# Manchester City Tournament Problems



## Surfref (May 25, 2019)

The Manchester City tournament at the Polo Fields was a hot mess today.  It sure seemed like someone other than Surf Cup Sports was running things.  It was a disorganized mess.  Entrance to the facility and parking was nothing short of an absolute disaster.  By 10am it was taking approximately 45 minutes to get from the turnoff into the facility to a parking space.  Absolutely no traffic control or anyone to direct you to parking.  There were numerous players and parents that got out of their car because it was faster to walk.  Porta potties were only in the parking lot so if you were on a field on the south side of the complex it was a hike just to go to the bathroom.  Delayed game start after halftime waiting for players to return from the bathroom and the long lines. The new entry way onto the fields would be nice except for the prison like fence around it that blocked easy access to food vendors and made for a big detour to get from the west fields to the east fields.  Several other problems including a lack of trash cans. Hopefully Surf Cup Sports fixes things for Sunday.  I also hope the weatherman is wrong and it doesn’t rain.  That dirt parking lot become a mud pit when it rains.


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## mulliganmom (May 25, 2019)

Agree 100%! 40 min to park. A guy in front of us opened the trunk to his car and pulled out two bikes, grabbed his son’s backpack and started heading to the field. Traffic was already bad enough today and then this!


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## pewpew (May 25, 2019)

Let’s add to the mix the hydration stations. My kid doesn’t use these but as we were leaving the complex after our first game this morning we saw this crew refilling the big orange Gatorade coolers from a hose and spigot in the dirt field near the pay booth entrance. Now she knows to NEVER drink from those. One can only hope this water line isn’t tied to the irrigation system and that it’s reclaimed water/non-potable. 
And yes @Surfref  you are right about everything you stated.


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## coachrefparent (May 25, 2019)

pewpew said:


> Let’s add to the mix the hydration stations. My kid doesn’t use these but as we were leaving the complex after our first game this morning we saw this crew refilling the big orange Gatorade coolers from a hose and spigot in the dirt field near the pay booth entrance. Now she knows to NEVER drink from those. One can only hope this water line isn’t tied to the irrigation system and that it’s reclaimed water/non-potable.
> And yes @Surfref  you are right about everything you stated.


And if it's not reclaimed water (most likely) it's the same water all the kids filled up their water bottles with at home.


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## LASTMAN14 (May 25, 2019)

Surfref said:


> The Manchester City tournament at the Polo Fields was a hot mess today.  It sure seemed like someone other than Surf Cup Sports was running things.  It was a disorganized mess.  Entrance to the facility and parking was nothing short of an absolute disaster.  By 10am it was taking approximately 45 minutes to get from the turnoff into the facility to a parking space.  Absolutely no traffic control or anyone to direct you to parking.  There were numerous players and parents that got out of their car because it was faster to walk.  Porta potties were only in the parking lot so if you were on a field on the south side of the complex it was a hike just to go to the bathroom.  Delayed game start after halftime waiting for players to return from the bathroom and the long lines. The new entry way onto the fields would be nice except for the prison like fence around it that blocked easy access to food vendors and made for a big detour to get from the west fields to the east fields.  Several other problems including a lack of trash cans. Hopefully Surf Cup Sports fixes things for Sunday.  I also hope the weatherman is wrong and it doesn’t rain.  That dirt parking lot become a mud pit when it rains.


Yes Morty, about Fu$k/ng time! 
Totally agree a complete disaster.


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## timbuck (May 25, 2019)

There’s always Cerritos.  And there’s a 60% chance you will play a team with some form of Slammers in their name.


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## ForumParent (May 26, 2019)

pewpew said:


> this morning we saw this crew refilling the big orange Gatorade coolers from a hose and spigot in the dirt field.... One can only hope this water line isn’t tied to the irrigation system and that it’s reclaimed water/non-potable.
> And yes @Surfref  you are right about everything you stated.


Yikes.


