October Begins with A Flurry of Sports

Polk County is starting the month of October on the right foot with a busy week of sports. This week alone, Polk County will host a total of six events ranging from a barbecue competition to a world championship paintball event. The six events are poised to bring 15,000 people to the area.

The busy week for sports in Polk County started on Wednesday when the PSP Paintball World Cup started at Fantasy of Flight. The event  is the world’s largest paintball event and is taking place at the attraction in Polk City October 7-11 and will bring more than 5,000 competitors and an additional 5,000 spectators to the area. The event is projected to generate more than 11,000 room nights and a significant amount of daily visitation from paintball enthusiasts in Central Florida with the paintball tradeshow that accompanies the competition. Competition will take place each day from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and admission is free to most fields, with the pro field admission being $10. Other events that were assisted or recruited by PCTSM that will be coming to Polk County this weekend include the Sixth Annual Fine Swine at the Pit barbeque competition in Mulberry, the Go Green 5K Race at Circle B Bar Reserve, the Publix Family Fitness Weekend in Winter Haven, an Independent Softball Association tournament in Winter Haven and a United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Fall National baseball event at the new Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale.  The USSSA event is one of the many baseball events that has utilized the new Lake Myrtle Sports Complex, which is already 71% booked for calendar year 2010.