The 15th Annual DC SCORES Cup lived up to its billing as the largest in the tournament's history.
With more than 10 new companies in the mix, 40 teams participated in the DC area's largest corporate charity soccer tournament and raised $170,000 in support of DC SCORES. The 40 teams was eight more than the previous record number of participating companies and law firms.
On what turned out to be a beautiful, sunny Saturday, more than 600 people of various soccer skill levels and ages played 112 soccer games across 10 fields at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md. The teams were split into four brackets, giving each company a catered experience.
Those into being super competitive got their wish, with Clark Construction winning the division. Grant Thornton took home the new Intermediate Division championship. Capital for Children won the Casual Division. And Arnold & Porter Kay Scholer was victorious in the first year of the Law Firms Division.
A big thank you to Subway, which sponsored lunch for the second consecutive year. DrinkMore Water provided all the hydration needed. And KRā electrolyte drinks provided free samples throughout the afternoon and cases of its replenishing beverage to the teams who pushed on to the playoffs -- playing their sixth or even seventh game.
D.C. United mascot Talon made an appearance, walking the grounds and posing for photos with the teams. And thanks to DC's Major League Soccer team -- which also brought a staff team to the Cup -- every participant received a ticket to the July 22 D.C. United game which will be preceded by a large DC SCORES tailgate, too.
From the legacy teams that have participated in every DC SCORES Cup -- Marriott, Hogan Lovells US LLP and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP -- to the new teams, the 15th version of the event was the most successful ever as DC's most prominent soccer tournament for charity continues to grow.
During a rare break from the soccer Saturday, 32 teams of adults sporting different-colored T-shirts came together for a photograph. Perhaps only then, as everyone congregated in between fields 5 and 6 for a photo, could one realize just how BIG the 14th Annual DC SCORES Cup was.
The tournament at the Maryland SoccerPlex featured 32 teams and 500 participants. Games were played continuously on eight fields from 9am-2:30pm, followed by the playoffs. And the event concluded with high drama, as District Sports outlasted Zuckerman Spaeder LLP on eight penalty kicks for the competitive division title. Just a few minutes earlier, Enlightenment Capital capped off its first SCORES Cup by winning the casual division.
Most importantly, employees bonded during a long day of soccer together -- with important half-hour breaks for lying in the shade mixed in! -- and also learned more about DC SCORES. When Executive Director Bethany Rubin Henderson announced that the tournament raised a record $140,000 for DC kids, everyone broke out in applause.
Big thanks to all the companies that participated -- including Zuckerman, Marriott and Hogan Lovells US LLP, who have played in all 14 SCORES Cups -- as well as the tournament sponsors: Subway, which donated lunch for all participants; Whole Foods, which provided much-needed snacks for the DrinkMore Water, which continues to support DC SCORES' large events by donating huge jugs of water; and D.C. United, which provided many ticket giveaways leading up to June 25 and tickets for all participants to the August 27 game at RFK Stadium.
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Additionally, a big thanks to the Maryland SoccerPlex, which has hosted the Cup for seven years now, and to all the volunteers who helped the day run smoothly from 6am until after 4pm.
Wow, what a year it's been. Thanks to your support, you have seen DC SCORES build teams for more kids in more DC communities than ever before! We've forged new partnerships, celebrated the many successes of alumni now in college, given out myriad awards — both to poet-athletes as well as coaches and volunteers — and so much more.
This is never an easy task, but below in link, photo and video form are our Top 15 from 2015. Please help us continue to grow and serve more DC kids with a tax-deductible donation before the ball drops Dec. 31
In February, Lincoln poet-athletes had the special opportunity to visit the White House for the President's ceremony with the MLS-winning L.A. Galaxy as well as the NHL-winning L.A. Kings. The kids not only got free gear from the Galaxy but got to ask questions of the professionals!
It was a weekend they'll never forget. In April, poet-athletes Jency of Barnard Elementary and Leron of Imagine Hope Community Charter School took the train to New York City for the 9th Annual America SCORES National Poetry SLAM!. There, they made friends with kids from 13 other cities; ate NYC-style pizza; played soccer in Central Park; and performed on stage at the Reuters Building!
