Catch Central Florida » Polk County Sports

Lance Armstrong to Compete in Haines City Ironman 70.3

Kris Keprios — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:26:59 +0000

While all of Polk County was already excited about hosting an Ironman 70.3 Florida event in May, the excitement has now built to a fever pitch as it was announced today that one of the participants in the event is one of the most well known athletes in the world. The Lance Armstrong Foundation announced today a new partnership with Ironman to help raise more than $1 million for people affected by cancer. Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, champion cyclist and the Foundation’s founder and chairman, will compete as a professional athlete in several Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races, including Ironman 70.3 Florida, held at Lake Eva Park in Haines City. Haines City will host the Ironman 70.3 event May 20, after the event was recruited to Polk County by Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing in 2011. The event will be held annually in Haines City through 2016. Also part of the weekend will be the IronKids Florida event that will take place on Saturday, May 19, also held at Lake Eva Park in Haines City. The IronKids Florida event features a swim in Lake Eva, out-and-back bike course and finish with a run through Lake Eva Park and is for children ages six to 15 who compete in different divisions.

Other races Armstrong will participate in throughout the world include: Ironman 70.3 Panama, Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas, Ironman 70.3 Hawaii and Ironman France. Armstrong is racing with the goal of qualifying for the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, on Oct. 13, 2012, and will be competing as a member of Team LIVESTRONG, which is adding these Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races to its endurance events series designed to raise funds for people affected by cancer. “I am grateful to Ironman for partnering with LIVESTRONG to raise funds and awareness for people affected by cancer,” said Armstrong. “In my career as an athlete and as a cancer advocate, I’ve learned that progress demands partnership, but it’s not without a struggle. And that’s what Team LIVESTRONG is about – it’s about purpose; it’s about challenge and it’s about empowering survivors to fight like hell. There’s progress to be made with cancer and we invite anyone up for the challenge to join Team LIVESTRONG.

“At 13 years old, Lance got his start in triathlon by racing in the IronKids Series,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of World Triathlon Corporation. “At 16 years old, he went pro and was considered a star in our sport. At only 18, he was racing against the best triathletes in the world: Mark Allen, Dave Scott and Scott Molina. We are happy to have him return to our sport. Lance is a fierce competitor and his involvement with Ironman and Ironman 70.3 is good for triathlon.”

“Lance’s involvement at perhaps the toughest one-day event in all of sport sheds light on what surviving cancer can mean to millions around the world,” said Scott Tinley, two-time Ironman World Champion and Ironman Hall of Fame Inductee. “I remember Lance as a determined kid who channeled that competitive spirit into an amazing career as a cyclist, survivor and advocate for survivors of a horrible disease. A partnership between LIVESTRONG and Ironman will further improve the lives of people affected by cancer. People need to realize that Lance’s foundation represents the use of sport to improve our world. There are only positive things that can come from having Lance join the Ironman family.”

“It is exciting to see Lance Armstrong, one of the greatest-ever endurance athletes, coming back to race triathlons in 2012,” said Craig Alexander, three-time Ironman World Champion and two-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion.

“Lance is an exceptional athlete; he’s the type of person who wants to excel and be the best at whatever he puts his mind to,” said Chris Lieto, multiple Ironman and Ironman 70.3 champion. “I’m excited to see how his participation in our sport will draw attention to what it takes to be a triathlete and how challenging it can be. It will definitely bring triathlon more into the mainstream and I know pro athletes, including myself, will look forward to racing with him at future events.”

Additional information about Lance Armstrong’s participation in Ironman 70.3 Florida can be found at VisitCentralFlorida.org.

Lakeland Raiders Fan Fest

Emily Leineweber — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:48:10 +0000

As the regular football season comes to a close, many fans are beginning to wonder what they will do with their time. Luckily the patrons of Polk County will be continuing on the football tradition with the inaugural season of the Lakeland Raiders indoor football team. In order to start the season off right, the team will be hosting Lakeland Raiders Fan Fest on Saturday, February 11, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at The Lakeland Center.

