Currently racing here in Polk County in the Orange Cup Regatta are Howie, his father Pete, and daughter Becky. Howie and his father have participated in racing itself as well as officiating, chief refereeing and also as race chairman.

When listening to Howie speak about racing itself and his family’s participation, it was evident that this has been, and always will be, a passion of his, if passion could even describe his love for racing. Having his father on one side and daughter on the other make it all the more special. Throughout his racing career to date, Howie set and currently holds the world record in Lakeland in the SST-60 Class which he gained in 1999, and in 2006 he was the North American Champion in the same class.

Though his entire family does not currently reside in Florida, as they live in various states up and down the east coast, some still come down to cheer on their fellow racers, but most importantly family. Howie’s uncle, who previously raced, still comes down to watch, along with his brother, brother-in-law and nephew, all racers themselves.

When asked about his daughter’s racing experience, one story that came to mind was her first heat race. Howie reminisced about his anxiousness, nervousness, yet pure joy that he felt when watching Becky race for the first time. “I was petrified and paced back and forth but I was overcome with joy watching her. I knew deep down that I had taught her enough about racing that she would be just fine, which she was”. He said that to this day he still gets nervous watching Becky race, but loves to cheer her on.

To the Nichols family education is everything, especially when it comes to daughter Becky. As a sophomore in high school, this is their number one priority, with racing second. Howie said that they may travel all over the country for various races, but they do whatever it takes to make it back for Becky’s classes, even if it means driving through the night. If a race is on the weekend, once she is out of school, he will sometimes fly her out just to make sure that she is not missing any valuable class time.

Racing is not just a sport to participate in or watch, but it became a family that connected Howie with so many people throughout the United States. He spoke of having not only his biological family but also about the racing family that he has created through the sport of powerboat racing. It has been a network which created opportunity no matter where he and his family may be. These race participants could be on the water one minute competing and fighting for the same titles, but once they are off the water it is back to being a normal family, joking around.

Trying other sports has crossed Howie’s mind and he tried out go kart racing, cars, motorcycles, but something was still missing and he was continually drawn back to boat racing. No matter where he has to travel, Howie will be there, from California to Michigan to Florida, and will continue to pass down the tradition of boat racing to generations to come.

66th Annual Tiger BBQ
Dates: February 28
Venue: Joker Marchant Stadium -Lakeland
-Welcome back our Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium, Florida’s most magnificent spring training facility!
-Enjoy the famous menu of roasted corn, shrimp, BBQ ribs, Italian sausage and char-broiled steaks from 6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. (Steaks served 7:00-7:30 p.m.).
-Visit Central Florida Sports for more information or purchase tickets online at Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce.

FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals
Dates: February 29 —March 3
Venue: The Lakeland Center
-The FHSAA Boys Basketball Final is a four day tournament featuring semi-final and final rounds involving eight classes and 32 teams.
- For more information, please visit The Lakeland Center, FHSAA or Central Florida Sports.

Florida Jets
Dates: March 1 —March 4
Venue: Paradise Field in Lakeland
-Food, fun and non-stop action for the entire family! Come see for yourself, and check out over 300 RC jets.
-There will be eight flight lanes daily, RC jet manufacturer exhibits, and daily demos.
-Cost: $10.00 (Admission includes parking & pit passes)
-Please visit Florida Jets or Central Florida Sports for more information.

Major League Scramble with Detroit Tigers
Date: March 1
Venue: Cleveland Heights Golf Course in Lakeland
-The 17th Annual Major League Scramble brings both golf and baseball together in an effort to raise money for local youth programs in Polk County.
-This event allows sports enthusiasts the opportunity to spend a day on the course with The Detriot Tigers.
-Grab your golf buddies or join a foursome and hit the links at Cleveland Heights golf course for this annual scramble tournament.
-Each foursome will be joined by a member of The Detroit Tigers organization.
-Submit your Major League Scramble Registration Form promptly due to the heavy demand for this event.
-For questions or more information, visit Central Florida Sports.

Detroit Tigers Spring Training
Dates: March 2 —April 3
Venue: Joker Marchant Stadium- Lakeland
-The Tigers will begin the exhibition schedule on Friday, March 2 as the club plays host to Florida Southern College in the annual matchup against the Moccasins. The club opens the home portion of the Grapefruit League schedule against the Atlanta Braves at Joker Marchant Stadium on Sunday, March 4th.
-For more information, please visit Detroit Tigers or Central Florida Sports.
This week’s home schedule:
March 2- Florida Southern, 1:05 p.m.
March 4- Atlanta Braves, 1:05 p.m.
March 5- Toronto Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.