Our 200 coaches and 400 volunteers are the people who make SCORES possible for the poet-athletes. That's why the SCORE Awards in May is such a special night. As is custom, we spent the evening at LongView Gallery celebrating the incredible people who change the lives of DC kids!
At Truesdell Education Campus, students ran a campaign to clean up their school. At Raymond Education Campus, students got their hands dirty creating from scratch a school garden. And throughout the District at 40-plus other sites, DC SCORES kids made a difference in their communities through service-learning projects!
No. 11 — A HUGE Jamboree! celebrates spring season
There's no better way to celebrate the spring season than with the culminating Jamboree!, which was bigger than ever with 2,000 people congregating at Anacostia Park for an action-packed Saturday of nonstop soccer games as well as family-fun activities such as facepainting, arts and crafts, highlighting service-learning projects, and much more!
The DC SCORES Cup keeps getting bigger and better. In 2015, more than 500 DC professionals met at the Maryland SoccerPlex for a day full of soccer games, teambuilding, fun and supporting DC kids.
Summer camp doesn't get much better than with DC SCORES. During three action-packed camps (free of charge, as always), kids picked up new soccer skills, made tons of friends, learned new arts disciplines (T-shirt screening, dancing!), went on field trips, and kept their bodies and minds fresh and engaged leading into the fall season!
Summer is also special for DC SCORES because we watch alumni of the program head off to college — many the first from their families to do so. Such was the case for three young women whose stories we documented: Nijah, Ingrid and Claudia!
In September, we welcomed six new staff members (not pictured above but in D.C. United photo below: Travis Worra) to our team. We take great pride in embodying the values the program instills in kids — teamwork, leadership, commitment — as a staff and also having a fun culture, and the additions have fit in really well!
On Oct. 1, we announced a partnership with D.C. United that included consolidating with their United Soccer Club to serve more students through our program model. In the three months since, we've already gained greater visibility through being the charitable soccer arm of the Major League Soccer team and look forward to a very bright future together!
Yes, there were 1,000 elementary school kids at Trinity Washington University for the 18th Annual Fall Frenzy in late October — there were also hundreds of volunteers in their yellow shirts, demonstrating perhaps more than ever on one day how many people in DC are committed to and passionate about DC SCORES. Because of the volunteers, the action-packed day ran as smoothly as could be asked!
In late October, Brightwood Education Campus poet-athletes got a treat when they visited President's Park just south of the White House for a soccer clinic and photo shoot. They learned skills from U.S. Women's National Team coach Jill Ellis, and then gasps ensued as the entire World Cup-winning team from the summer walked toward them across the grass. Minutes later, the kids were asking questions of Carli Lloyd and Abby Wambach and getting autographs from Megan Rapinoe, Sydney Leroux and Christen Press. It was an afternoon they'll never forget! Blog recap Photo album
There's a staff member we forgot to mention in No. 7 — Christian. During the past year, the now-sophomore in high school program alumnus has become a volunteering fixture at our office almost every day after school. Christian embodies DC SCORES' core values, brings a smile to the office every day, and also excelled as a summer camp counselor. Thanks for all you do, Christian! Blog profile
When Capital City Public Charter School got a mini soccer pitch built this fall, members of the DC SCORES middle school team started coming to school early every day to play. So it's no surprise that CCPCS' dedication paid off and the girls team bonded together to win the Capital Cup middle school championship in late November. The same could be said of the Raymond Education Campus boys team that often practiced so hard, coach David Peterson had to tell his kids to tone the intensity down a bit. The strong soccer communities at both schools held up trophies on Nov. 24.
No. 1 — Hope Avenue at the Poetry Slam!
The season-culminating Poetry Slam! in early December never ceases to amaze and inspire, and this year's 18th edition more than met such expectations. During a time of turmoil and despair in the world and on a day when yet another mass shooting occurred in this country, students took the stage at Columbia Heights Education Campus and reminded us — the adults in the audience — that there, indeed, is a bright future. They guided us down "Hope Avenue" while celebrating each other's similarities and differences.
And that was just the first night of the event. The second night at H.D. Woodson High School, the students exemplified the message guest poet Malachi Byrd had for them at the show's onset: "I am powerful! I am enough." Just watching one or two of the 37 performances over the two nights, one thing was clear:
DC SCORES poet-athletes are powerful, proud, and much more than enough.
