For the average Orlando traveler, the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex is one of the most under appreciated parts of the Walt Disney World resort. But for the athletes who train and compete at the complex, it is a central experience in the Disney… Read More »America’s Olympic Gymnastics Star Nastia Liukin at ESPN WWOS
This June America’s top female athletes will compete in a multi-sport festival at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. The ESPN RISE Girls Showcase will include national championships and elite-level events in basketball, gymnastics, softball, taekwondo and volleyball. This is the inaugural year for the three-week event and is expected to draw nearly 15,000 nationally-ranked and recreational female athletes to Walt Disney World.
“ESPN RISE is proud to expand its commitment to high school girls through the inaugural ESPN RISE Girls Showcase,” said Laura Gentile, vice president, espnW and ESPN RISE digital and publishing. “The educational and leadership opportunities are just as important to the student-athletes as the competition.”
Among the events taking place will be national championships such as the AAU Jr. National Girls Volleyball Championships, USA Gymnastics Open Championships, U.S. Rhythmic Classic, Junior Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Optional Championships and Invitational, and the USA Taekwondo Women’s Invitational Cup. Other elite-level events will include the AAU Elite Eight 9th Grade Basketball Showcase, the USA Softball National Qualifier, the USA Taekwondo Women’s National Tournament Qualifier, and the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials, in addition to several recreation-level competitions.
The showcase will also include leadership and education components involving current female athletes as well as marquee former athletes and coaches such as former UCLA softball head coach Sue Enquist, whose teams have won 11 national titles.
“To bring together this many female athletes at an event featuring the nation’s best in a variety of sports will be a unique and inspiring experience for these young girls,” said Gail Brown, senior sports event manager for Disney Sports. “Disney and ESPN RISE value and support female athletes at every level and this event will give these talented young athletes a great opportunity to showcase their skills on a national stage.”
Portions of the ESPN RISE Girls Showcase will be shown online at ESPN3.com, including the AAU Jr. National Girls Volleyball Championship, the AAU Elite Eight 9th Grade Basketball Showcase Championship, the USA Gymnastics Open Championships, the USA Basketball U19 National Team game against Brazil and the USA Taekwondo Women’s National Qualifier.
The creation of the ESPN RISE Girls Showcase comes on the heels of the instantly successful ESPN RISE Games at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The annual ESPN RISE Games made its debut in 2009 and features some of the leading high school athletes and teams in the nation competing in baseball, football, basketball, lacrosse and softball in a two-week-long sports festival style event. This year’s event, July 13-27, is expected to draw more than 13,000 athletes from around the country.
The ESPN RISE Girls Showcase adds to the growing list of elite-level national youth sports events taking place at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which is widely recognized as the leading multi-sports venue in the nation. This event further cements the sports complex as the preeminent sports destination for female youth athletes, who make up a little more than half of the nearly 300,000 athletes who compete and train annually at the sports complex.
Event details below the jump:
Read More »ESPN RISE Girls Showcase Inaugural Event Coming to ESPN WWOS in June
The milk must have soured because Disney just added a new sponsor for the former Milk House at ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. Walt Disney World and HP today unveiled the HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex during a ceremony that featured NFL star Jason Witten and soccer legend Mia Hamm, along with ESPN Radio’s Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg and executives from HP and Disney. The project will deliver an immersive sports experience for the nearly two million athletes, coaches and spectators who visit Disney’s sports facilities each year.
Joining in the ceremony: (L-R): Gary Elliott, vice president of Brand Marketing for HP, U.S. Women’s Soccer legend Mia Hamm, Mickey Mouse, Ken Potrock, senior vice president of Disney Sports Enterprises, and Jason Witten, NFL All-Pro tight end for the Dallas Cowboys.
The 165,000-square-foot HP Field House, a multi-purpose facility that can accommodate virtually any indoor sport and has been the cornerstone of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex since it opened in 1997, has been outfitted with a variety of innovative HP enhancements, such as touch-screen kiosks and a one-of-a-kind retail imaging area. Additionally, HP technology is being infused throughout the 230-acre complex, enabling athletes, coaches and fans to have an unparalleled “hands-on” sports experience while providing ways to customize their visit with amenities previously unseen in youth sports.
