Read Now: Article on Winners
 
ORLANDO, Fla. - Sports Destination Management, the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market, has announced the 2020-2021 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism Presented by Traveling Teams (http://travelingteams.com/). This year’s winners are responsible for contributing a more-than-welcome boost of over $400 million to the national economy over the past year.
 
Among the winners were both the AAU Junior National Volleyball Championship in coorperation with Visit Orlando and the AAU Junior Olympic Games in cooperation with Harris County Houston Sports Authority.
 
Marking the largest event to date hosted at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), the Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) 48th AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships welcomed more than 135,000 participants to Orlando, Florida across two weeks, from June 17-29, 2021, creating an estimated economic impact of $173.3 million for the region. It was the largest event held nationally in the convention industry since the pandemic began, with appropriate health and safety protocols implemented across the North, South and West Concourses of OCCC.
 
The 55th edition of the AAU Junior Olympic Games brought 15,000 participants to the Houston, Texas area. The 11-day event featured 10 different sport competitions, including the AAU’s marquee track and field event, which included 12,345 total participants and saw 33 AAU national records broken. Other sports were baton twirling, field hockey, jump rope, karate, pickleball, sport stacking, swimming, taekwondo and trampoline and tumbling. The event began in 1967, is the largest multi-sport event in the United States and is held in a different city each year.
 
All winners of awards have been recognized in a special feature published in the November/December 2021 issue of Sports Destination Management. The entire article with full details on the winners listed below can also be found online.
Read Now: Article on Winners
 
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About the AAU: The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest- non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by nearly 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 45 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts.
 
For more information, visit www.aausports.org | Instagram: @AAUSports | Twitter: @TheRealAAU | YouTube: youtube.com/TheRealAAUvideo | Facebook: facebook.com/realAAU
 
About Sports Destination Management: Sports Destination Management is written for the largest audience of sports event managers and tournament directors in the sports tourism market and maintains a focus on the important issues surrounding event location decisions and event management. With content from experts and thought leaders, SDM provides in-depth coverage of sports event planning and execution through incisive and relevant articles as well as insightful, real-world case studies showcasing best practices and successful event production.
 
In addition to the publication, SDM offers extensive digital resources through www.sportsdestinations.com and the e-newsletter SDM Blitz, both providing decision support tools for organizers to ensure successful events at all levels of play.
 
About Due North Media:  Celebrating its 20^th year in business, Due North Media, a division of Due North Consulting, Inc., is a niche business-to-business publisher providing media services to executives within specialized vertical markets impacting economic development including corporate site selection, business development, market-to-market events and sports tourism via publications, digital media, qualified list marketing and custom publishing.
 
Founded in 2001, Due North Consulting, Inc. has helped niche marketers obtain their goals for a decade and a half. The principals of the company have over 40 years of business-to-business advertising and marketing experience. It has been their mission to serve readers, clients and employees with integrity, humility and a continuing quest for the achievement of excellence.