Events to look forward to throughout the day include:

Free Raiders Inaugural Season Posters to first 1,500 Fans
Coaches and Player pictures and autograph signings
Fan Fest Season Ticket Specials
Kids Zone, Games, Face Painting
Giveaways All Day Long
Fan Contests
Meet and Greet with Coaches, Players and Dancers
See Live Football Drills
Raiders4Kids Youth Teams And Junior Dancer Sign Ups
Drink and Food Specials
Raiders 2012 Merchandise on Sale
Try Out to Sing the National Anthem
Try Out To Be The Voice of the Raiders
2012 Raiders Model Search Sign Ups

This event is completely free to everyone so come out and enjoy food, football, and get an inside look at the newest team in the United Indoor Football League. Don’t forget to check out the home game schedule and be the first to get your tickets at www.lakelandraiders.com.

Enduring Warrior Dash Central Florida

Joe Cutler — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:45:18 +0000

As a young boy your mother expects you to play in the dirt, get muddy, ruin clothes and destroy shoes. Somewhere along the line you get older, take down the “no girls allowed” sign in front of the tree house, and eventually trade in the tree house for a real house in an effort to mature and move forward. No one expects that at age 25 you’d still be playing in the mud. Then again with an event like Warrior Dash, where you’re encouraged to throw on a pair of Superman briefs, a makeshift cape, crawl, swim, and jump through mud, on top of cars, under barbed wire and over fire, how could you resist?

I had the opportunity to partake in Warrior Dash Central Florida 2012. My friend and I showed up an hour before our start time so that we could grab our registration packets: a horned warrior helmet, athletic Warrior Dash t-shirt, bib and timing chip.

There were around 500 people in our 11:00 a.m. wave, and we started off with a light jog for 100 yards. The first obstacle was getting through the thickest, heaviest, black muck I’d ever encountered. It was military grade mud, if such exists. Overzealous participants had to look for help getting out after sinking knee deep. The wave had thinned. Now weighting about 20 pounds more than when I started, I jogged to the next obstacle – a barricade breakdown where we had to lift ourselves over a bar and immediately under barbed wire several times. Remember, my hands and shoes are caked with mud.

Just past the barbed wire, we got our balance and walked up and over a six inch wide ramp. After a short jog, we jumped and crawled over a 50 yard stretch of tires and junk cars. Past the last car I could see the climbing wall. Not too difficult to pull myself up with the rope, slide over and crawl down. I’m feeling good at this point.

Immediately after the wall there was a deep pool of what appeared to be clean water. I was relieved. The sign said, “Deep Water.” I’m good, I can swim. Easy part, right? Splash! The sign should have read, “Freezing Deep Water.” My body was stunned; it was pretty difficult to swim and pull myself up, and over, the floating barriers in my path. Once out of the water, we had a half mile jog through sand lined with motivational signs saying things like “Don’t worry, we didn’t train for this either,” and “Don’t let Dale from Accounting beat you.”

The next obstacle was a large manmade sand dune we had to climb up and over. Simple enough I thought, but stationed on the back side of the dune was an airboat blowing water directly into my face. A nice breeze in the middle of Warrior Dash? Not exactly. Next up was elevated cargo nets we had to crawl across. I was careful not to slip for fear I wouldn’t be able to get back upright in a timely manner.

At this point we had a mile to go. After a quarter mile run through sand, the next obstacle was a 50 yard trek through a waist deep section of mud. Done. My legs are good and tired as I approach the next obstacle of army crawling under ropes hanging less than a foot off the ground. My whole body was feeling the burn, literally, as I attempted to leap over rows of thigh high flames. Yes flames, as in real fire. I remember thinking, “This can’t be safe,” but I’d made it to the final obstacle. Or did I? After clearing the last smoky pile, I turned towards the finish line and saw a murky, muddy trench with barbed wire strung across, close to 20 yards long. Back to crawling and swallowing gritty, sandy, smelly clay water. I was ready Warrior Dash to be over. After sprinting through the finish line, I was thrilled to receive my medal and a fresh drink of water.

