HOWARD COUNTY FUND CANCER ULMAN CECIL COUNTY In the heart of Howard County beats a growing sports desti- Traveling south from Philadelphia, Cecil County serves as nation, as week after week soccer players, cyclists, triathletes and the gateway to Maryland along I-95 corridor. Cecil County Wicomico and Worcester counties and the Town of Ocean City have teamed up to become a force in youth and amateur sports by creating the many other athletes journey to places like Centennial Park and is known especially well to those in the equestrian world, Covenant Park. At Centennial, athletes arrive in droves for events Mid-Atlantic Amateur Sports Alliance (MAASA). MAASA was formed in 2014 and is the first ever American coalition of both municipal and as the County is the home of the Fair Hill Training Center, county assets and resources for the purposes of attracting business through sports events. like IronGirl Columbia or Columbia Triathlon to name a few. which is considered on of the premier Thoroughbred training PHOTOGRAPHY BRICKMAN SHANNON Across the road, amateur soccer players from around the country centers in the US and the world. Located on the picturesque arrive to play in tournaments like SAC Columbia Invitational or 5,600+ acres of the Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Tottenham Hotspur America Trophy. Covenant has also been Area, the Training Center is not the only star on the farm, as one of the training cites for CONCACAF Gold Cup. Howard CCI3* Fair Hill International, Fair Hill Races and National OCEAN CITY A 10 mile stretch of beach along the Atlantic Seashore, Ocean City has turned itself into a strategic also features a golf resort and spa, Turf Valley, that includes two Steeplechase Association also call Fair Hill & Cecil home. sports destination for those tournaments/events inexplicably linked to the beach. A few years ago, championship 18 hole courses and more than 40,000 square feet Less than 10 minutes down the road, a new sports complex OC burst on to the national action sports scene when they hosted the Dew Tour. The event was of versatile meeting and event space. Howard County is also home has been developed- Calvert Regional Sports Park- and has of another gem: Merriweather Post Pavilion where Jimi Hendrix a break out success for everyone involved, as each year the event broke attendance records, the quickly proven to be a perfect place for tournaments as it is Inmidair (ridden by Jan Byyny) is not the only animal jumping out last one hitting 105,000. Another surprising event success on the beach, has been the Mite Beach and the Grateful Dead once played and current music stars make A number of times a year, thousands of triath- located less than 50 miles from major metropolitan areas on of the waterways in Cecil, as the County hosted the Bassmasters regular visits to perform. The County also has hundreds of miles letes dive into the 54 acre man made lake at Elite in 2015, where the world’s best anglers competed in the Bash ice hockey tournaments held on one rink at the Carousel Resort. Amateur ice hockey players Centennial for one of the many triathlons taking the East Coast. Upper Chesapeake Bay. of cleared hiking trails and tremendous park settings. Howard place at the park. come down to OC in droves to participate in the every expanding tournament. And speaking of County is Where Maryland Comes Together for Sports! Cecil County Tourism & Parks and Recreation seececil.org @ceciltourism @cecilcountymd expanding, with a beach 440+ feet wide, any beach soccer, lacrosse, ultimate or hockey tournament Howard County Tourism & Promotion visithowardcounty.com @VisitHocoMD @HoCoTourism can easily make their home at the beach for a weekend or two. Ocean City Tourism ococean.com @OCMaryland @OceanCity It may be hard to tell in the picture, but these kids are HARFORD COUNTY actually riding a ANNAPOLIS Harford County boasts their own version of the triple crown WORCESTER COUNTY 70-80 degree curve around the bend. Known as America’s Sailing Capital, Annapolis is strategically positioned when it comes to facilities: Ripken Experience Aberdeen, Sand Duels Beach Soccer Challenge & Ten years ago, Worcester may have only If you think this Beach 5 Soccer Challenge (pictured) GUIRE C along the Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County. The County is home is a piece of cake, Cedar Lane Regional Park and Bulle Rock. MLB & Orioles are two events that have carved out a been know as the location for great seaside try running the 10K to a shoreline that extends more than 500 miles along the Bay from Balti- Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. kicked off this winning combi- home on OC’s famous beach, as more rounds of golf- and the still are-but with Across the Bay- 4.35 athletes switch out the fescue pitch for miles of which are more’s Inner