Florida Monthly Update - July, 2016 Upcoming Events

FSF Presents 37th Annual Sunshine State Games September - November, 2016 Sunshine State Games Over the course of 45 days between May 13 and June 26, nearly 9,000 Shooting Championships Various locations of Florida’s Finest Amateur competed in 25 sports of the Sunshine State Games, spread out among 25 sport facilities in nine September 25-26, 2016 Florida communities. Sunshine State Games Beach Ultimate Championships Sheraton Sand Key Hotel Clearwater, Florida

November 5-6, 2016 Sunshine State Games Fall Lacrosse Championships and Baton Twirling Championships Vero Beach, Florida

For 37 years, the Sunshine State Games has provided Floridians of all December 3-11, 2016 ages with amateur sports opportunities on a variety of levels. Following Florida Senior Games are stories of some of the athletes who competed during the month of a qualifier for the 2017 National June in Florida's Olympic-style Sports Festival, presented annually by Senior Games Clearwater, Florida the Florida Sports Foundation. FSF Sponsors

Record number of Water Polo teams compete in 2016

The final weekend of seven weeks of Sunshine State Games events featured a record-breaking event in South Florida. With 69 teams playing in eight age groups, the 2016 Sunshine State Games Water Polo Championships was the largest field in the 23-year history of the sport in the Games. Beginning with the first game Friday morning, June 24, at 8:40 a.m., through Sunday evening, June 26, a total of 41 hours of Water Polo were played at the Coral Springs Aquatic Center.

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In those 41 hours, The Riptide Women’s Open team, from Miami, won its seventh consecutive gold medal, dating back to 2010, outscoring opponents 45-18 in four wins. The Women’s Open team was one of three gold medal winning Riptides teams at the 2016 Championships. The Men’s Open and Girl’s 18 and Under teams also won gold medals.

13-year old Table Tennis wunderkind beats adult players in the highest level divisions

For the second consecutive year, 13-year old Sherilyn Barwie-Perez, of Tampa (pictured in middle below), won the gold medal the Under 2000 Division, topping several adult competitors. The five levels 2000 and over and the Open Division are the most competitive of the SSG Table Tennis Championships.

After winning two gold medals at the 2015 Sunshine State Games, she competed in six events of the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships in July in Las Vegas.

Sherilyn says she plays table tennis because it is her passion and one of the best exercises for both body and mind. It is also a great challenge – a sport impossible to master.

Florida Sports Community Supports Orlando Shooting Victims

Governor Rick Scott turned to the Florida Sports community for support during visits to meet survivors and the families of the Orlando shooting at Pulse Nightclub. Governor Scott enlisted the services of former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Johnny Damon, Orlando City Soccer player Ricardo Kaká, former NBA standout for the Orlando Magic and , Shaquille O’Neal, Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston and his college coach, Jimbo Fisher of Florida State and former quarterback Tim Tebow.

Governor Scott and the First Lady also presented the “Orlando Strong – Governor’s Medal of Unity” to the survivors, their families and hospital workers.

Track and Field keeps coming back for more

For the last 14 years, Dr. Brian Hickey, a Professor of Exercise Science and Sport Management at Florida A&M University, has won SSG Track & Field gold medals. Since 2002, Hickey, a distance runner, has run in the 400, 800, 1500 and 3000 meter races, winning 36 gold medals and a silver during this streak of SSG performances. He began his streak running in the 30+ Masters age group and in 2016, he was in the 45-49 age group winning the 800, 1500 and 3000 meter gold medals.

In 2011, when no SSG Masters Track & Field was not contested, he won a gold medal at the all-ages 5K Road Race in the Florida Senior Games in Lakeland. Since 2010, his wife, Rachel, has also run the distance races and has won 14 gold medals.

Through this SSG competition, Brian puts theory into practice by competing regularly in duathlon, , running, obstacle course racing and lacrosse. Over the course of his athletic career he has earned 30 national titles, set an American Record in Masters Track & Field and competed in the 2004 US Olympic Trials for cycling. Brian is also currently the coach of the Florida A&M Lacrosse team, a program he helped form in 2015.

Mother-To-Be Returns to SSG after a Nine Year Layoff

Former Sunshine State Games Synchronized swimmer Courtney Karolinko, 27, from Boynton Beach, swam, coached and judged her way back into the 2016 Games. After a nine year hiatus, Karolinko (on right in left side photo below) returned with her mother, Jacqueline Barrett (on left in left side photo below) to compete in a team routine with five other members of the Palm Beach Coralytes.

Along with the seven team members performing lifts and tucks in the water, was a future synchronized swimmer joining in on the fun. Karolinko was swimming at eight months pregnant with her future daughter, Aria.

Karolinko has been involved in synchronized swimming for 20 years. She has been swimming since she was 18-months-old, and she started her synchronized swimming career at the age of seven with the Palm Beach Coralytes until she graduated high school.

