February 2010

Game On!The Monthly Newsletter of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission

In this Issue2010 FTI Winter Equestrian •Festival is Back!George Linley Announced as •New Executive DirectorDelray Beach International •Tennis Championships Palm Beach County Sports Hall •of Fame Banquet2010 NFL vs S.W.A.T. Softball •Showdown II

Sponsors

2010 FTI Winter Equestrian FestivalThe 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), the longest running equestrian festival in the world is in full gallop at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington. This premier equestrian festival, which runs from January 13 through April 4, puts the eyes of the horse world directly on Palm Beach County and creates $57 million in annual local economic im-pact. The event also provides extensive media cov-erage across the globe. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission supports the WEF through its grant program.

The WEF attracts the finest horses, riders, train-ers, and owners from 23 countries and 46 states with Olympic medalists and World Champions competing for almost $6 million in prize money. The WEF has evolved into a first-class spectator sporting event and entertainment destination not just for equestrian aficionados, but for the general public as well.

To enhance the experience for both participants and spectators, the PBIEC is undergoing signifi-cant improvements, including new food and bev-erage options. The “Trough” Sports Bar presented by Pine Hollow is scheduled to open soon. This venue will overlook the Rost Arena and offer casual dining with several wi-descreen TV’s for viewing your favorite sporting events. Other ma-jor improvements include a permanent kitchen to enhance the quality of food and service through-out the property. Newly added “Saturday Night Lights” will showcase Grand Prix show jumping

in the arena every Saturday night with special entertainment, from music to street carnival per-formers.

FTI WEF Schedule Highlights

February 28: $25,000 1.50M Suncast Classic

March 5: $75,000 FEI Nation’s Cup presented by CN – the best teams from the world compete against each other.

March 13: $200,000 World Cup GP FEI presented by CN

March 27: $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale G P FEI CSI 5 General Admission is free. Parking is $20 per car on evening events and Sundays with a Grand Prix.

For more information about the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival visit www.EquestrianSport.com

1555 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 1410 •West Palm Beach, FL 33401 • 561.233.3180 • 561.233.3125

Upcoming EventsFor a complete listing of all upcoming events, check our website at www.PalmBeachSports.com.

Delray Beach International Tennis ChampionshipsFebruary 20 - 28, 2010 - Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center The 18th annual Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC) is a 9-day extravaganza where fans can watch the top players in the world , but also enjoy a nostalgic trip through tennis history to see their favorite players of all time. Scheduled for Feb. 20 -28, 2010, the ATP World Tour and ATP Champi-ons Tour events will be staged at the same venue—with current ATP stars James Blake, Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers appearing on the same courts as John McEnroe, Patrick Rafter and Guillermo Vilas.

C.V. Whitney CupFebruary 21 - 28, 2010 - International Polo Club This tournament is named for Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, who along with his brother John Hay Whitney were important polo patrons in the 1930’s. Son of Hall of Fame patron Harry Payne Whitney, C.V. was an active competitor with 3 wins in the U.S. Open (2 of them against his brother), and a renowned owner and breeder of Thoroughbred race horses.

MLB Spring TrainingFebruary 25 - April 4, 2010 - Roger Dean StadiumEvery February the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins bring their Major League teams to Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL to begin preparation for the upcoming season. Spring Training offers a relaxing atmosphere and beautiful weather to enjoy a baseball game.

Palm Beach ChallengeFebruary 27 - March 28, 2010NCAA and NJCAA baseball teams travel to Palm Beach County during their spring breaks to compete in this collegiate level spring training forum. Teams will practice and compete in sanctioned NCAA and NJCAA games. The event will take place at the Santaluces Athletic Complex. Approximately 50 to 60 teams are expected to attend the event.

The Honda ClassicMarch 1 - 7, 2010 - PGA National Resort & SpaThe Honda Classic will take place on March 1-7, 2010 at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. This PGA Tour event attracts some of the world’s best golfers. The tournament will consist of 144 golfers competing over 72 holes. Golfers are competing for a total purse of $5.6 million.