Repeat! Yes, I had so much fun the first time, I ran Warrior Dash again that same day.

After the race, my friend and I walked around, turned in our timing chips, watched a concert for a little while, and soon noticed that the race crowd had grown into a huge outdoor party. Surprisingly, everyone was outgoing and friendly; the post race camaraderie was like nothing I’ve been involved with before. You can expect to see me at Warrior Dash Central Florida 2013!

This Week in Sports

Kris Keprios — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:00:49 +0000

United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Fall National Championships
Dates: 10/1 – 10/3
Venue: Lake Myrtle Sports Park – Auburndale
- This event will bring in over 300 participants and over 200 spectators to Polk County.
- For more information please visit www.usssa.com or www.centralfloridasports.com

Florida Half Century (FHC) Softball
Dates: 10/1 – 10/3
Venue: Auburndale Softball Complex – Auburndale, Diamondplex – Winter Haven
- This FHC event will bring in over 50 teams and over 500 spectators to Polk County.
- For more information please visit www.centralfloridasports.com

National Softball Association (NSA) – SHOCKTOBERFEST
Dates: 10/1 – 10/3
Venue: Diamondplex – Winter Haven
- This NSA event will bring in over 500 participants and over 500 spectators to Polk County.
- For more information please visit www.playnsa.com or www.centralfloridasports.com

Sports Central TV

Kris Keprios — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:52:01 +0000

There are many options on TV when it comes to watching sports, but there aren’t many when it comes to shows that cover local sports in the Central Florida area. Be sure to tune in to “Sports Central” on PGTV to catch up on the latest in the world of sports in Polk County and around the state. The show airs every day on PGTV, which is carried on Bright House Networks (Ch. 622), Comcast (Ch. 5) and Verizon Fios (Ch. 22), and features interviews with event organizers, local sports stars and segments featuring events that have been hosted in Polk County. Here is a schedule of when you can catch the show:

Sundays at 8:00 pm
Mondays at 8:00 am
Tuesdays at 3:00 am
Wednesdays at 11:00 pm
Thursdays at 4:30 pm
Fridays at 12:00 pm
Saturdays at 6:00 pm

Don’t have any of the cable providers we listed? Well, as long as you have a computer, you can always catch the show there. Visit the Polk County website and click on the PGTV link at the bottom of the page for live streaming.

October Begins with A Flurry of Sports

Kris Keprios — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:45:50 +0000

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.

This Week in Sports

Kris Keprios — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:42:12 +0000

Following a VERY busy weekend that featured the 30th Annual Sunshine State Games that brought 4,000 athletes to the area, we are gearing up for another busy weekend of sports in Polk County. Here is the rundown:

Florida Five Star Girls Team Classic
Date: 6/19 – 6/21
Venue:Polk Community College, Auburndale
- The Florida Five Star will bring in over 650 participants and over 200 spectators
For more information check out www.5starbball.com or www.centralfloridasports.com

Central Florida Summer HOOPfest YBOA Open Invitational
Dates: 6/19 – 6/21
Venue: Polk County School Board Gyms, Polk Community College
- The YBOA Hoopfest will bring in over 1000 participants into Polk County for the three day tournament.
For more information on this and other YBOA events check out www.YBOA.org and www.centralfloridasports.com

World Amateur Baseball Association (WABA) Florida Cup
Dates: 6/20 – 6/21
Venue: Chain of Lakes Complex
- This WABA Florida Cup event will bring 25 teams and their families and fans into Polk County for a two day event.
For more information on WABA events check out www.wababaseball.com and www.centralfloridasports.com