As the sports sales manager for the Rochester Amateur Sports Commission (RASC), I am always busy in the spring in terms of travel in representing the RASC in bid presentations and at annual industry conferences. In order to continue building on our success of hosting quality state, regional and national events, it’s important that we stay active in these areas.
Last week, I traveled to Tampa, Fla., to attend the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Annual Conference. The RASC is a dedicated partner of the NJCAA and in 2011 we are hosting National Championships in Division III women’s basketball, volleyball and softball. I attended this year’s conference to present a bid to host the NJCAA Wrestling National Championships, an event we were proud to host from 1999-2009 and one we will bring to Rochester again in February of 2012.
This year’s presentation focused on our excellent partnership with the NJCAA and Rochester Community and Technical College. In addition, we showcased the strong wrestling community in Rochester who works closely with the sports commission team to host the tournament.
The RASC was awarded the 2015 Championships and looks forward to welcoming 350 wrestlers plus their coaches, families and fans from colleges all over the country. This event will bring 850 hotel room nights to the community in February of 2015.
Next week, RASC executive director Ed Hruska and I will travel to Greensboro, N.C., to represent the RASC at the National Association of Sports Commission’s annual conference. Over 70 national governing bodies (NGB) of all types of sports will attend along with convention bureau and sports commission representatives from over 300 other cities.
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Each NGB has annual regional or national events that they select host cities for. Every year, it’s our job to qualify and evaluate these opportunities to determine if they would provide economic impact to Rochester while making sense to pursue from a financial and RASC resources perspective.
This conference is also a good opportunity to continue to build on our relationships with NGBs we have successfully partnered with for many years such as the Amateur Athletic Union and USA Wrestling. In addition, we plan to meet with organizations that we are currently working with on 2011 events such as Senior Softball USA and the American Junior Golf Association.
And to cap an eventful spring, in May I will head to Colorado Springs to meet with such key RASC partners as U.S. Figure Skating and USA Hockey. The goal of all these efforts is to continue to build strong relationships and bring quality state, regional and national tournaments and events to Rochester for many years to come.