The most prominent feature of the HP Field House is the HP Photo Creation Center, where players and fans can download, design and enhance commemorative photos and images from their events, then immediately produce and print them at an onsite retail location. Guests will also be able to purchase life-size posters of action photos from the complex, wallpaper coverings, multi-page calendars, photo CDs and many other unique photo keepsakes, giving athletes, coaches and fans even more ways to cherish their sports memories long after their competitions have concluded.
“Today’s youth athletes are extremely tech savvy and HP is the perfect partner to help them better capture and savor the lasting memories of their unique sports experience in ways that no other sports venue can,” said Ken Potrock, senior vice president, Disney Sports Enterprises.
I’m not sad to see the milk mustaches go from the pavilion. It sounds like HP will help youth athletes create some neat keepsakes from their trip to the sports complex. I’m just a little sad that it’s turned into yet another merchandise opportunity. I’m a little confused about where they get the name ‘field’ from since the facility houses basketball and similar sport courts. I guess court house had the wrong connotation.
Previously: ESPN WWOS grand opening.
More details on what HP is bringing to ESPN WWOS below the jump:
I’m looking forward to catching at least one Spring Training game while the MLB’s Atlanta Braves practice at the ESPN WWOS Complex. With ESPN The Weekend and the NY Mets in town, Disney is rolling out all the stops. This year they’re even adding new… Read More »Hidden Mickey finds way to MLB Spring Training at ESPN WWOS
It’s a big time for sports at Walt Disney World. ESPN WWOS has been hosting spring training for MLB and pre-season matches in professional soccer. The Princess Half-Marathon was run today and ESPN the Weekend starts mid-week. Congrats to all the 17,000 runners. I hope… Read More »Florida Runner Wins Princess Half-Marathon
This week last year Walt Disney World rechristened the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex under the ESPN brand. Thus marked the zenith of a little project that began 8 years ago with the first ESPN The Weekend. For the first time, this year will feature some beloved college and professional sports mascots. Also, the ESPN the Weekend actually starts a day early on the 3rd with some live broadcasts by ESPN talking heads and Braves MLB Baseball Spring training.
The main even kicks off at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Friday the 4th. Marquee stars from the NFL, MLB, NBA and NCAA, plus well-known ESPN on-air personalities, will be packing them in for the eighth annual Dick’s Sporting Goods presents ESPN The Weekend, providing fans have a one-of-a-kind opportunity see and hear many of their favorite athletes and ESPN personalities.
This year’s lineup at Disney’s Hollywood Studios features more than 35 athletes and ESPN stars, including former University of Florida football coach and current ESPN college football analyst Urban Meyer, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, N.Y. Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson, Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, NBA Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving and MLB Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., plus former NFL star Derrick Brooks, ex-NBA great Alonzo Mourning and current Orlando Magic players.
Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, hosts of the popular “Mike & Mike in the Morning” show, return as co-hosts of the event, and will broadcast live March 3-4 from ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney. They will be joined by several fellow ESPN personalities such as “The Herd” host Colin Cowherd, “Monday Night Football’s” Ron Jaworski and MLB analyst Nomar Garciaparra.
Additional ESPN personalities include, Tedy Bruschi, Linda Cohn, Herm Edwards, John Kruk, Karl Ravech, Bobby Valentine and Trey Wingo.
Read More »ESPN The Weekend March 4-6 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
It was just about two years ago that a rumor spread that Disney would build an ESPN Zone at Orlando’s Downtown Disney to match the one in Anaheim. My, how things have changed. All ESPN Zone locations have since closed except for Anaheim and Los… Read More »Workers sue ESPNZone for illegal termination
The Harlem Globetrotters announced today a two-game Harlem Globetrotters Holiday Special Event at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. I’ve now seen the Harlem Globetrotters perform twice at the WWOS complex, both times were real special experiences. There is a ton… Read More »Harlem Globetrotters Announce Two Games at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex