Vail Valley Soccer Club prepares for largest Vail Valley Cup Cindy Eskwith Memorial Tournament in history
The three-day girls and boys youth soccer tournament is expected to bring 218 Colorado Soccer Association teams to the county
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The Vail Valley Soccer Club is set to host the annual Vail Valley Cup Cindy Eskwith Memorial Tournament this weekend. Executive director Kerri Thelan said the three-day event is expected to be the largest in history, with 218 boys and girls teams and nearly 4,000 players from across Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming and beyond attending.
“We are proud to host the largest youth competitive soccer tournament on the Western Slope, welcoming teams from across Colorado and beyond to experience this incredible event,” Thelan said in a statement to the Vail Daily.
Thelen said the Vail Valley Cup began 27 years ago and was renamed to honor Cindy Eskwith — an influential figure in growing the game locally — in 2016. After moving to the area from Steamboat Springs in 1973, Eskwith became president of the Vail Valley Soccer Club’s board and eventually started the Vail Cup. In addition to helping the club add teams, she also trained many of the referees across Eagle and Garfield counties. In May of 2013, Eskwith passed away after a 16-year battle with breast and bladder cancer.
The tournament begins on Friday and runs through Sunday. Colorado Soccer Association sanctioned teams — U11 through U15 for boys and U11 through U19 for girls — will compete at more than two-dozen fields from Gypsum to East Vail. Several Vail Valley Soccer Club squads are registered.
The tournament has grown each of the last three years. In 2023, 163 squads competed across two days. The following year, that number grew to 193, with a pair of Vail Valley Soccer Club teams coming home with gold medals. Thelen said along with referees, coaches and spectators, roughly 12,000 people are expected to flood the valley this fall, filling fields and local restaurants, shops and hotels.
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“Our mission is to grow the game of soccer,” she stated. “And the Cup is a perfect example of how competition, community and opportunity come together to inspire the next generation of players.”
More information, including a full tournament schedule, can be found at VailSoccer.com.
