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[tieton]

Why did I receive an email today from Washington Youth Soccer promoting nine Starfire tournaments? Pretty great advertising. Will WYS do a bulk mailing for all of its members tournaments?  Is Starfire really a member club of WYS or just a great facility?
 Tournaments are major fund raisers for clubs typically put on by volunteers who work countless hours trying to keep the cost of soccer down. Looks like Starfire has some pretty great volunteers at WYS!! I wasnt aware that WYS member data would be furnished to an organization let alone sent out by WYS for them.
 

[EWSoccer64]

It might be a quid pro quo for WYS getting reduced rates for ODP/EDP/Sounders training there?

[NKSoccerFan]

This is one of the reasons that there is no Viking Cup on Memorial Day weekend this year.  I have heard that WYS used to limit the number of tournaments in an area for a given weekend so that the local clubs could get a decent turnout. Last year VC had somewhere around 80 teams, and Starfire had around 70-90 teams. Both suffered by having two Puget Sound area tournaments on the same weekend because you realistically can't get decent brackets with so few teams. 

Makes it hard to run a local tournament when WYS is advertising for the competition.

[tieton]

To get a tournament sanctioned it first has to be approved by the local Association it then goes to the Dstrict and then to the State for final approval. Each of these steps is in place to asure that Tournaments typically dont overlap in a region because of referee availability and fairness in attracting teams. Most tournaments have had the same dates on the calendar for years and everyone respected these dates. Starfire, which is in the business of making money has never honored this and the WYS has never said a word about it.
What a shame that the Viking Cup wont be played this year, it has been a well attended tournament for years and the local community seemed to really support it.
 I dont mind giving tournament fees to keep other clubs viable, but giving fees to Starfire is something I wont do anymore. They hurt soccer as much as they help it.

[lester]

Totally agree with tieton. 
Over the last five years, WYS has pulled tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars out of clubs and associations coffers to their own and Starfire's by moving State Cups to Starfire, sanctioning and promoting Starfire tournaments on the same weekends that long time local tournaments were held on, and moving the tryout dates so late on the calendar that they killed the early tournaments.
I understand WYS is a business now and they have "partners," but, I agree, how is this good youth soccer? 

After years of going to the Viking Cup, I'm headed for Rogue Valley this year.

[vusa92blue]

Wouldn't all Clubs that pay a fee to WYS for sanctioning become 'Partners' with WYS at that point.  What does the $$$ get the Club other than the ability to have a US Youth sanctioned tournament and a small, hard to find space on their tired web site?

[NKSoccerFan]

What does the $$$ get the Club other than the ability to have a US Youth sanctioned tournament and a small, hard to find space on their tired web site?

You also get the opportunity to pay large sums of $$$ for a tiny ad in the Play On!  (sandwiched between full-page ads for tournaments at Starfire)

 

[SoccerFlicks]

But you get a nice shin guard zipper bag gift if your photo is selected for Play On!'s  shot of the month!

What does the $$$ get the Club other than the ability to have a US Youth sanctioned tournament and a small, hard to find space on their tired web site?

You also get the opportunity to pay large sums of $$$ for a tiny ad in the Play On!  (sandwiched between full-page ads for tournaments at Starfire)

 

[onthebench]

"Starfire, which is in the business of making money" I was under the impression Starfire is not for profit ? Are you saying their making the big bucks?

[tieton]

Starfire, which is in the business of making money" I was under the impression Starfire is not for profit ? Are you saying their making the big bucks?
 
Just because they are nonprofit doenst mean that cant make money. They are a business with alot of overhead. Dont get me wrong I think Starfire is a wondeful facility and has its place, but the money it has drained out of WYS clubs (true non-profits) tournament incomes and WYS's policy of turning a blind eye in the sanctioning process when it comes to Starfire tournaments is terrible.

[EWSoccer64]

Starfire, which is in the business of making money" I was under the impression Starfire is not for profit ? Are you saying their making the big bucks?
 
Just because they are nonprofit doenst mean that cant make money. They are a business with alot of overhead. Dont get me wrong I think Starfire is a wondeful facility and has its place, but the money it has drained out of WYS clubs (true non-profits) tournament incomes and WYS's policy of turning a blind eye in the sanctioning process when it comes to Starfire tournaments is terrible.

I was told that Starfire is actually a for profit, or controlled by a for profit, or perhaps it was a non-profit controlled by a for profit partnership?

[Soccer Wonk]

The most recent year for which a Form 990 return is publicly available discloses that the president/CEO and another board member are "partners in a real estate development which is unrelated to Starfire operations".

Nothing in the Form 990 raises any questions, other than pointing out how much money it takes to run the place. Appears to be a properly run public-benefit 501(c)(3). No money flowing to the founders' pockets; and given their business backgrounds, it's not like they need to siphon money out of Starfire ....

[EWSoccer64]

There can be a very thin, very movable line between a non-profit and a for-profit.   For instance, let's take a club, oh, let's make up a name.   Washington for-Profit Football Club.  It is formed up as a Non-Profit, 501(c)3.   Putatively, it does nothing for the profit of its employees or the Directors of the Board.   But then the President of Washington for-Profit Football Club goes in with the highest paid employee, and they form a new entity.   It is a non-profit as well.   But it's board get paid, unlike that of Washington for-Profit Football Club.   Lets call this the NWCL, the New Winners Cash League.   They can get influential people from other clubs, say like Directors of Cash, to require their teams to enter into the New Winners Cash League.  Why?  Because the Directors of Cash from other clubs become paid members of the Board of the New Winners Cash League.   And when people like Barney Janes sign up and become directors, their clout becomes cash.
   But wait, it gets better.   Let's say that the New Winners Cash League hires a for-profit company to run the New Winners Cash League.  Nothing illegal about that.  Many charities subcontract operations out.   But lets say that the New Winners Cash League hires a new company to run the league for them, so that the board does not have to get their hands dirty themselves.  So they appoint a company called, oh let's call it NorthWest Champion Swindlers, Inc.   And guess what, NW Champion Swindlers has the same two guys that are in charge of the first two non-profits, Washington for-Profit Football Club and the New Winners Cash League.

Is this an ethical violation?   No, because of several things -
1) Washington for-Profit Football Club does not have any ethical code of conduct for its Board Members.   They do for their coaches, parents, players, and groundskeepers, but not for their board.  Carefully crafted oversight?
2)   The New Cash Winners League is very secretive about it's board and it's operation, and does not seem to have much in the way of rules, let alone any code of conduct or ethics.
3)  El Presidente for Life of the state youth soccer association where this all occurs has reasons to not notice this at all.   He is busy persecuting unpaid, unreimbursed local volunteers who are trying to bring more players into the sport and who are not bringing in a dime to line their own pockets.   It is unknown which aspect El Presidente finds more onerous.
4)  No coach will speak up, beacuse the same people who told them to sign their teams up for the New Cash Winners League are their Bosses, their club Directors of Cash.
5)   Parents are mostly in the dark about all this, and the ones that do know are deathly afraid to say anything because their kid might be cut from the Really Cash-intensive League that has such high status.

So there you have it, a situation where a non-profit becomes a gold mine of profit.


Oh, and by the way, I think that Starfire is a great facility and do not care if it is for-profit or non-profit.   The land and the money spent developing the facility could have yielded a far better finnancial return with other uses.   But if an execuative - say, for instance, chief execuative, of the WSYSA is involved, then that is clearly yet another conflict of interest against him.