Upon graduating from Keuka College in New York, Karolinko returned home to follow in her mother and older sister’s footsteps as a coach for the Coralytes. Karolinko currently coaches the Teams Age Group, the advanced synchronized skills division for the Coralytes.

Barrett, who started her synchro swimming career at 45, wants her granddaughter and future synchro swimmer to be just as dedicated as her daughter Courtney.

“I hope that baby Aria falls in love with the sport as my two daughters and I did,” said Barrett.

Judo athlete pulls double duty

There are two-sport athletes and then there are athletes who pull double duty caring for fellow athletes when not competing in their own sport.

Such is the case for gold-medal winning Judo athlete, Carlo Guadagno, of Seminole, who at the Sarasota/Bradenton Festival, cared for Ultimate athletes as part of the SSG medical staff and the following week suited up in his gee and took to the mats himself.

Luckily, he did not become a patient for one of his counterparts while competing among more than 200 judoka at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

Guadagno (in red shirt in photo at left), a chiropractic physician, joined St Pete Judo in 2015 and has been training consistently since. Prior to his Sunshine State Games outing, he earned a silver medal at the US Open in Ft Lauderdale. He has assisted the Florida Sports Foundation in recent years at the Sunshine State Games and Florida Senior Games.

As an athlete himself, he sees in others what motivates him to care for and compete. “ It’s the outstanding attitude of the competitors no matter what their age, they all seem to understand "joie d' vivre "

FSF Salutes Athletes of the Year for Skills and Dedication to Sport

Each year, Sunshine State Games Athletes of the Year are honored before their peers at competitions or events statewide. The athletes are chosen for their performance at the Games, their dedication to their chosen sport and the Olympic ideals of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. The 2015 Athlete of the Year selections achieved success gliding across the water and pinning opponents to the mat.

Jennifer Figueroa, of Gainesville (pictured below on left), has been a fixture in the SSG Rowing competition for the last several years as an athlete and an administrator. She won three gold medals at the 2015 Games. As the coach of the Gainesville Area Rowing team, she was instrumental in the SSG competition when it was part of the Alachua County Festival. She has served as a planner for Learn to Row Day and promotes rowing in the Gainesville area as a summer camp counselor.

Figueroa is the fourth Gainesville area Sunshine State Games Athlete of the Year since 2000 joining weightlifter Chris Follenius (2011), Matt Tamayo (Karate, 2010) and Tyler Wolfe (Karate, 2004). The City of Gainesville has a long Sunshine State Games heritage as it community has hosted the Olympic-style Sports Festival 11 times and was the site of the original Games in 1980.

Jaden Villalobos, a 12-year old wrestler out of Fort Lauderdale (pictured above on right), was honored for his outstanding achievement at the 2015 Games as a member of Calvary Wrestling Club. Villalobos won medals in the last three Sunshine State Games and in all three events, Freestyle, Folkstyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

NFL Camps Open in July

Fans who have been waiting for the to hit the field since February when the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers met in the Super Bowl are now counting down the days.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans can register to attend this year's training camp practices that begin on Friday, July 29. The practices are free and open to the public with free parking available at EverBank Field. All practices are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. each day with gates opening at 9:30 a.m.

The unveiled several exciting changes to improve the fan experience as part of “Back to Football powered by South Florida Ford” at the Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southeastern University. The team will hold its first practice on Friday, July 29th at 9 a.m. This year’s training camp will feature a brand new canopy over the seated area, providing fans with shade and a more comfortable experience than ever before.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host 11 practice dates open to the public, including three on Saturdays, and culminating with a joint session with the Cleveland Browns. The first 10 open practices (beginning on Saturday, July 30) will to begin at 8:45 a.m. at One Buccaneer Place and conclude at approximately 10:50 a.m.

The Jaguars and Bucs begin their 2016 Pre-Season schedules on Thursday, August 11 and the Dolphins take the field on Friday, August 12. The NFL Regular season begins for all three teams on Sunday, September 11 with the Jaguars hosting the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Field and the Dolphins and Bucs on the road against the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.

Collegiate roundup

Florida State freshman Malik Beasley became the 11th first round NBA Draft Choice in school history and the fourth Seminole taken in the first round of the NBA Draft under head coach Leonard Hamilton, when he was the 19th pick by the Denver Nuggets on June 24. Beasley became the first Seminole chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft since Chris Singleton was selected 18th overall by the Washington Wizards in 2011.

Florida collegiate continues to fill rosters as 37 Floridians were selected in the top 10 rounds of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft held on June 9. Six players were chosen from the University of Florida, four from University of Miami and selections came from six other Florida Universities and three Community Colleges. First with Florida ties include A.J. Puk (6th overall, Oakland Athletics) and Dane Dunning (29th overall, Washington Nationals) from the University of Florida, Zack Collins (10th overrall, Chicago White Sox) from the University of Miami and Tallahassee's Cole Ragans (30th overall, Texas Rangers), from North Florida Christian High School.

