start time. Never seen that before in a tournament.
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That happens when the refs don’t have enough time between games to hydrate, do a pregame talk and check in the teams. But, a lot of tournaments don’t give the referees sufficient time. My field marshals were useless yesterday, but very helpful today.
 
Surfref said:
Was easier getting in today. Only took 25 minutes today compared to 45 minutes yesterday. Finding a parking space closer to my field was impossible and the lot was a muddy mess when it was time for me to leave. Still heard a lot of complaints about parking, porta-potty locations and the lack of trash cans. What I thought was funny was the mom that told her boys, “Here is some money. Go to the prison and get something to eat.” I asked her what is the prison and she said it is the nickname for the “fenced in entry area is The Prison.” She said she heard some other people calling it that. The tournament at the Polo Fields was a shit-show. I am sure Surf Cup Sports will learn from it and fix the many problems.
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They have been running tournaments at that site for at least 25 years. If they haven't learned by now...
 
espola said:
They have been running tournaments at that site for at least 25 years. If they haven't learned by now...
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To be fair, the park is in the middle of a redesign and it isn't finished yet. I think losing the parking area on the southeast side is at least partially responsible for the traffic flow problems. Also, the "prison" platform was just put in and isn't finished yet. I don't know what the end game is at that spot though. Either way, I'm sure they'll get things figured out. Or not. Who knows lol.
 
Gonna be a worse nightmare after they finish those new fields. More cars, less parking spots = bad planning. Not looking forward to surf cup.

At least they added more port-o-potties since Sat.
 
jvh007 said:
I wont let my kid drink from those containers as I cant be sure they’ve been washed correctly.
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It always surprises me how many players show up to practice, game or tournament without enough water. Years ago I had to talk to a GK's parents because the GK was drinking DD's water while DD was playing outside mid. She would come off the field to find no water. The water jug is just as important as the cleats.
 
I couldn't believe how bad it was on Saturday. I've referee'd here for the last 3 years and it's NEVER been like this. No doubt because so many players/parents were so stressed out trying to get in the sidelines where especially rowdy. Compound all that with only 10 mins between games - just insanity trying to get things done. On Saturday I pulled outta there at 7:30 pm, my last game was supposed to be over at 6:30 pm.
 
greekgirl said:
I couldn't believe how bad it was on Saturday. I've referee'd here for the last 3 years and it's NEVER been like this. No doubt because so many players/parents were so stressed out trying to get in the sidelines where especially rowdy. Compound all that with only 10 mins between games - just insanity trying to get things done. On Saturday I pulled outta there at 7:30 pm, my last game was supposed to be over at 6:30 pm.
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Saw a lot of youth ref’s running the sidelines. More than usual. It was good to see potential and future ref’s in the making.
 
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Haven't been at Del Mar past weekend, but everything at Oceanside went very smooth without any issues.
 
Eagle33 said:
Haven't been at Del Mar past weekend, but everything at Oceanside went very smooth without any issues.
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It’s a better facility overall to maneuver in, around and out of. There are times it may take a little bit to get into the facility, but’s its not like DelMar.
 
Has the management of the Man City tournament issued any apologies to the public? Since managers are the ones that book teams for tournaments, don't book Man City next year.
 
Surf Cup Sports seemed to fix some of the problems from the MC weekend. Finding a parking space at noon was still difficult, but getting to the parking lot only took ten minutes (parents told me). As for the referees it still took over 30 minutes just to get to the fields. Referee parking was in the lots near the entrance. There were a lot of parents and players that had to park there because the main parking near the fields was full. Took 20 minutes just to get on a shuttle (8 seat gold cart). I was surprised the shuttle didn’t drop us off at the main entrance. They definitely need to figure something better out before Surf Cup or it will be a cluster f***.
 
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