To our soccer colleagues from around the country (including Canada ) who committed to and supported our 2008 AWI Soccer Tournament,

Our sincere apologies to all who were inconvenienced last weekend, and our genuine gratitude to so many who have expressed their understanding of our agonizing decision to cancel the tournament.  As you can imagine, we are extremely disappointed that extraordinary weather impacted our club’s most significant annual event for the second consecutive year.  Ironically, as a result of last year’s weather and field issues, we were diligently prepared for what we believed to be the worst case scenario. (i.e. – strategic relationships with all tournament field location directors, field crews with equipment & supplies, contingency scheduling, etc.)  Mother Nature trumped us! 

Record rainfall (2.61 inches in 24 hours, the most since 1962) hit the Nashville area Friday early morning through 12:45 PM.  At 1:15 PM, with flooded fields all over town (tournament fields from three different governing authorities projecting no openings on Saturday), unsafe playing conditions, a tornado watch, a forecast for dropping temperatures and more rain Friday evening, we felt compelled to do the right thing.  In the best interest of hundreds of travelers from 20 different states and the unlikely chance of any safe soccer games being played, we believe we made the responsible decision.

We value your continuing support of the AWI and regret any disappointment caused by this weather-related cancellation. Know that our decision was made with your team’s safety, best interest & tournament satisfaction as the first priority.  While our tournament policy states that there are no refunds of tournament fees, we are reviewing our position regarding this policy.  Our club, like many others, is a non-profit organization that relies on two annual tournaments (Fall-AMI and Spring AWI for a significant portion of its operating income).  Following a thorough analysis of our incurred, non-recoverable expenses, and a strategic budget review, we will contact all participating teams with our decision (approx. 2 weeks).  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Kelly Lee

AWI Tournament Director