Orange Cup Regatta – Central Florida Racing Club – Boat Racing
Dates: March 2 – March 4
Venue: Lake Hollingsworth – Lakeland
-The 75^th Annual Orange Cup Regatta will take place on the “Lake of Records”. 
-The event brings around 540 racers, boat owners, crews and family members to compete in 12 different classes’ daily. 
-The race is sanctioned by the APBA through the Central Florida Racing Club Region #5 and racers come from across the United States and in the past it brought teams all the way from Puerto Rico. 
-It is estimated that 75% of competitors travel more than 500 mile distance to race.  The 1 mile race that attracts 7,000 spectators scattered around the lake is estimated to bring $3 million into the community. 
-For more information please visit Central Florida Sports.

The City of Davenport – Highwaymen Weekend Extravaganza
Dates: March 2 – March 3
Venue: City of Davenport
-This event celebrates Florida’s Highwaymen Artists and continues the City’s focus on cultural events to build and market our community to the region. During the early 1950’s and through the 1980’s a group of 26 African American artists known as the “Florida Highwaymen” used vivid and bright colors to display the beautiful untouched Florida landscape. The creativity and talent of these artists has made them famous for their idyllic landscapes of rural Florida and they were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.
-The weekend not only gives the opportunity for art lovers to view this fantastic art, but the chance to have a one-on-one conversation with the Artists. Activities will start on Friday with a dinner with the artists and a live art auction. It continues to Saturday for an art show where visitors can visit, admire and purchase beautiful art work.
-For more information, please visit Davenport or Central Florida Sports .

 FYSA Region Cup – Soccer
Dates: March 3 – March 4
Venue: Lake Myrtle Sports Park, Simmers-Young Park, Lake Parker Park
-The Auburndale Soccer Club will host U14 (division 1 & 2) and U16 boys teams from FYSA Region C at Lake Myrtle. 
-Forty-nine teams will participate with an estimated 1,060 participants and 1,750 spectators for an economic impact of $720,400.
-The Winter Haven Soccer Club will host twenty-six teams, ages U17 girls and U19 boys and girls.  Participants are expected to number 630 and spectators 1,000 for an estimated economic impact of $416,850.
-The Lakeland Futbol Club will host 24 teams (U15 Boys Division 1 and U14 Girls Division 2) for a total of 480 participants and 800 spectators totaling an estimated economic impact of $329,000.
-For more information please visit Florida Youth Soccer Association.

Southeastern University – Southeastern Baseball Classic
Dates: March 3 – March 10
Venue: Southeastern University
-This is a week-long, national spring break tournament.
-Twelve baseball teams are expected to participate. 250 participants and 300 spectators from out of county are expected to travel to Polk County for this event.
-For more information please visit Southeastern University Athletics or Central Florida Sports.

 Florida ISA – Youth March Madness 
Dates: March 3 – March 4
Venue:  Bartow Softball Complex
-This is an ISA qualifying tournament that is expected to bring in 130 adult participants, 300 youth participants, and 210 spectators.
-For more information, please visit ISA Florida or Central Florida Sports.

Bartow Art Guild “Bartow’s Bloomin’ Arts Festival” – Festival
Dates: March 3 – March 4
Venue: Downtown Bartow
-Bloomin’ Arts is a two-day art festival which also includes a Classic Car Show, Children’s Tent, Flower Show, entertainment and other family activities which bring large crowds to Bartow over the weekend.
-For more information please visit Bartow Art Guild  or Bartow Chamber.

 Bok Tower Gardens Foundation, Inc – International Carillon Festival
Dates: March 3 – March 11
Venue: Bok Tower Gardens
-Showcasing one of the country’s finest carillons, the 21^st annual International Carillon Festival at Bok Tower Gardens, a National Historic Landmark, will draw international performing superstars and fans to Polk County for nine days in March 2012.
-The International Festival is one of only two of its kind in North America, and has been highly regarded in the music world for over 25 years.
-A previous recipient of funding from the Tourist Development Council, the International Carillon Festival is returning with a full schedule of concerts, exhibits, films, receptions, lectures, and ticketed events designed to attract and keep visitors in the area.
-For more information, please visit Bok Tower Gardens or Central Florida Sports.

