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FEATURED ARTICLE | |
The Central Florida Sports Commission will be hosting the Bright House Sports Network Breakfast of Champions, a series of awards programs that will recognize the best High School athletes in Central Florida. Five separate awards programs will be held, recognizing outstanding athletes in the following counties: Lake County, Orange County, Osceola County, Seminole County and Volusia County.
Lake County's awards breakfast has been set for Thursday, May 20th at the Mission Inn Resort. You should have received an invitation, so we hope you can join us in celebrating the accomplishments of these talented student athletes.
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SAM | |
It has been an action packed month for the Sports Commission, as old friends returned and new champions were crowned right here in Lake County.
RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento hosted our first conference championship of the year when the Conference USA brought their men's golf championship to town. Defending champion and local host UCF successfully defended their title with an impressive team score of six (6) under par, 18 strokes ahead of second place finishers Southern Methodist and Rice University. With their victory, the UCF Knights will head to one of six (6) NCAA regional sites at the end of May.
The collegiate golf world shifted southwest to the Mission Inn Resort and Club the last week in April, as yet another reigning conference champion successful defended their title. As the Atlantic 10 Conference brought their men's conference championship to Lake County, the Charlotte 49ers had their eyes on winning a record breaking fifth straight conference title. With a three day team total of eleven over par, the 49ers did just that, and joined the 1986-1991 Penn State golf teams as the only programs in A10 history with five (5) straight conference titles. Just like UCF, Charlotte will now look forward to hearing which one of six (6) NCAA regional sites will be next on their travel itinerary.
The Spring Championships concluded at the Mission Inn Resort and Club as the resort continued its proud and unprecedented tradition with its 13th straight hosting of an NCAA championship golf event, when the Division III Women hit the links to crown a national champion. It is only fitting that a golf course with such a storied golf tradition play host to the Division III Championship, as Methodist University successfully defended the national title that they have held since 1998. Even with Methodist's continued dominance, a surprise was able to emerge from the field as Jessica Urban, playing as an individual from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point , was able to hold of Paige Caldwell of Methodist to earn individual medalist honors at the tournament. If you missed the tournament this year don't worry; the 2011 NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship will be held once again at the Mission Inn Resort and Club.
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Best Regards,
Sam Stark
President/CEO
Central Florida Sports Commission  |
| ECONOMIC IMPACT | |
Month of March 2010
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Hotel Room Nights: 1,363
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Tax Recovery: $13,009.33
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Economic Impact: $775,365.00
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Number of Participants: 1,593
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Number of Spectators: 1,891
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Number of Events: 4
Year to Date (through March 2010)
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Hotel Room Nights: 1,783
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Tax Recovery: $19,190.55
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Economic Impact: $1,236,429.00
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Number of Participants: 3,842
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Number of Spectators: 4,891
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Number of Events: 6
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| WINS & LOSSES | |
(as of April 2010)
Formal Bids Submitted: 3
Total Bids Won: 2
Total Bids Lost: 1
In conjunction with a bid submitted last month, the Sports Commission and the City of Leesburg recently made a presentation to the Florida Community College Activities Association (FCCAA) with the goal of being awarded the 2011-2014 FCCAA Baseball Finals. The event would be staged at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg in April of each year. We will keep you up to date on the progress of this bid as we learn more.
Unfortunately, the FCCAA informed the Sports Commission in the last week that our bid to host the 2011-2014 Softball Finals in Clermont at Legend Ballfields was not selected as a finalist. Our financial guarantee appeared to be the primary reason for not being considered a future site of this event. We will continue evaluate other FCCAA event opportunities that might be a good fit for Lake County.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS | |
39th Annual Florida Junior Invitational Championship
June 30-July 2, 2010
Mission Inn Resort and Club
www.missioninnresort.com
 2nd Annual Lake County PAL Summer Games
Multiple events staged throughout the Summer
Venues throughout Lake County
www.lakecountypal.com
2010 NCAA Division III Women's Championship Preview
September 23-25, 2010
Mission Inn Resort and Club
www.centralfloridasports.org
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE | |
The Leesburg Lightning are set to head back to the diamond to defend their Florida Collegiate Summer League title. The Lightning open the season on the road in Sanford on June 3rd, and will receive their first taste of home cooking at Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium on Saturday, June 5th.
Although only in the league for three seasons, the Lightning, under the guidance of manager and former Big League pitcher Frank Viola, have became the first team in the league to repeat as champions, winning two of the last three seasons. As proud as the Lightning are about their record on the field, they are even more honored by the support they receive from the Leesburg and Lake County community. In a league that has struggled for consistent regional support since their inception in 2003, the Lightning have become the leaders in league attendance, often bringing in nearly 1,000 spectators to Pat Thomas Stadium.
Help Leesburg continue their proud tradition of winning and community support. Admission to all regular seasons games are free, and more information can be found at www.leesburglightning.com
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