Harbor. But the beautiful coast is not the only thing that nation when he selected a piece of property along I-95 to serve a sand one after Memorial Day. the much needed expansion of the USSSA USABMX/JASON M USABMX/JASON done so over the Chesapeake Bay via makes Annapolis and Anne Arundel special, as the City is the home of as the location for Leido’s Field at Ripken Stadium and Ripken Softball Eastern World Series, Worcester the bridge span! It’s Major League Lacrosse’s(MLL) Chesapeake Bayhawks and the United one of only a few Experience Aberdeen. This stadium is most notably known is now known as a destination for all types of diamond and field events. races in the world States Naval Academy. The Navy-Marine Corps Stadium located just off Beautiful facilities such as John Walter Smith Park have become one of the to have participants for being the home of the Single A Aberdeen Ironbirds and the run across a bridge the USNA campus in central Annapolis, hosts numerous events including Cal Ripken World Series. Harford is also home to Maryland’s many complexes used during the three week long event. Co-located next to that high up(186 ft) Navy football/lacrosse games, MLL games and most notably to the college for so long (again number one ranked public course Bulle Rock created by Smith Park is the Worcester County Recreation Center- a 47,000 sq. ft. multi- 4.35 miles!). football world, the Military Bowl. The Chesapeake BMX track is perfect World Golf Hall of Fame designer Pete Dye. The County also purpose field house capable of running six court volleyball tournaments or for any BMX competition and is located just outside the city. The track offers six other public courses and enjoys over 250 miles of any indoor event any time of the year! Worcester is also Maryland’s only true What more could you ask was named by USABMX as the #1 track on the East Coast in 2014, third in for- sun, beautiful fields shoreline. One of the largest sports complexes in Maryland, seaside county, and one of the highlights is the beautiful Assateague Island and breezes from the RIPKEN EXPERIENCE ABERDEEN/SCOTT SERIO the country. Chesapeake BMX was also the home of USABMX East Coast The Iron Man himself would probably give a nod of approval to this amateur Superman. the Cedar Lane Regional Park is a 110 acre multi-sport recre- National Seashore inhabited by wild horses. ocean- John Walter Smith Park had become a desti- Nationals from 2013-2015. Positioned as a premiere sports destination, it During the CRWS, it can be hard to tell who is more excited- the kids or their dad’s as Worcester County Parks and Recreation they wonder through Ripken’s amazing collection of miniature major league fields. ational complex that offers 14 total linear fields. nation for softball players is easy to see why people Meet in Annapolis for Sports. Especially when worcesterrecandparks.org @WorCoRecParks @WorCoRecParks around the Mid Atlantic. you are also the home of one of the most robust and busiest airports in Visit Harford! visitharford.com @harfordtourism @VisitHarford the country: Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Originally called Salisbury Lions Club Holiday Classic back when the event was WICOMICO COUNTY Airport (BWI)! Locked in a constant battle for #1: JHU tried to use home field advantage to created in 1981, the modern day Governor’s Challenge (c.2010) is only showing edge out Maryland in this regular season battle(bottom), while Team Spain ROUX GABRIEL signs of forward momentum, setting a goal of being the largest holiday basket- Like a fire, Wicomico’s growing prowess in the sports event landscape Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County visitannapolis.org @VisitAnnapolis @VisitAnnapolis beat the competition to win the inaugural LPGA International Crown. ball tournament in the US in 2016. started with a spark just a few short years ago. This spark has become BALTIMORE² the foundation on which MAASA was built and brought Ocean City From the waters of the world famous Inner Harbor in Baltimore City and Worcester into the fold; the event, USSSA Eastern World Series. KEVIN B. MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY to the rolling terrain of Baltimore County, Baltimore2 is a premier spot From 2009, the event has exploded from 90+ teams into its full furry PRINCE GEORGE’S of 350+. This growth quickly sparked another fire, as a yearly boys Encircling one half of Washington DC, Prince George’s County for amateur, collegiate and professional sports. The City boasts three holiday basketball tournament went from just a local event to being is where thousands of fans come to Experience their favorite professional sports teams in the Baltimore Ravens, Orioles and Blast the biggest event holiday basketball tournament on the East Coast in teams at FedEx Field or University of Maryland.