Spring FlingMarch 1 - 31, 2010 - Lake LytalSpring Fling is the largest spring training event in the country for women’s col-legiate lacrosse and secondary prep schools. Teams will travel during their spring break and conduct scrimmages and official NCAA contests throughout their stay. The event will be held at several locations including Mirasol Park in Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Lytal in West Palm Beach, Katz Field in Royal Palm Beach and Village Park in Wellington.

New Executive Director SelectedGeorge Linley, a seven-year veteran of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, was selected as the organization’s new executive director. Linley has built a reputation for successfully identifying and bringing national and international sporting events to Palm Beach County, and lending his planning and logistical expertise to the events and partner organizations.

“We’re proud to have someone of George’s stature take over the helm of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission,” said Patty Dent, president of the PBCSC. “George is a proven results-oriented sports industry professional who possesses an enviable combination of experience and passion, to not only reach – but surpass our goals.”

Prior to the PBCSC, Linley served as a marketing sales executive for Roger Dean Stadium, where he successfully developed and marketed advertising and sponsorship packages to a variety of national companies. Linley earned a master’s degree in business administration, with a sports management concen-tration from Florida Atlantic University, and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Palm Beach Atlantic College.

The City of Delray Beach is gearing up for the 2010 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC), which now includes two ATP tour events packed into a nine-day tennis extravaganza between February 20 and 28.

Appearing at the Delray Beach Tennis Stadium & Cen-ter, which is a short stroll from the attractions of Atlan-tic Avenue, will be ATP World Tour stars James Blake, Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers. John McEnroe, and his fellow legends of the ATP Champions Tour, will be play-

ing in the first Tour event in the United States. They kick off their four-day round robin tournament on Sunday, February 20, while the ATP World Tour starts Monday, February 22. The ATP Champi-ons Tour final is Tuesday, Febru-ary 23, with the ATP World Tour singles and doubles finals taking place Sunday, February 28.

Individual tickets for all 17 sessions of the 18th annual event, as well as a va-riety of ticket packages, can be purchased by calling 561-330-6000 or on the ITC Website at YellowTennisBall.com.

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships bringing Worldwide

Attention to Palm Beach County

Attendees enjoying the weather and amenities at the Delray Beach Tennis Stadium & Center

John McEnroe

1555 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 1410 •West Palm Beach, FL 33401 • 561.233.3180 • 561.233.3125

On Sunday night, March 21st at the Palm Beach County Convention Cen-ter, ten elite athletes and sports contributors will be inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame – including baseball legend Hank Aaron and NFL Pro Bowl running back Fred Taylor. Rounding out the impressive group of the 2010 inductee class are:

Leo Armbrust - ContributorLeonard Banks - CoachingRichard Ellington - ContributorMargie Engle - EquestrianLoring ‘Snag’ Holmes - SwimmingMarilu Almeida Hunt - SoftballDottie Pepper - GolfRobert Zammit - Baseball

Another notable component of the March 21st event is the Annual Sports Awards, which honors the top athletic accomplishments in 2009. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission recently announced the finalists for the awards comprised of an elite group of homegrown talent. The list includes NFL superstars; top golf, baseball, tennis, lacrosse and football coaches; and some of the most talented soccer, golf, track and football athletes in the na-tion.

“The selection process is extremely challenging given the high caliber of ath-letes that we’re blessed to have in Palm Beach County,” said Joe Ceravolo, chairman of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s Hall of Fame Com-mittee. “Many of the finalists, and even nominees, would be considered shoe-ins to win their respective categories if only they lived somewhere else in the state or country.”

Amateur Athlete of the Year

Susan Cohn, Palm Beach Gardens, Golf – Susan won the Palm Beach County Women’s Amateur Championship for the third straight year and sixth time since 2000, on 6 different courses.

Jacoby Ford, West Palm Beach, Football and Track – The Cardinal Newman graduate is both a football and track star at Clemson Uni-versity. As a wide receiver, Ford had 64 receptions for 824 yards and 7 touchdowns. Clemson’s football team played in the ACC Champi-onship game, and finished the year with a victory at the Music City Bowl. In track, Ford is an NCAA champion in the 60-meter indoors. Janoris Jenkins, Pahokee, Football – The Pahokee graduate is now a sopho-more defensive back for the University of Florida. During the 2009 season, he had 24 solo tackles, 5 assisted tackles, 3 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble. The Gators played in the SEC Championship game and finished the year with a Sugar Bowl victory over Cincinnati. High School Coach of the Year

Jack Daniels, William T. Dwyer HS, Football – Daniels coached William T. Dwyer to a 4A State Championship, the first in the school’s history. Dywer ended the season with a 14-1 record after losing the season opener to Glades Central 21-7. Daniels won the Lou Groza Coach of the Year Award in both 2008 and 2009. Coach Daniels has compiled a 128-36 record over 14 years.