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## RedCard (May 26, 2019)

Going from 4 lanes for the parking ticket booths into 1 lane is the worse bottleneck ever. My DD has only 1 game on Saturday so when we were leaving before noon, the line was all the way out to the street. Just looking at the frustration on all the faces in line was just plain sad. Unbelievable. Her 1st game is at noon on Sunday so I’ll try to get into the line no later than 9:30 which is pretty sad, but I gotta do what I gotta do.


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## pewpew (May 26, 2019)

coachrefparent said:


> And if it's not reclaimed water (most likely) it's the same water all the kids filled up their water bottles with at home.


I don’t know about you but I normally don’t make it a habit of telling my kids to go outside and fill their water bottles with the hose. Much less a hose that’s laying out in a farm pasture.
And in this case it’s all about public perception. Maybe had we not known it wouldn’t matter. But we do know now. So unless you are absolutely dying of thirst would you be out taking a sip off that hose? 
I know I wouldn’t.


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## espola (May 26, 2019)

pewpew said:


> I don’t know about you but I normally don’t make it a habit of telling my kids to go outside and fill their water bottles with the hose. Much less a hose that’s laying out in a farm pasture.
> And in this case it’s all about public perception. Maybe had we not known it wouldn’t matter. But we do know now. So unless you are absolutely dying of thirst would you be out taking a sip off that hose?
> I know I wouldn’t.


I will leave to your imagination the way that the stuff in a farm pasture outside the hose gets inside it.


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## ajaxahi (May 26, 2019)

Just two weeks before the tournament the organizers shifted the boys youngers (7v7 and 9v9) from Oceanside to Del Mar. Aside from creating last minute logistical problems with hotel plans and drive times, squeezing more small 9v9 and 7v7  fields onto the Polo Fields strained that facility’s capacity as can be seen with the parking shit show. I’ve been to enough events at Del Mar to know it can be done right.  But this time terrible planning and obviously all they care about is maximizing teams and profit vs. making a quality tournament experience. And don’t even get me started on the long hikes to the portapotties and then the long lines! I’m hoping our club won’t be back.


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## Sunil Illuminati (May 26, 2019)

Have you ever watched a Man City game? They have no experience managing big crowds.


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## Fact (May 26, 2019)

This is Surf Cup Sports who also does Surf Cup.  So how can you bag on Manchester but not Surf Cup?   I bet they will see these posts and it will not happen again but not sure why they just could not follow last year’s Plan?  Seems like the easiest thing they could have done.

Was Oceanside for the boys better?


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## ajaxahi (May 26, 2019)

Fact said:


> This is Surf Cup Sports who also does Surf Cup.  So how can you bag on Manchester but not Surf Cup?   I bet they will see these posts and it will not happen again but not sure why they just could not follow last year’s Plan?  Seems like the easiest thing they could have done.
> 
> Was Oceanside for the boys better?


I have been to many surf cups and man city tournaments at both Oceanside and Del Mar and they usually stand out for being very well run events. Last year our boys were at Del Mar for man city and Oceanside for surf cup and both were fine. Don’t know what happened this time. They can only follow last year’s plan if they have the same number of teams/games/fields so maybe they grew the tournament too much?


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## RedCard (May 26, 2019)

Fact said:


> This is Surf Cup Sports who also does Surf Cup.  So how can you bag on Manchester but not Surf Cup?   I bet they will see these posts and it will not happen again but not sure why they just could not follow last year’s Plan?  Seems like the easiest thing they could have done.
> 
> Was Oceanside for the boys better?


Oceanside was a breeze according to my wife ( son is playing in that B05 Super Group ).


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## Zdrone (May 26, 2019)

Damn!  That’s the problem with Silverlakes this weekend!  They were routing us through the Polo Fields!

I recall last year (maybe the same tourney) where we were dropping our kids off at 6th street and Hamner to walk the last mile to the fields because it was backed up so bad. 
Wasn’t quite that bad this year, only 20-25 minutes to get down the “choke point of death” to pay $10 to park.  Exiting on the other hand was a joke.  40 minutes to get out of the complex.