From our team to yours, thank you for an incredible 2015. We can't wait to share an extremely exciting future together!
When all the SCORES Cup teams gathered on the sliver of turf in between fields 5 and 6 Saturday afternoon, one could have confused them for DC SCORES teams.
There stood members of 32 teams, each group of 15-plus participants wearing a different colored customized T-shirt with their company's logo emblazoned on the back. It was no easy task fitting everyone in the picture; neither was winning the SCORES Cup.
At the end of a cloudy-turned-sunny day at the Maryland SoccerPlex -- which hosted the event for the sixth consecutive year -- Marriott International in the competitive division and Capital for Children in the casual division emerged victorious, but there were no losers on this Saturday.
Just by entering a team and playing in the DC area's largest charity soccer tournament, the 500-plus participants assisted in raising more than $120,000 for DC SCORES -- an amount that equals a full year of programming at five schools in the District.
That's an incredible impact.
Not only did participants play at least five -- and up to seven -- games on the SoccerPlex's pristine fields, they also learned about the cause during a short break in the action. DC SCORES alumnus Christian get everyone engaged and pumped up with a "DC" "SCORES" call-and-respond chant, and Executive Director Bethany Rubin Henderson gave an overview of the impact those supporting the cause were making.
After a stirring testimonial from longtime volunteer and coach Simon Landau, board member and Sport and Spine Rehab doctor Barton Bishop wrapped up the presentation by letting everyone know how to get involved.
One way was by entering a raffle at the tournament, which included awesome prize packages including tickets to sit in the owner's box at a D.C. United game and a VIP pass for on-field and locker room access at a game. We owe a huge thanks to D.C. United, which came out to the SoccerPlex and brought along the always-popular-with-any-crowd Talon the mascot.
The day also wouldn't have been possible without aforementioned Sport and Spine Rehab; Whole Foods Market P Street, which donated hundreds of apples, bananas, granola bars and refreshing lemonade; DrinkMore Water, which provided 40 jugs of hydration; Geppetto Catering, which supplied the healthy lunch wraps needed to fuel up for the final games; and a group of hardy and dedicated volunteers.
Thanks so much to everyone who helped make the 13th DC SCORES Cup the best yet; bookmark your calendar for June 2016 and the 14th edition!
With the 32 different T-shirt colors and ubiquitous action across a large expanse of turf and grass, Saturday's 12th Annual DC SCORES Cup resembled a SCORES program event.
No, there weren't 1,500 kids on hand like at the Jamboree! two weeks prior, but 500 DC professionals scattered across the pristine fields at the Maryland SoccerPlex during the largest charity soccer tournament in the metropolitan area.
A World Cup-like tournament was played over seven hours. Who needs a month?
The DC SCORES Cup, sponsored by DirecTV, featured two divisions for the first time each made up of 16 teams. District Sports won the Competitive Division for the second consecutive year in a thrilling, well-played 1-0 win over Clark Construction. Deloitte won the innaugural Casual Division championship with a 4-0 victory over Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
The tournament raised more than $120,000 for the 1,500 youth we serve, with over $20,000 coming in individual contributions made through our Razoo fundraising contest that led up to and through tournament day (pages are still live!). Some participants knew about the cause when they gathered on the corner of Field 5 during a break in the games; others quickly learned about our Arts/Academics/Athletics model when Philippe Celestin -- a coach at Cesar Chavez Parkside -- spoke about the impact the program has had on youth he's coached over three years.
In all, the tournament featured 86 games -- with each company guaranteed five games in group play, followed by the semifinals and championship game.
In between games, participants enjoyed a healthy and delicious lunch served up by Occasions Caterers -- which also had a team in the tournament. The weather was impeccable, but when needed team members got out of the sun under 15 tents; relaxed in chairs and at tables generously donated by Perfect Settings; stayed hydrated thanks to a donation from DrinkMore Water; and got their potassium from bananas donated by Whole Foods. When injuries did occur, Sport and Spine Rehab was on the scene.
The largest SCORES Cup in history would not have been possible without the tremendous support of our sponsor DirecTV, our partners, and the captains of the 32 teams who handled all the legwork leading up to June 14 and elicited donations for their teams.
We look forward to June 2015, when we plan to increase the size of the tournament -- and quality -- once again!
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