Jeff Goldberg, St. Andrews School, Lacrosse – Goldberg coached the St. An-drews School boys lacrosse team to its seventh straight state championship (the first five were club titles), beating Lake Brantley of Altamonte Springs in fthe inals 19-5. The school’s 2009 record was 24-0, resulting in their first unde-feated season since 1995. At end of the 2009 season, St. Andrews was ranked 10th in U.S. and first in Southeast.

Jessie Hester, Glades Central HS, Football – Hester coached Glades Central to the 2009 State 2A championship game losing to Cocoa, finishing the sea-son with a 13-1 overall record. He played 11 years in the NFL, in his career he played in 147 games and caught 373 receptions for 5,850 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Matt Elam, William T. Dwyer HS, Senior, Football – In 15 games, Elam rushed for 1,898 yards and 27 TDs on 178 carries as Dwyer won the 4A state championship. As a linebacker he made 80 tackles. Elam was awarded the Lou Groza High School Player of the Year as both a junior and senior.He also received the 2009-10 Gatorade Florida Player of the Year award. He has com-mitted to play at the University of Florida.

Hasani Sinclair, American Heritage HS, Soccer – Sinclair was 2009 Gato-rade’s Florida Player of the Year with 47 goals and 14 assists for 2A state cham-pions. He was also a member of the U.S. under-18 national team, which won gold at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in January. He attends the University of South Florida.

Kelvin Taylor, Glades Day HS, Freshman, Football – In 14 games as a run-ning back had 295 carries, 2,601 yards, and 49 TDs with 4 TDs in the 1B championship victory.

Beth Daniel, Delray Beach, Golf – Beth Daniel was captain of the U.S. golf team that won the Solheim Cup 16-12 over the Europeans in biennial matches, and played on eight U.S. teams from the Solheim inception in 1990. Daniel was inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Rudy Garbalosa, Lynn University, Baseball – Garbalosa coached Lynn Uni-versity’s baseball team to its best season in school history by winning the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championship. Garbalosa led the team to it’s first national baseball crown, and 19th title in school history. The team finished the year with a remarkable 46-16 record.

Richard Williams, Tennis – Richard guided his daughters, Venus and Ser-ena Williams, to the pinnacle of the tennis world. Both Serena and Venus made it to the 2009 Wimbledon Finals. Serena had a record of 50 wins and 12 losses while Venus had a record of 38 wins and 16 losses in 2009.

Santonio Holmes: The Glades Central High School graduate scored the winning touchdown with 35 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIII to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals for the Steelers’ record sixth Super Bowl title. Holmes was named MVP of Super Bowl XLIII with 9 receptions for 131 yards and the game win-ning touchdown. During the 2009-10 season, had 78 receptions for 1,243 yards and 4 touchdowns (through January 1, 2010).

2010 Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame

FINALISTS FOR THE 2009-10 ANNUAL SPORTS AWARDS

Professional Athlete of the Year

Coach of the Year

High School Athlete of the Year

1555 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 1410West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Tel: (561) 233-3180 Fax: (561) 233-3125

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Corporate Sponsors

2010 NFL vs S.W.A.T. Softball Showdown II

Another successful year at Roger Dean Stadium has passed for the NFL vs. S.W.A.T. Softball Showdown II. The game showcased NFL players against members of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. force. This year’s event provided spectators with an up-close look at some of their favorite NFL players and an opportunity for autographs.

The event is sponsored by the Heath Evans Foundation, created by New Orleans Saints’ fullback Heath Evans, who played high school football for The King’s Academy in Palm Beach County. Proceeds from the event go toward the Foundation’s mission of providing hope and healing for sexually abused children. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is provided support for this event.