KSC Teams with SafeHub to Host Philly Fair Play Cup
On Saturday, June 10th Kensington Soccer Club and SafeHub Philadelphia hosted the inaugural Philly Fair Play Cup.
Ahead of the event, Tim Summiel, Director of Travel and Recreation Programs, discussed the importance of this event and our partnership with SafeHub. As an organization that seeks to unite the community with soccer, this festival is a great way to celebrate our values. The importance of unity was emphasized by partnering with another local soccer organization that is committed to expanding opportunities in the community for children to play soccer.
The Philly Fair Play Cup is a Soccer Festival for U8, U10, U12 Recreational Players to compete in 5v5 games in a round-robin style competition.
In addition to soccer games, there were a variety of resources provided at the event. The Philadelphia Department of Health tabled at the event. Additionally, volunteers from our Soccer Athletes Value Education (SAVE) initiative distributed books to attendees.
“We are a founding member of Philly Fair Play Community Cup along with Safe Hub and we look forward to growing the competition to include other outside rec organizations that could benefit.”
The Philly Fair Play Cup was planned by Tim, Carlos, as well as Ashley and Samantha from SafeHub. They met to plan an event that provides a fun and friendly competition environment.
The Philly Fair Play Cup was hosted amid major changes to the Travel and Recreation Program. These changes were announced at a Town Hall on May 6th led by Tim Summiel. Prior to the announcement of these changes, we have been cultivating a relationship with SafeHub through friendly competitions. These friendly competitions were an effort to increase attendance in the recreation program. As Tim explains, “We needed a way to take small steps forward, so Carlos had been having games with Safe Hub on a somewhat consistent basis over the course of the fall with different age groups.” (View some of the photos from a game in November before). Following a successful Fall season, the planning for a larger event started, so multiple age groups could enjoy the day together.
Many enjoy the fact that our programs offer an affordable and locally accessible way to enjoy the sport of soccer. Tim extolled the festival event format for its capacity to help us maintain the same standards in our programs whose enrollment has shifted since the pandemic. He says, “Festival soccer is a great low cost way to introduce competition to players. As local rec leagues have shut down over the years, we have to connect organizations that have grown in soccer in meaningful ways.” Beyond affordability, our program participants consistently comment on the importance of having these opportunities closer to home. Some families struggle to find reliable transportation to programs that are further away; moreover, reinforces an idea that these programs are not offered in Kensington and other areas in Philadelphia.
Beyond the actual event, Tim spoke highly of the SafeHub organization. Safe Hub is a fantastic organization, and they have built a great recreational program. They are right down the street as well, and share a lot of the same core values as we do.
Ultimately, this event is a great example of how we unite the community through Soccer.
If you are interested in learning more about our soccer programs and events, please contact Tim@kensingtonsoccer.org .