Pictured: Siesta Key Beach plays host to the Beach Soccer Florida Tournament this weekend.

Head to the beach and turn your head to the right and left. Upon scanning the sandy shores, you’ll quickly find a couple of things: sunburnt beachcombers, squealing kids and inevitably, families playing sports. Whether it’s a father and son tossing the pigskin, two siblings volleying a paddle ball or a family divided over a tense game of bocce, people are always engaging in some kind of recreational activity on the beach.

This weekend, a new summer tradition is making its way to Florida’s Gulf Coast. The Beach Soccer Florida Tournament, presented in conjunction with Beach Blitz Soccer Resort and Visit Sarasota County, is coming to Siesta Key beach for its first annual tournament. Beach Blitz Soccer Resort is a traveling beach soccer tournament, founded in 2002, that has hosted tournaments in beaches all over the country. Their goal is to provide a fun, approachable and affordable way to play soccer on the beach in an organized setting.

This weekend’s tournament, which takes place on Saturday and has a rain day on Sunday, offers something for everyone with U7 through U18 divisions. The games, which must be played barefoot or in sand socks, are played on a field 30 yards wide by 40 yards long and last 30 minutes, with two 15 minute halves. Each age group has three divisions–recreational, intermediate and competitive–with four games guaranteed and a possible fifth for a championship game. In this five on five tournament however, winning is not necessarily the goal–going out and having a great time on the beach playing the world’s sport is. Head on to Siesta Beach this weekend for an experience participants are sure to remember.

July 13-14, Siesta Key Beach, 948 Beach Rd, Sarasota.

Pictured: Siesta Key Beach plays host to the Beach Soccer Florida Tournament this weekend.