Spokane's Summer of Baseball - 2010

American Legion World Series will bring Nation's best ballplayers to Spokane

As the summer of 2009 winds down, the Spokane Regional Sports Commission and Spokane American Legion Post 9 are thinking about the summer of 2010.  The two organizations are gearing up for next year's American Legion Baseball World Series.  The 5-day tournament will bring the top 8 American Legion baseball teams from around the country to Avista Stadium to compete for the World Series title.  The event is sure to bring big crowds for some of the best youth baseball around.

American Legion Baseball is comprised of boys ages 15-19 years old, and if history is any indicator, many of these young players will be the big league pros of tomorrow.  Over half of today's Major Leaguers got their start in American Legion Baseball.  Local Spokane American Legion Baseball standouts include Ryne Sandberg, Kevin Stocker, Matt Oye, Brett Richardson, Jarek Cunningham, and hundreds of local college players that competed at Gonzaga University, Whitworth University, Washington State University, and the Community Colleges of Spokane.

Next week, members of the SRSC staff and Spokane American Legion Baseball will be traveling to Fargo, North Dakota to attend this year's World Series and promote next year's event in Spokane.  Locally, look for more information at Avista Stadium and at A.K. Jackson Field, home of American Legion Baseball here in Spokane.  You can also pre-order tickets for the World Series now.  Order forms and more information is available online at spokanesports.org.

5th Annual Best Ball Classic

Are YOU signed up yet?

Before the summer is officially over, the Sports Commission will get in one last round at the 5th Annual Best Ball Classic, September 26th & 27th at Circling Raven.  The Inland Northwest's premier best ball tournament is almost sold out...so that means you better get your spot reserved soon.  

The two-day, two-man event will be better than ever thanks to the support of our great sponsors and players. 
The $450 registration fee for your team includes:
 - Two rounds of golf at Circling Raven Golf Club
 - Breakfast Saturday & Sunday
 - Players' reception Saturday afternoon
 - Tee prizes from Nike Golf
 - Chance at $500 per person for winning teams
You can also sign up to play in the Skins game both days and get in on the raffle drawing for a chance at a Davenport Hotel package or a speed cart and bag from Sun Mountain, among other great prizes.

Online registration is available or you can call 509.456.5812 to get signed up by phone.  Be sure to register by August 15th to guarantee your size tee prize will be available at check-in (it's a good one this year so you won't want to get stuck waiting!).  Enjoy your summer, make sure to get in lots of practice, and we'll see you September 26th & 27th at Circling Raven!

Presented by
Coeur d'Alene Casino

Tee Prize Sponsor
Nike Golf

Reception & Awards Sponsor
Rosauers

Beverage Sponsor
MillerCoors

Hole-in-One Sponsor
Pawn 1

2009 Hole Sponsors
Avista
Banner Bank
Best Western Peppertree
Brett Sports: Spokane Indians & Spokane Chiefs
Fairfield Inn by Marriott
Haskins Steel Co. Inc.
L & M Trucking
Lilac Bloomsday Association
Maxey Law Offices
Mullin, Cronin, Casey and Blair
Rockwood Clinic
Spokane Hoopfest
Spokane Riverhawks

SRSC Board Member Spotlight - Steven Jones

CIT:  Chair In Training

Steven Jones joined the SRSC Board of Directors in 2005 and currently serves as Vice Chair, slated to take the reins when Jim Murphy ends his term in 2011.  Steve is a lawyer with Eymann Allison Hunter Jones P.S. and is happy to have his office in the Patsy Clark mansion where he can look out his window at Couer d' Alene Park instead of another office building.  

Steve moved to Spokane in 1961 and cut his sports teeth running cross country and track at Rogers High School with high school phenom Gerry Lindgren and under legendary coach Tracy Walters, both of whom are in the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame.  Steve is married to Julie William-Jones whose father Jerry Williams and uncle Bill Williams are also in the Hall of Fame. "Unfortunately, induction into the Hall of Fame is beyond being even the remotest of possibilities for myself," commented Steve.
 
Steve still runs after all these years, even placing in the top ten of his age group in Bloomsday assuming he is in one of his injury free periods.  He also avidly follows the athletic career of his daughter, Ali, who is 9 and currently plays soccer with an occasional 5k run with her parents thrown in from time to time.  She particularly likes Race for the Cure which she runs in honor of her great aunt Arva Coffey who is a cancer survivor.

