Congratulations and welcome to the Discovery Cup, October 10-12, 2009.
Registration: Primary team registration will be held on Friday, October 9, 2009 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the DISCOVERY SPORTS CENTER located at the Maryland SoccerPlex. However, teams may register beginning Wednesday, October 7th between the hours of 12:00-5:00 pm at the main desk inside the Discovery Sports Center.
Player Passes: All players must be registered with one (1) club. All teams must be affiliated with an appropriate USSF affiliate member – USYS State Association or US Club Soccer. It is required that each team have verification by an Association or properly validated State Registration form, of each player’s age and membership. Failure to do so will result in the team being excluded from participation in the tournament.
Two (2) copies of each team’s validated Roster must be brought to registration. Player Passes will be checked against the validated roster at registration.
Loan Players: Maximum number of players on a team’s tournament roster is 18 for 11v11 play with the exception of the U16-U19 age divisions whose maximum roster size is 22 (may only dress 18 per game). The roster size is 12 for 7v7 play and and 14 for 8v8 play. Teams requesting to use loan players may have no more than 18 players, whose number may include up to 3 loan players. Teams playing 7v7 may have no more than 12 players and teams playing 8v8 may have no more than 14 players, whose number may include up to 3 loan players. Loan player requests must be submitted at team registration. Forms are available on the website.
Request for Travel Forms: Teams requiring request for travel must bring the approved copy to registration. Please check with your State Association regarding their policy.
Medical Release Forms: It is required that each team’s coach has in his/her possession, a medical release form for each player. The appropriate parent or guardian, authorizing emergency medical treatment must sign these forms. Your league medical release forms are acceptable. It is NOT required that the forms be notarized. Do NOT send these forms – bring to registration.
Liability Waiver: Every player must submit the MD SoccerPlex Liability Waiver located on the Discovery Cup website. Waivers require original signatures. Please DO NOT mail these forms – bring to registration.
Field Managers: EVERY participating team must provide 1 individual/representative from their team to serve as a field manager. The team representative will serve as a field manager during their games ONLY and will be scheduled to cover the game that their team is playing (same field, same time). A schedule and a specific list of responsibilities will follow.
Hotel Accommodations: The DISCOVERY CUP has partnered with the Conference and Visitors Bureau of Montgomery County, Maryland to provide hotel accommodations for all participating teams. Teams are required to use these services as a condition of acceptance. Verification of hotel reservations will be checked in advance of tournament weekend. Teams who are not in compliance will be removed from the tournament. To make reservations, please contact the CVBM at www.visitmontgomery.com/registration or call 877-789-6904.
Tournament T-Shirts: A T-Shirt Pre-Order Form will be available on the Discovery Cup website. If your team would like to take advantage of the pre-sale opportunity, please fill out the form and send, with accompanying check or money order, no later than October 5th, to Discovery Cup T-Shirts, c/o Maryland SoccerPlex, 18031 Central Park Circle, Boyds, MD 20841. Quantities will be limited. Pre-order prices for adidas 100% cotton short-sleeve shirts are $15.00. On-site cost will be $20.00.
Rules of Competition: Please read and print out the Tournament Rules prior to arrival – www.discoverycup.com.
Schedules: Schedules will be posted on the Discovery Cup website no later than September 30th. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT SOME TEAMS WILL BE SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY NIGHT GAMES DUE THE NUMBER OF TEAMS ACCEPTED FOR THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENT. ADDITIONALLY, THERE MAY BE A POSSIBILITY THAT THE OLDER AGE GROUPS (U15 AND OLDER) MAY HAVE PLAYOFF GAMES SCHEDULED ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 12TH. Please plan to arrive on Friday with a departure on Monday.
Team Withdrawal: Should you decide to withdraw your team, you will forfeit your entry fee. We hope you will be considerate of the time and effort that went into the team selection process.
On behalf of the Discovery Cup staff, we look forward to your participation. Should you have questions that are not addressed in this letter, please contact me via email at director@discoverycup.com.
Thanks -
Louise Waxler
Tournament Director
