Elite Youth Volleyball Teams Compete at Salt Palace Convention Center for SoCal Cup’s ‘The Open Championship’

AIM Sports Group Brings Elite Boys Volleyball to Utah for MLK Weekend: Three Days of Competition Plus Monetary Travel Reimbursement Prizes

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The SoCal Cup, one of the nation’s leading boys volleyball event series, brought its prestigious ‘The Open Championship’ to the Salt Palace Convention Center for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, featuring intense head-to-head action from teams across the country.

Owned and operated by AIM Sports Group, the three-day event drew more than 200 boys club volleyball teams in the 15U–18U age groups from across the country, competing for direct bids to AAU Nationals this summer—plus travel reimbursement awards for winners in the Open and Club divisions.

The SoCal Cup features three premier events: The Open Championship, The Showcase in June, and The Winter Formal event in December. Now in its fifth year of national events, the series has expanded to new states for the second consecutive year with this Open Championship making its Utah debut. The SoCal Cup also operates in-season league matches, underscoring its commitment to fostering elite competition and player development in boys’ volleyball.

In addition, The Open Championship delivered a signature fan zone experience providing an opportunity for athletes and family members unique activities to enjoy between matches. Sponsored booths, a dedicated recovery lounge, pickleball courts, and the SoCal Cup Gauntlet—a timed multi-sport skills challenge incorporating football, baseball, basketball, cornhole, and volleyball—created an engaging, family-friendly atmosphere. This multi-faceted approach underscored SoCal Cup's commitment to bringing an enhanced volleyball experience to its events.

Another innovative part of the event was AIM Sports Group’s AIM+, the first fully AI-powered “all-in-one” ecosystem for youth sports. The platform provides touchless AI auto-capture of full games, creating highlights and rankings based on stats for every player and team. Players, their families, coaches, and clubs were able to claim their custom profiles and begin building event highlights and stats.

Founded by AIM Sports Group, the SoCal Cup was created to provide elite competition, top-tier experiences, and prime opportunities for young athletes to showcase their skills. Over the past five years, it has grown exponentially, elevating the boys youth volleyball experience both on and off the court. Now, it’s one of the largest and best-attended youth volleyball event series in the country. The next event, the SoCal Cup Equinox, will take place March 7-8 at AIM Sportsplex in Seal Beach California.

LIV Volleyball Club was the overall tournament-winning club this year, capturing titles in two divisions. The full list of boys volleyball clubs that achieved bragging rights this year by winning their divisions at the event included:

Open:
18 Open: Apex 18U Elite
17 Open: SBVC Boys 17 Molten
16 Open: Salt City Boys 16 Salty JJ
15 Open: BORINQUEN CONQUI

Club:
18 Club: Bravo 18-X
17 Club: LIV 17’s Royal
16 Club: 118 16-Danny
15 Club: LIV 15 Royal

AIM Sports Group is a premier youth sports enterprise that owns and operates a state-of-the-art facility, premier youth boys volleyball league, regional and national events, and tech & media platforms. AIM is focused on enhancing the journey of youth athletes through innovation and elite competition in sports. Learn more at aimsportsgroup.com.

Learn more about upcoming SoCal Cup events at SoCalCupVolleyball.com.