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Featured Article | |
Breakfast of Champions
The Central Florida Sports Commission will be hosting the 2nd Annual 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.
Osceola County's awards breakfast has been set for Tuesday, May 24 at Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club.
You should have received an invitation, so we hope you will join us in celebrating the accomplishments of these talented student athletes.
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SAM
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We hope this month's activity letter finds you well, as the Central Florida Sports Commission continues its extensive work to bring new and exciting sports related events and activities to Osceola County.
In April, the Sports Commission and Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau co-hosted the Division II College Rugby Playoffs at Austin Tindall Park. We welcomed USA Rugby back to Osceola County for the first time since 2006, and this was the first time the Division II College Rugby Playoffs had been hosted in Osceola County. The event featured 8 Men's and 7 Women's teams competing, and brought in over 400 athletes and coaches. The teams and coaches enjoyed the move to Osceola County, as we received many compliments regarding the venue, hotels and community. Thanks to all those involved in making this event a success!
April finished with the return of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Men's Golf Championships. The championship occurred the last weekend of April at ChampionsGate's International Golf Course and featured over 70 participants and coaches from the NEC. Eleven Men's teams from Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania competed in this three day tournament for the automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Regional. Congratulations to Sacred Heart University for winning the 2011 NEC Men's Golf Championship.
Coming up in May, the Sports Commission and Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau will once again partner with Florida Amateur Wrestling Association (FAWA) to host several events May 14th & 15th. The two-day event will feature the Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Championships, FILA Cadet Women & Girls Nationals, the FILA Junior Women Nationals & World Team Trials, and the Women's Body Bar National Championships. We are estimating these combined events will bring in over 1,000 participants and coaches over the two-day competition. Once again, we look forward to working with FAWA!
Thank you for your continued support as we continue to market Osceola County as the "Amateur Sports Capital." |
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Best Regards,
Sam Stark
President/CEO
Central Florida Sports Commission |
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IN THE PIPELINE  |
The Sports Commission recently sent staff to the 2011 National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) Sports Event Symposium in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 11 - 15. This annual conference provides a great opportunity for the Sports Commission to network with multiple event organizers and identify new event opportunities for hotels and sports venues within Osceola County. A short list of event organizers that we met with include the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), USA Taekwondo, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), USA Volleyball, FLW Outdoors and USA Fencing, just to name a few. Events would be targeted for the Osceola Heritage Park, Austin Tindall Regional Park, Kissimmee Lakefront Park and other area venues within our community. Stay tuned for future updates on each opportunity.
In addition, the Sports Commission is researching the possibility of hosting a triple header basketball invitational this coming December that would consist of two (2) women's collegiate games and one (1) girls high school game. The triple header would be staged at Silver Spurs Arena the first weekend of December and would attract the likes of University of Florida, University of Central Florida and Rutgers University, along with two top ranked high school girls' basketball teams. This is still very preliminary so expect a more detailed update in next month's impact report. |
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| | WINS & LOSSES | |
(As of April, 2011)
Bids Submitted - 9
Wins - 7
Losses - 0
It's official, the Central Florida Sports Commission and Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau are proud to announce the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) will return to Osceola County in 2011 and 2012 for their Division I & II Men's and Women's Soccer Championships and Division I & II Women's Volleyball Championships. The Soccer Championships will be staged at Austin Tindall Regional Park, with the Volleyball Championships returning to the Kissimmee Civic Center. Both events combined to generate approximately 3,500+ room nights and $2 million in economic impact for Osceola County in 2010. |
| UPCOMING EVENTS | |
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE |
Tourist Development Council
The Sports Commission would like to send a special thanks to Mr. Jim Murphy. Mr. Murphy recently stepped down as the Tourist Development Council (TDC) Chairman; he has been a TDC Board Member since April 1994. Mr. Murphy has been instrumental in helping Osceola County grow to one of the premier tourist destinations in the world. Mr. Murphy also served as Chairman of the Board for the Sports Commission. We greatly appreciate all of Mr. Murphy's service to the Sports Commission and Osceola County.
We would also like to congratulate Mr. George Chen for being voted the new Chairman of the Tourist Development Council by his fellow board members; Mr. Chen has been on the board since April 2010. Mr. Chen, a hotel owner, will provide an industry specific knowledge and expertise as the new Chairman of the Board. We look forward to working with Mr. Chen and the entire TDC Board as we continue to market Osceola County as the premier tourist destination.
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