Are you feeling lucky? On Tuesday, October 3, fate will decide if your team is going to be part of the Open Division action at the highly-anticipated 24th annual NIRSA National Soccer Championships! The 2017 tournament will be held at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Arizona, from November 16–18.
NIRSA will again use the lottery-style selection process—which was first implemented in 2014—for Open-Division registration. Registration will open Sunday, October 1 at 8:00pm PST. All teams who wish to be entered into Wednesday’s lottery draw must register by Tuesday, October 3 at 9:00am PST.
At 1:00pm PST on October 3, there will be a live lottery draw on the NIRSA Play Soccer webpage where the lucky teams will be selected to play in this year’s tournament.
To ensure a quick and easy registration process, you should have the team representative’s contact information and the sport club director’s email address ready. Teams chosen in the lottery will have 24 hours to pay the entry fee and complete the registration process. Roster information does not have to be finalized at that time. Teams will be allowed to modify their rosters through October 27.
As part of NIRSA’s commitment to providing inclusive opportunities for participation, the 2017 Championships will include 96 teams. Twenty-four teams will compete in each of the following divisions: Men’s Championship, Men’s Open, Women’s Championship, and Women’s Open.
Championship Division bids will be sent out starting the week of October 23, and the at-large bids will be sent out on October 30. Contact your NIRSA Championship Series Soccer Regional Coordinator to learn how to qualify for the Championship Division. Regional Coordinators will also serve as the primary contact for reporting scores during the season.
To find the latest tournament details—as well as to read the complete 2017 registration guidelines—please visit the NIRSA Play website.
- For more information, please contact NIRSA National Sport Programs Coordinator Keeley Naughton.
Keeley Naughton is the NIRSA National Sport Programs Coordinator