[ Contact Info ] • Web Site: www.greatLVsoccer.com • Telephone #: 1-877-346-6751 • E-mail: soccer@lehighvalleypa.org • Mail: Great Lehigh Valley Soccer Festival % Lehigh Valley Sports Commission PO Box 20785, Lehigh Valley, PA 18002-0785		[ Releases ]   [ October 2005 ] Great Lehigh Valley Soccer Tournament LV Sports Commission Helps Promotes Successful Event LEHIGH VALLEY, PA — Solid refereeing and perfect weather conditions helped make the 3rd annual Great Lehigh Valley Soccer Festival exactly that -- GREAT! More than 40 referees from District #6 of the Lehigh Valley Referee Chapter received rave reviews by participating youth team coaches, players and parents alike. The chapter is part of the Eastern Pennsylvania Soccer Association Referees’ Committee. "We are constantly improving the program, adding new initiatives every year, and the tournament is growing,” said tournament director, Albert Colone. “With teams coming in from Canada to Virginia and all points in between, we expect to be ratcheting up to 100-120 teams." Colone also promotes the New York Summer Series in Chenago County, the Cool July Soccer Festival in Harrisburg/Hershey, and the Columbus Day tournament in Harford County, Virginia. Colone also thanked sponsors Service Electric, The Morning Call and Dick’s Sporting Goods. "We love this tournament, it’s a great location with beautiful fields,” Dave Lingardo, of East Fishkill, NY. The tournament was played on 8 fields at the Sports Fields of Lehigh County and 3 fields at Wehr’s Mill Park. There were 14 competitive brackets with champions and runner-up teams decided in each. "It’s local tournament with teams from a wide area," said LV Magic U-15 coach Nick Maris, “we just played a team from Virginia." Bob Finley, from Harrisburg West Shore, likes coming here because it’s within driving distance from home and the competition is very good. And this was the second year for the Topton team whose head coach has season passes to Dorney Park. "There’s great competition, nice facilities and it’s a beautifully run tournament,” said Dave Menento, the coach of the West End Her-ricane U-15 girls who won their first game 3-0. “Our mid-field and forwards were strong today." The Lehigh Valley Sports Commission is an arm of the Lehigh Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, the designated tourism promotion agency of Lehigh and Northampton Counties. Its mission is to attract sporting events to the Lehigh Valley through effective marketing, bid coordination and hosting activities. For information on the Lehigh Valley Sports Commission please call (800) 747-0561 or visit www.LVsports.net/. Every effort is going to be made to generate an even larger share of out of market/out of state teams. A 120-team Labor Day Weekend tournament could produce direct spending in the Lehigh Valley of more than $300,000 and an overall economic impact approaching $1 million.