Steve considers serving on the Sports Commission to be an honor because its mission is to bring sporting events of all kinds to Spokane and the surrounding area.  These events enhance our economy and give our local athletes the opportunity to test themselves against the best competition our region and, in many cases, our nation has to offer.

SRSC In the News

Journal of Business highlights region's need for facilities

Last week's issue of the Journal of Business featured a front page article on the state of our community's  competitive sports facilities.  Eric Sawyer, Sports Commission Executive Director, was interviewed for the article where he comments on the shortage of quality facilities in Spokane.  "We need more accessible and well-maintained gym space, for example.  We've seen growth of like 800 percent over the last 15 years in girls' club volleyball, but...the number of gyms in Spokane County has actually decreased."  

The increase in participation in club sports can be attributed to the cost cutting measures of the school districts, where extracurricular activities are first on the list of things to go.  That puts the burden of supporting sports and maintaining facilities on the community in order to make those programs work.

Spokane has shown its support for recreation improvements, as seen by the overwhelming majority that voted for the Pools and Play park bond in 2007.  Those funds are hard at work as we speak, rebuilding pools and improving the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex adjacent to Albi Stadium.  More projects such as this, and continued community support for facility development will help Spokane get on track and enhance our competitive edge as the SRSC works to bring more events to our community, providing economic development through sports.

Subscribers to the Journal of Business can CLICK HERE to read the entire article, "If you build it, they will play." 

Partners' Corner

Spokane Hoopfest
Hoopfest is the biggest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament on the planet. That means over 6,400 teams, 3,000 volunteers, 200,000 players and fans, 400 courts spanning 40 downtown city blocks, and that's just on day one! Beyond basketball, though, Hoopfest is an outdoor festival chock full of concerts, shopping, food, interactive entertainment, and every year brings some thing new.  We can't wait to see what 2009 will bring!
Hoopfest is a place for players of all ages and abilities from all over the country to come together in pursuit of the ultimate goal: to become a Hoopfest Champion. It's where friends and families gather and cheer at the top of their lungs for their favorite team. It's the chance to see a college superstar, or your dad, hustle like he's in the final game of the NBA finals. It's a place for your seven-year-old to score her first basket.
Hoopfest is a 3-on-3 basketball tournament with something for everyone. With the help of countless volunteers, staff, sponsors, the City of Spokane, and let's not forget about the fans who show up to cheer on their teams, Hoopfest is an event like no other.

Rockwood Clinic August Update
The Rockwood Clinic Sports Medicine Team is Eastern Washington's #1 resource for the prevention, management, and care of athletic injuries for all levels of participation.
 
For more information and to sign up for our free sports medicine e-newsletter go to  http://www.rockwoodclinic.com/services/sports_medicine. In our latest e-newsletter we discuss new guidelines to help parents, coaches, and athletes optimize performance and minimize the serious problem of heat-related illness that can occur during preseason practices in hot weather.
 
If you have a sports medicine related question, email us at sportsmedicine@rockwoodclinic.com. If you would like more information on preventing injury and improving performance through our sports performance program, email us at performance@rockwoodclinic.com.

Lilac Bloomsday Association 
The Lilac Bloomsday Run is organized by the Lilac Bloomsday Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose mission is to promote national and international sports competition and fitness education for the civic betterment, social improvement, and physical well-being of the general public.

The Lilac Bloomsday Run is one of America's classic road races. In its 33-year history over a million runners, joggers and walkers have crossed the finish line. Its Olympic caliber field has included many of the sport's biggest names, like Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Anne Audain, Jon Sinclair, Colleen De Reuck and Henry Rono. But just as important is the participation of thousands of citizen runners, who navigate a course that weaves back and forth across the Spokane River gorge. The infamous "Doomsday Hill" is known around the globe. Nearly 30 on-course entertainers create a festive atmosphere along the 7-1/2 miles. And the chance to earn a coveted Bloomsday finisher's T-shirt-the color and design of which are kept secret until the finish-keeps participants of all abilities moving toward the dramatic finish line above the falls in downtown Spokane.
 
Next year's Lilac Bloomsday Run, the 34th, will be on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010.  For more information visit www.bloomsdayrun.org.