2023 Sunshine State Games Polk County Festival Features Three Sports This Weekend

The 2023 Sunshine State Games Polk County Festival begins Saturday with over 600 athletes in action competing in Table Tennis, Taekwondo and Wakeboard. The Polk County Festival is presented in conjunction with Visit Central Florida Sports.

The Polk State College Winter Haven Health Center hosts nearly 400 Taekwondo athletes beginning Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.

Prior to the start of competition, athletes and spectators will be treated to a “don’t miss,” Opening Ceremony performance by a pair of Demonstration Teams. The teams will perform a variety of synchronized Poomsae routines, acrobatic board breaking feats and general high-performance activities.

Master Vahid Smith from the U.S. Taekwondo Academy, in Tampa, will lead an opening seven-minute demonstration to encourage more Demonstration Teams to compete in future years. The Academy’s performance will be followed by the Florida State Demonstration Team and Grand Master Dongnyeok Kang, from the World Champions Center, with three Tampa Bay area locations.

“Master Kang’s team does some of the most dramatic high flying board breaks in the State of Florida,” said Sunshine State Games Taekwondo Sport Director, Master James White, of Tampa.

Another highlight of the competition will be the Second Annual Family Poomsae competition. After seeing the Family Poomsae routines in 2022, many promised to return in 2023 and join the family fun. Over 30 individuals have registered for the Family Poomsae on Saturday morning.

Onsite registration is available for Taekwondo at the Polk State College Winter Haven Health Center Friday afternoon/evening from 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. Athletes can register for Sunday events on Saturday, from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. at Polk State College.

The epicenter of Florida Table Tennis, Lakeland’s Simpson Park Community Center, hosts two days of Sunshine State Games events beginning Saturday morning.

The Sunshine State Games Championships is a USA Table Tennis Sanctioned event and athletes have the opportunity to gain rating points for their individual performances.

On Sunday, the Florida Sports Foundation will recognize the 2022 Sunshine State Games Male Athlete of the Year, Chi Chan, of Orlando. Chan is a regular competitor, and medal winner, in Sunshine State Games and Florida Senior Games events.

At the 2022 Sunshine State Games, he won gold medal in the Open Division and 50%2B Division. In his last Florida Senior Games appearance, in 2020, he won gold medals in men’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles. He also won the Men’s Singles 50-54 age group gold medal at the 2017 National Senior Games. Chan will compete in three events on Sunday.

The inaugural Sunshine State Games Wakeboard event will be held at Elite Cable Park, in Auburndale, on Saturday and Sunday. Over 100 athletes are on the water for Wakeboard, Wakesurf and Foil Lake competition on Saturday and Wake Park and Features Lake events on Sunday.

Athletes from all over Florida including national and world champions, according to Corrie Wilson, Executive Director of the World Wake Association. Kira Lewis, an 18-year old now training in Clermont, won back-to-back World Titles at the 2018 WWA World Championships in Japan and at the 2019 World Championships in Mexico.

Also competing is Dayle Cartwright, of Naples, who was a two-time 2022 National Champion in the Veterans 40+ Features and Veterans 40+ Traditional Divisions.

Wakeboard will also offer onsite registration on Saturday and Sunday mornings beginning at 8:00 a.m.

Looking ahead to next week’s action, the Sunshine State Games Water Polo Championships, to be held at the Rosen Aquatic Center in Orlando, the weekend schedule is now available. A total of 57 teams will be playing in eight divisions from 12 and Under Coed through Men’s and Women’s Open. CLICK HERE to see the schedule that begins on Friday, June 23, and continues through Sunday, June 25

Through this weekend, over 5,000 of Florida’s Finest Athletes have competed in 14 Sunshine State Games events in eight different Florida communities.

Sunshine State Games Schedule, Polk County Festival, June 16-18 – Subject to change
Friday, June 16
2:00-8:00 p.m.: Taekwondo Onsite Registration, Polk State College Winter Haven Health Center