 Race for the Arts
Date: March 3
Venue: Downtown Bartow
-Join us for the 6th Annual Race for the Arts 5K run and fun walk at Ft. Blount Park in Historic Downtown Bartow.
-This event is held in collaboration with Bartow’s Bloomin’ Arts Festival
-For more information, please visit Central Florida Sports.

Here is a recap of the day you could have had in Central Florida’s Polk County today. It was a day that would make any sports fan happy.

12:30pm – First pitch at Chain of Lakes Stadium in Winter Haven between Ohio State (sorry…THE Ohio State University) and Northeastern University. Ohio State is just one of the 215 college baseball teams participating in the Central Florida Collegiate Baseball Invitational. The competition will go on until the end of March and other big name schools participating include: UConn, Indiana, Illinois and Miami (OH). Ohio State played a double header today in Winter Haven (photos), with their second contest against Maine. With a busy day ahead, I couldn’t stay for the whole game, so it was off to Lakeland to catch a little of the Orange Cup Regatta.

1:30pm – After the short drive to Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland (known as the “Lake of Records” in the boat racing community), I was ready to see some of the many classes of speed boats racing around the course on Lake Hollingsworth. I wasn’t the only one either. Cars (and even campers) lined the 2+ mile banks of the lake to take in the action. It was a pretty cool atmosphere that even reminded me of a NASCAR race a little. I was able to catch several classes in action, including one of the most exciting, the Jersey Speed Skiffs. These boats started out way back in the day as rum running boats. Now they use their speed for other things. The Orange Cup Regatta is in its 72nd running this year. I knew the races would be going on tomorrow too, so I left Lake Hollingsworth (after snapping these photos) to make the short drive to The Lakeland Center, home to the FHSAA state basketball championships. The class 4A State Championship tipped off at 3:30pm.

3:30pm – Just in time to see the tip-off between Cocoa High School and Springstead for the 4A title. Cocoa is the team that knocked off local favorite Bartow High School in the state semifinal round. They played a tough game against the undefeated Springstead team. Tough enough to hand them their first loss of the season and win the state championship (75-60). A great crowd was on hand for this event too (Photos here). I wasn’t the only one enjoying this sports-filled day.

5pm – The last stop on my tour of one of Polk County’s biggest sports days was the brand new Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale. The Central Florida Collegiate Baseball Invitational is the first event to be held at the new complex. There were several games going on as I arrived and I had a chance to see not one, not two, but five college baseball games (photos here). Some of the teams in action at Lake Myrtle when I was there included Grand Valley State, Saginaw Valley, RPI, Assumption and Kings College (PA). Lake Myrtle is a great place to see these games because you can get up close to the action. The layout is great too because you can see several games going on at once.

6:30pm – Time to call it a day after several different sports and several different venues.

Keep in mind that this day did not include a Detroit Tigers Spring Training game (they were on the road against the Phillies in Clearwater). It is probably a good thing they were on the road since that would have thrown a serious wrench in my sports day planning. There really wasn’t any room for that anyway. By the way, they are at Joker Marchant Stadium tomorrow against the Yankees. If you would like to have the same type of day I had, you can tomorrow because it will all start back up again when the sun comes up. Just sub the Tigers/Yankees game for the FHSAA Finals (which ended today) and you are all set.

Oh, and if you are wondering what it cost to see all this action….$16. That’s right….$9 for the FHSAA Finals, $7 for the Central Florida Collegiate Invitational and zero for the Orange Cup Regatta. Who says admission to sporting events will make you go broke (see the above mentioned Yankees).

If you live in the Lakeland area, no that isn’t a large swarm of bees coming towards your house. It is the 72nd running of the Orange Cup Regatta on Lake Hollingsworth. The boat races wil begin with testing today at 11am and racing begins Saturday at 10am and Sunday at noon. As always, admission to the races is free and fans can get up close and personal with the drivers and boats in the open pit area by the Lakeland Yacht Club. Lake Hollingsworth is known in the boat racing community as the “Lake of Records” for the frequency world records are broken on the course there. This weekend’s weather is looking great, so there should be plenty of records falling in Lakeland with boat racers coming from across the country to compete in several different classes of boats. Be sure to make it down to Lake Hollingsworth this weekend to see what all the noise is about.