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## focused1 (May 26, 2019)

pewpew said:


> I don’t know about you but I normally don’t make it a habit of telling my kids to go outside and fill their water bottles with the hose. Much less a hose that’s laying out in a farm pasture.
> And in this case it’s all about public perception. Maybe had we not known it wouldn’t matter. But we do know now. So unless you are absolutely dying of thirst would you be out taking a sip off that hose?
> I know I wouldn’t.


I see valid points on both sides of this debate (though I'd rather not have my daughter drinking hose water...which BTW is the name of a certain craft lager beer. BUT, I think since families are paying an exorbitant fee to be included in this tournament their players should be drinking filtered water at least. It doesn't have to be Evian or Smart Water, but it probably shouldn't be hose water either


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## pewpew (May 26, 2019)

Getting in here was a breeze today. Left the house extra early in anticipation of long lines to get in.  Ended up getting here 90mins earlier than the standard “1hr early”. Parking lot was in good condition too which is always a plus.


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## pewpew (May 26, 2019)

WATER UPDATE:
One of the local parents I was talking to said that the "Gatorade Hydration-Device" is actually well-water and that it probably tastes better than tap water. I guess I'll cancel that call to Erin Brockovich.


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## Surfref (May 26, 2019)

focused1 said:


> I see valid points on both sides of this debate (though I'd rather not have my daughter drinking hose water...which BTW is the name of a certain craft lager beer. BUT, I think since families are paying an exorbitant fee to be included in this tournament their players should be drinking filtered water at least. It doesn't have to be Evian or Smart Water, but it probably shouldn't be hose water either


They use hose water at Oceanside, but it is not in plain sight from a hose coming out of the dirt.


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## OCsoccerdad7777 (May 26, 2019)

That's why they give you the protein bars for free, to help filter the water taste


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## rainbow_unicorn (May 26, 2019)

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.


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## Surfref (May 26, 2019)

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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## rainbow_unicorn (May 26, 2019)

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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## Surfref (May 26, 2019)

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.


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.


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## espola (May 27, 2019)

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.


They have been running tournaments at that site for at least 25 years.  If they haven't learned by now...


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## Goforgoal (May 27, 2019)

espola said:


> They have been running tournaments at that site for at least 25 years.  If they haven't learned by now...


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.


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## rainbow_unicorn (May 27, 2019)

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.


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## timbuck (May 27, 2019)

Surf Cup sponsored by Uber. (As soon as they figure out a way to make money from it)


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## jvh007 (May 27, 2019)

I wont let my kid drink from those containers as I cant be sure they’ve been washed correctly.


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## outside! (May 27, 2019)

jvh007 said:


> I wont let my kid drink from those containers as I cant be sure they’ve been washed correctly.


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.


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## greekgirl (May 28, 2019)

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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## LASTMAN14 (May 28, 2019)

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.


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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## greekgirl (May 28, 2019)

LASTMAN14 said:


> 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.


I completely agree - met a few young refs and was really impressed. The future is looking brighter.


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## Eagle33 (May 28, 2019)

Haven't been at Del Mar past weekend, but everything at Oceanside went very smooth without any issues.


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## LASTMAN14 (May 28, 2019)

Eagle33 said:


> Haven't been at Del Mar past weekend, but everything at Oceanside went very smooth without any issues.


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.


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## outside! (May 28, 2019)

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.


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## RedDevilDad (May 28, 2019)

Oceanside was great.  Great experience, great tourney.  Didn't fare well on our results but that's on us. Super-easy for check-in.


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## Surfref (Jun 1, 2019)

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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## Sunil Illuminati (Jun 3, 2019)

Easiest way to fix the parking challenge at Surf Cup. Make it best of the best again. Problem solved


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## Zdrone (Jun 3, 2019)

Sunil Illuminati said:


> Easiest way to fix the parking challenge at Surf Cup. Make it best of the best again. Problem solved


Where’s the money in that?

/s


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