Message from Tony Francavilla: Changes to SCORES Cup 2024

In light of the high temperatures forecast for Saturday, DC SCORES has taken additional steps to ensure SCORES Cup is safe and fun for all participants. 

We’ve made some changes to the event, but we're still excited to celebrate with everyone in the morning with matches, a Euros watch party, and local food trucks!

Morning casual division games will go ahead on June 22, with scheduled breaks for players to cool off in our misting tent, drink plenty of water in designated shade areas, and grab some electrolytes. We'll also have partner activations and Euros games running in our beer garden, so good vibes are guaranteed! 

For player safety, Law and Competitive division games in the afternoon are postponed until August 17. Stay tuned for more information about our plans to replay these matches and crown the winner of the 2024 SCORES Cup winners for these divisions.

All players from the Law and Competitive divisions are encouraged to join us at the Fields at RFK on Saturday, June 22! We’ll be playing the 9AM Georgia vs Czechia and 12PM Türkiye vs Portugal Euros matches in our event beer garden. There will also be free snacks, food to purchase from local food trucks, and spectator activations from partners ESPN 630 DC and Reston Limousine so there will be plenty of footy fun to enjoy without getting a sweat on! 

As a reminder, I’ve included information about the plans we’ve put in place to mitigate the heat during the event under this message.

We didn’t make the decision to postpone afternoon games lightly, but player, staff, and volunteer safety is our top priority, and after consulting with various partners and partner organizations, we decided it was in everyone’s best interest to move these to a later date. However, we’re so excited to have a safe and fun morning with you all tomorrow and we can’t wait to host our Law and Competitive teams as they battle it out for their division trophies at a rescheduled time.

As always, teams are welcome to reach out to me at [email protected] about any aspect of the event. We appreciate your understanding as we navigate tomorrow’s weather and we look forward to welcoming you tomorrow to a great event benefiting more than 3,000 poet-athletes across the District. 

Tony Francavilla, DC SCORES Chief Development Officer

Preparing for Hot Weather

Forecasts predict the weather on June 22nd will be extremely hot. To ensure a safe and fun event for everyone, we are taking the following steps:

• Hydration—Additional hydration stations will be available on all fields, in the HQ tent, and in the Fan Zone/beer garden (where electrolyte beverages will also be available). Extra ice and a refrigerated truck will also be onsite.

• Shade/Tents—Extra tents will provide sun cover, including tents on-field for subs and tenting for a portion of the beer garden/fan zone. Pole fans for the fan zone and an additional misting tent will also be available. 

• Personnel—Certified athletic trainers will be on-site for the full day, ready to treat any heat-related issues. 

• Game Schedules—Game schedule may change to provide cooling time between games. Schedule changes will be communicated as soon as possible and before the event.

Participants are also encouraged to take necessary self-care steps, including:

• Recruiting a larger team, if possible, and rotating subs regularly

• Bringing personal water bottles and hydrating the night before the tournament and throughout the day

• Bringing sunscreen and hats

• Bringing a team tent, if you have one. Staff will help you find a place to set up a shady base of operations.

• Wearing light-colored socks (and cleats, if you have them)

• Bringing a cooler with ice and washcloths/towels to keep cool