25 teams play for DC SCORES during 4th Annual District Sports Columbia Heights Cup

The day seemed to get colder with each passing hour -- the wind picking up and even blowing a tent over -- but the frigid air couldn't keep the action on the field from heating up.

For eight hours Saturday, more than 300 DC professionals making up 25 teams played soccer at three sites in Washington, DC, during the fourth annual District Sports Columbia Heights Cup.

The tournament, organized and run by our longtime partner District Sports, raised almost $9,000 for DC SCORES -- with all proceeds directly benefiting the 1,500 low-income youth our program serves.

"The 2013 Columbia Heights Cup was the most successful with more teams and more money raised than ever before," District Sports Executive Director Alex Bearman said. "We are grateful here at District Sports that we have such a dedicated group of participants who not only love playing soccer but value the importance of supporting organizations like DC SCORES."

Competitive division champion "Bottoms Up."

The tournament was split into two divisions -- competitive and casual.

After six hard-fought games -- including an extra-time victory in the semifinals -- team "Bottoms Up" won the competitive division championship game at Cardozo Education Campus over "H.A.M. For The Holidays," which had begun the day playing at Tubman Elementary School.

The 10-team casual division tournament was held at Bell Multicultural High School, where "Saisgasm" emerged victorious by beating "Georgetown" in the final.

Regardless of results on the field, everyone headed to the tournament's official sponsor spot Lou's City's Bar after their games to redeem free drink tickets, enjoy specials, and watch the MLS Cup together. D.C. United also had a table set up at the bar with giveaways and raffles.

Casual division champion "Saisgasm."

The field locations and Lou's as the sponsor bar were all appropriate, considering DC SCORES' presence in Columbia Heights. More than 10 of our schools are located within a mile of where Saturday's events took place, and a few young poet-athletes even braved the cold at Cardozo to watch some of the soccer and kick around a ball in between games.

Big thanks to District Sports for putting together such a successful tournament and their continued support of DC SCORES!

Tournament photos.