Nearly 40 youth between the ages of five and 19 joined us for the first Atlanta BeltLine Street Cup – presented by the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership and Soccer in the Streets – on Sunday, October 27 at D.H. Stanton Park.
With walk-up registrations and game-day team formations, the event provided an opportunity for all to experience this free, one-day tournament. Older teens formed one team, while the younger players divided into three teams to compete against each other. That is, until they came up with the idea to recruit their parents to play:
“The kids and their parents ended up playing against each other for nearly an hour and had a great time, said Jason Longshore, Chief Development Officer of Soccer in the Streets.” The event ended up being a great mix of people who live near Stanton Park, people who frequent other Atlanta Beltline parks, and others who are soccer fans.”
Street Cups are designed to use competition to test participants’ mastery of character traits such as teamwork, respect, sportsmanship, perseverance, and tolerance. Games are played with small teams in order to increase interaction, teams are created on the day of the event in order to promote diversity, and games are played without referees to reinforce positive conflict resolution techniques.
“The Atlanta BeltLine Street Cup is a component of the free health programming the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership is offering to engage the community in healthy, active lifestyles through partnerships with other health-centric organizations such as Soccer in the Streets,” said Atlanta BeltLine Program Director Rob Brawner. “We are excited to offer fun, exciting ways to get Atlantans moving.”
The Atlanta BeltLine Partnership’s mission is, in part, to address social concerns that help fulfill the Atlanta BeltLine vision. By offering fun, healthy activities along the Atlanta BeltLine corridor, the Partnership is helping create a healthier Atlanta.
