The last couple of years have been tough. Let’s not beat around the bush as they say. As an organization we have only been able to accomplish 3 of our last 26 events. This may surprise you but the latest victim of cancelation was in South Padre Island Texas this past February. Coming out of Omicron they had four school districts close and nobody was looking to get into the crowds on the beach. But, 2022 is a new year and with it come new thoughts, innovations, and most importantly events!
Still Postponed
This year will see us not attempt a few of our favorite and newer events including Chicago, Atlantic City, and Pompano Beach, Florida. There are different reasons for each, but mostly it’s due to a change in our business philosophy where we are seeking a local partner to shoulder the burden and be rewarded in a way only we know how…which is the best! So, if you are a club within hours of these destinations you should be reaching out to us…
New Events
New events will be seen in Florida! First up in Pasco County and Florida’s Sports Coast SunWest Park! We had a site visit and January and the white sand and overall appeal of the site is amazing and the future for this space is even better. It will be a great place to grow our events. Cal North Beach Soccer State Cup, which was delayed a year due to venue issues, will now take place at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in August!
New Technology
What is the most exciting is the new technology we will be exposing to you. As someone who is in the sports industry coming out of the pandemic we have been involved in many conversations about the sports tourism market. People have found new families they rely on and spend time with. Those families are just like yours. Having braved the pandemic while trying to keep your kids active, playing in masks, and doing whatever you can to keep safe and healthy. These professionals were adamant event owners needed to find a way to appeal to sponsors. We as event owners need to create a more experiential event which can separate themselves from other events. When these guys saw what we are doing they salivated. They had never seen anything like what we are doing.
So, what are we doing? For starts, we have Augmented Reality as an ongoing presence at our events. Think “Pokemon” but for events. You will be seeing everything from sponsor logos to billboards floating around the event through our advance Pro-Am Beach Soccer App. The AR button will transform your screen into a viewfinder allowing you to see, take photos, and videos of these AR images as games take place. In addition, in some events we will be introducing Jumbotrons for LIVE SCORING as seen in the video you can click to on the main photo in the newsletter. Referee’s will be able to automatically keep scores once plugged into their scoreboard, and everyone on the sideline will know the score, and no mistakes should make it to the scoring tables now.
New Event Experiences
This will have a few things take place. For one, we have some special activities we are lining up for the June 4/5th event in San Francisco which will celebrate the 100 year Anniversary of long time participant club San Francisco Vikings! We can share that there will be “Virtual” Scavenger Hunts and contests. But we have much more in mind. In Santa Cruz, we are working with the local tourism board to create a beach and citywide contest! It should be amazing!
Post Pandemic Thoughts
The pandemic saw a lot of things change. We had massive disappointments and many let downs. There were things torn apart which we dedicated time and our lives. The reality is people are people and not everyone sees the same thing clearly. People can talk themselves into their own realities telling each other what they want to hear and even if it is staring them in the face they can’t see the truth. But, as we all know you can lead a horse to water, but…
So, with 2022 coming we are looking at the facts. We have survived the pandemic. We have many people who understand our role in the growth of the game and we have amazing mutual respect and will do whatever we can for each other to continue this games growth.
Now with our new partners, and many more who we are grooming for an amazing 2023, we are leading the way in technology in a way we could never have imagined. This will help our events become even greener, more organized, and even more fun! We can’t wait to host you, your team, and/or club. It’s a new day with new adventures to come! See you all out in the sand in 2022!!! REGISTER FOR AN EVENT TODAY!