The University of Florida won the 2016 NCAA Track and Field Championships creating enough points from the sprints, hurdles and jumps for 62 points at Hayward Field, in Eugene, Oregon, June 10. It’s the second outdoor national title for the Gators since sharing the 2013 team championship. Arkansas finished as the team runner-up with 56 points while Texas A&M placed third with 50 points.

Countdown to

Only nine more weeks until the first College Football Saturday opens the 2016 season between September 1- 5. The State of Florida will be in the spotlight as the Florida Gators, , , Central Florida Knights, , Florida International Panthers and Florida Atlantic Owls and four other teams all open their seasons in the Sunshine State during that five day span.

After nine games on Saturday, the College Football Nation will be watching on Labor Day evening as the Florida State Semioles and Ole Miss Rebels kick it off at Camping World in Orlando.

Follow Florida's 18 college football teams, including the University of West Florida that plays its first game in school history on September 3 at Ave Maria, weekly at Florida Football Central which will be updated and posted on www.flasports.com weekly. The 2016 season also comes to a conclusion in Florida with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, on Monday, January 9, 2017.

Florida athletes follow the Road to Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games

Former Sunshine State Games athletes, Angelica Delgado, a judoka from Miami, who was the Most Outstanding Senior Athlete at the 2006 Games in Miami and will represent the USA in Rio de Janeiro in August. Gainesville resident and recent Sunshine State Games gold medalist Jake Kaminski has qualified for the U.S. Archery team and Ashleigh Johnson, a Miami native and former SSG gold medalist for the Riptides Water Polo team is a goalkeeper for the U.S. Women's team.

A SSG Track and Field Gold medalist in 2006, Ebony Morrison, of Miami, is competing for a spot on Team USA in the 100 meter hurdles at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, beginning Thursday, July 7. Her Miami Hurricanes teammate, Fort Lauderdale's Shakima Wimbley, is one of five collegiate athletes among the 16 women advancing to Saturday’s 400 meter semifinals on the Road to Rio.

Orlando native and FSU sprinter Marvin Bracy earned his Team USA spot after placing third in the 100-meter dash final at the USA Olympic Trials, posting a time of 9.98.

Gator swimmer and Green Cove Springs native, Caleb Dressel will swim the 100 meter freestyle and is a member of the 4X100 freestyle relay. Former SSG and UF swimmer, Ryan Lochte, qualified for his fourth Team USA spot and will swim the 200 IM and the 4X200 Free relay.

Look for a complete listing of Team USA members with Florida ties in the August FSF Monthly Partner Update.

Florida Spring Training Renovations

Spring Training facilities are improving swiftly in the state of Florida. The expansion and construction of new facilities in Palm Beach County are turning into a major site for spring training baseball. With the addition of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches to host the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, Palm Beach County, will be only behind Maricopa County, AZ, with the largest number of spring training teams and the most in Florida.

St. Lucie County has also jumped on the train of renovations as the county commission voted to approve a $60 million renovation for the 28-year old home of the New York Mets, Tradition Field. The renovations will possibly keep the Mets spring training in St. Lucie County for another 25 years. Discussions are now taking place on what new initiatives can be made to the venue to benefit both the players and the fans.

On the west coast of Florida, Hillsborough County voted to invest in a $40 million upgrade for George M. Steinbrenner Field, home to the NY Yankees since 1996. With this new renovation, the Yankees will extend their contract to stay in Tampa through 2046. The construction will include sun protection for fans, new fan gathering spots, a new entrance and more.

Summer Racing at Daytona International Speedway Provides Thrilling Ending

Brad Keselowski dominated much of the summer evening race, then emerged from a thrilling NASCAR Overtime finish to win the 58th annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola. It was his first victory at Daytona International Speedway.

The Coke Zero 400 signalled the end of the NASCAR season at the Daytona International Speedway, but the community will reap benefits for years to come. The Speedway has spent an estimated $500 million on upgrades and improvements to its facility since 2005 and is one of the top driving forces of the area economy.

In its most recent economic impact findings of what the track and its events have on the local economy, ISC says the Speedway and its events generate an estimated $1.6 billion for the area each year.

With the construction of Daytona Rising, a $400 million project, which pumps money into the area economy reached new heights over a nearly three-year period (2013-16) to transform the Speedway into the world’s first motorsports stadium. Speedway officials showed that 75 percent of the contractors and vendors used were from Florida and that the project created 4,800 jobs with 92 percent of the workforce from the Sunshine State.

The Last Word - The numbers are in and in the 2015-16 fiscal year, the FSF awarded 111 grants to sports events that brougt an estimated 641,151 visitors to the state and created a projected economic impact of more than $518 million. Kicking off the 2016-17 fiscal year, 18 FSF granted events will take place in July that are estimated to bring more than 72,000 visitors and a projected economic impact in excess of $54.5 million.