Space Coast Wins Bid For Soccer Final Four
By Space Coast Daily // June 8, 2012
PREP SPORTS NEWSFLASH
(VIDEO: digitalvisionsvideo)
BREVARD COUNTY • FLORIDA — The Florida High School Activities Association (FHSAA) has completed its review and rankings for all proposals for hosting state championship events and has selected the Space Coast’s Melbourne Central Catholic Sports Complex as its top venue for boys and girls soccer for 2013 and 2014.
Negotiations will begin with the highest-ranked sites and contracts are expected to be signed by August 1, 2012.
The following sites have been selected as the top proposals:
Baseball: Lee County Sports Authority – JetBlue Park
Cross Country: Tallahassee Sports Council – Apalachee Regional Park
Soccer: Space Coast Sports Promotions – Melbourne Central Catholic Sports Complex
The tentative dates for the soccer events are February 6 – 9, 2013 for girls and February 13 – 16, 2013 for boys.
In 2014 the girls will be February 5 – 8 and the boys will be February 12 – 15.
Space Coast Sports Promotions Wins Bid For Brevard County
The bid was submitted by Space Coast Sports Promotions on May 11 and the FHSAA made the announcements on June 5.
“We are very pleased to have the Space Coast selected as the host site for the state High school Soccer Championships in both boys and girls soccer for 2013 and 2014,” said Rusty Buchanan, the president and CEO of Space Coast Sports Promotions, which is the organization that produced and won the bid for the Space Coast.
“This is another great sports event for the Space Coast and it will be a great draw and an economic driver for local businesses.
“We are very pleased to be bringing this event to Brevard as it shows that Brevard is considered as a leader in soccer in the state.
I would like to thank the FHSAA for selecting the Space Coast and I would also like to recognize Connie Alden, Matt Yurish and our whole sports management team for working hard on this successful bid.”
About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is committed to excellence and to the belief that a quality education does not begin or end in the classroom.
For over 90 years, the FHSAA – through the cooperative efforts of its member schools – has provided opportunities for high school students in Florida to participate on a fair and equitable basis in interscholastic athletic programs that produce vital educational benefits.
The FHSAA sponsors championship programs through which 108 teams and more than 720 student-athletes are crowned state champions in 30 sports each year.
Through participation in these athletic programs, an estimated almost 800,000 students annually are extended opportunities to receive lessons in leadership, sportsmanship and citizenship – lessons not normally taught in the classroom.
The Florida High School Athletic Association prides itself on building leaders through teamwork, sportsmanship and citizenship.
FHSAA History
The Florida High School Athletic Association was founded on April 9, 1920 by a group of 29 high school principals who met at Peabody Hall on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.
The Florida Legislature, in 1997, gave the FHSAA statutory recognition as the official governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida.
The FHSAA has shown a steady growth in membership throughout its history. Currently, the FHSAA has a total of almost 800 member schools.
The FHSAA is an organization created to serve its member schools.
The FHSAA’s list of services has grown considerably in its 91-year history and includes:
Athletic Programs – The FHSAA offers postseason State Series competition through which the official state champions in 15 boys sports and 15 girls sports are determined.
The State Series are conducted during the school year as follows: Fall – Boys & Girls Bowling, Boys & Girls Cross Country, Football, Boys & Girls Golf, Boys & Girls Swimming & Diving and Girls Volleyball;
Winter – Boys & Girls Basketball, Competitive Cheerleading, Boys & Girls Soccer, Girls Weightlifting and Wrestling; and Spring – Baseball, Girls Flag Football, Boys & Girls Lacrosse, Girls Softball, Boys & Girls Tennis, Boys & Girls Track & Field, Boys Volleyball, Boys & Girls Water Polo, and Boys Weightlifting.
About Space Coast Sports Promotions
Since 1990, Space Coast Sports Promotions has actively managed, operated and/or promoted a variety of sporting events throughout the Brevard County area.
Some of these events include the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games, Amateur Athletic Union National Championships for Boys’, Girls’, Mens’, Women’s Basketball, Baseball and Surfing.
Other events include the Special Olympics, Florida Firefighter Games, International Law Enforcement Games, Space Coast Retired Military Golf Classic, and many more.
Building on professional knowledge gained through experience, Rusty Buchanan formed the Buchanan Company, a sports event management company, in 1990.
Buchanan was contracted to manage the 1990 and 1991 AAU/USA Junior Olympic Games in St. Petersburg and Tallahassee respectively.
Serving the Space Coast Since 1991
The Buchanan Company, Inc. was actively solicited by the Space Coast Sports Authority in November of 1991 to develop a major sports marketing effort throughout the Space Coast of Florida.
In less than three years and from a beginning Sports Authority bank balance of less than $1,000, the Buchanan Company Inc. generated an economic impact in excess of 36 million dollars on the Space Coast. (This including the XXVIII AAU Junior Olympic Games, the largest national multi-sports amateur athletic competition in America.)
As the president of the Buchanan Company, Rusty led the charge to put Brevard County on the sports map worldwide.
In 1997, Buchanan formed Space Coast Sports Promotions, a non-profit, 501-(C)3, sports management organization, to run the events he as the Buchanan Company was able to secure for the Space Coast.
Florida Law Enforcement Games, Special Olympics
Space Coast Sports has a successful track record in attracting sport activities and has experience in hosting, promoting and managing various events.
Space Coast Sports is responsible for hosting one of the largest amateur athletic events in the history of amateur games, the 1994 Junior Olympic Games (over 10,500 athletes).
Space Coast Sports Promotions has also managed such events as the Florida Law Enforcement Games, the Special Olympics and numerous Amateur Athletic Union basketball and baseball championships.
Through their network of almost 40 contracted hotels, four chambers of commerce, a database of volunteers and a professional management staff the Space Coast Sports organization expertise is a huge advantage to any sports entity.
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