Bigger and nastier

An estimated 18,000 people descended on Surf Sports Park for a four-day soccer tournament July 19-22 that filled all 27 fields from dawn to dusk.

That number reflects 272 soccer teams comprising nearly 6,000 players and some 12,500 spectators – not including scouts and referees – most of whom were from other parts of the country.*

The arriving crowds and vehicles (coinciding with the first days of the Del Mar Racing season), generated the predictable noise, clouds of dust, gravel, and vehicle gridlock along sections of Via de la Valle that residents in surrounding communities now resign themselves to during such events in the absence of enforcement of frequency or size by the City of San Diego and total lack of interest by County officials who maintain it’s a City problem.

In an unfortunate development at the field level, according to David Gerson, a United States Soccer certified mentor and referee, officials at the tournament were told by the Surf organizers to avoid handing out penalty cards that would take players out of games because “people paid a lot of money to be here.” That directive appears to have sparked a dangerous brawl involving over 30 parents, coaches, and players physically attacking referees who tried to rein in excessive violence by one team and their coach.

Mr. Gerson’s Instagram link with video from the incident and comments by fellow referees and soccer parents is included here.

* Figures for the July 19-22, 2024 tournament based on data provided by Surf Cup for a 2014 economic analysis by San Diego State University’s Center for Hospitality and Tourism Research. Click here to read the study.