Surf Cup
Overview
Location: San Diego, CA. Three weekends annually. 1,500+ teams. Tier 1 — National Elite. Undisputed leader in the U.S. youth soccer tournament hierarchy.
Ownership & Operations
Operated within the pioneer-sports ecosystem (Surf Soccer + Rush Soccer, founded 2023). Nike sponsored. Regional extensions in Las Vegas, Pacific Northwest, and Dallas (surf-cup-texas).
Economics
Estimated entry fees: ~1,600 per team (MEDIUM). Estimated gross entry fee revenue: $1.8M+ per year (MEDIUM). stay-to-play managed through Athlete Travel (AthleteTravel.com), a pioneer-sports proprietary platform.
Sanctioning
US Club Soccer sanctioned.
Reputation & Tier
Tier 1. The benchmark event in U.S. youth soccer. Major college coach attendance. Nike sponsorship.
SYNRGY Relevance
Comp set for understanding top-tier tournament economics. pioneer-sports is a direct platform competitor to SYNRGY’s rollup thesis.