By:Nick Buglione
While it might sound like a competition on a par with the World Cup or any other of the "beautiful game's" professional contests, it's not. It's the East Meadow Soccer Club's annual American Ref-Fuel Tournament, which in its 26th year has reached the apex of its size and scope.
"It's New York state's largest soccer tournament," said Stan Ruppenthal, president of the East Meadow Soccer Club, which, with 1,400 kids on its roster, is one of the largest on Long Island. "This year it's the most teams that have ever played. I hope it's because we put out a quality product."
Twenty-six years ago, the tournament was much different. It featured around 30 area teams and was billed as an East Meadow tournament. "It started out as a festival -- there were no tournament prizes," Ruppenthal said. "It was a very loosely organized competition."
Every year since, however, the tournament has picked up steam. Its reputation for superb fields, great officiating, and fair and competitive matches started getting around.
About a decade ago, American Ref-Fuel, a waste-to-energy company, jumped on as sponsor, taking care of much of the tournament's mounting costs for trophies, referees and equipment as it gained popularity. Then, with the dawn of the Internet, the tournament hit the Web and began piquing the interest of teams from other states and countries.
This year's tournament, set for Aug. 28-30, will feature some 420 teams, primarily from the metropolitan area. The games will be played throughout East Meadow and other locations on Long Island, including the Plainview Soccer Park, the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale and the Bethpage State Park Polo Fields.
"It's mind-boggling that we have so many kids, parents and relatives coming to see our games," Ruppenthal said. The teams, which pay between $400 and $500 to enter, include boys and girls and range in age from under 8 to 18.
"I was kind of surprised with the response this year," said Bill Walsh, the tournament's director since 2000. "Then again, we've built up a good reputation."
The tournament's Web site, www.reffueltournament.com, will again post live updates of all the games' scores -- an attraction that drew some 40,000 hits during last year's competition.
Planning for the tournament is a Herculean, nearly year-long effort, Walsh said. The East Meadow Soccer Club sets up a committee of about 15 people to organize the competition, which begins working in November on a tournament that always takes place the weekend before Labor Day. "For a tournament of this magnitude, we start planning in November or December; we start sending out letters to get permits for the different fields," Walsh said.
There are myriad other tasks that need to get done, Walsh said, including advertising, registration, scheduling matches and ensuring that teams of comparable talent are pitted against each other. "I got to the point this year that I ran out of fields to put teams," Walsh said, noting that at least 24 more teams that wanted to take part had to be turned away.
To find out more about the tournament, visit www.reffueltournament.com, or call the East Meadow Soccer Club at (516) 221-8967.
