TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 2019 Sunshine State Games will partner with Experience Florida’s Sports Coast on Friday, May 17, 2019, to recognize its annual Figure Skating Championships in Wesley Chapel as its Olympic Day for the Games.
Olympic Day is a celebration of the Olympic Movement and the joy of sport by millions of people around the world. An initiative stemming from the International Olympic Committee, Olympic Day was created in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on June 23, 1894. On that day, delegates from 12 countries unanimously approved Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s proposal to revive the Olympic Games, and two years later the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896.
The worldwide celebration aims to promote fitness, well-being, culture and education, while also observing the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. The Olympic Day pillars – move, learn and discover – are promoted in every corner of the globe. Olympic Day creates opportunities for people to participate in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.
“Partnering with Experience Florida’s Sports Coast and the USOC to host Olympic Day at the Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships is an honor,” commented Marvin E. Green, Jr., Florida Sports Foundation Vice President of Amateur Sports & Events. “The Games strive to promote and maintain the core values of the Olympic spirit in every one of its events. We are proud to celebrate this momentous occasion.”
In 2019, the Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships will be one of 24 state-wide events that will host Olympic Day celebrations. Currently, 46,141 estimated participants will take place in the Florida-based Olympic Day events throughout the year. In total, the United States currently has 47 of its states hosting the combined 335 events of Olympic Day, seeing 150,160 estimated participants nationwide.
While Olympic Day is celebrated nationally on June 23 of each year, the USOC partners with local events that carry the spirit of the Olympics and its values throughout the year.
“For the second year in-a-row, we’re excited to host the Sunshine State Games and are very proud to be the only SSG event that joined the Olympic Day movement,” said Consuelo Sanchez, Sports Development & Tourism Manager with Experience Florida’s Sports Coast. “Since the ice rink opened in 2017, our destination has attracted regional, national, and international figure skaters to call the AdventHealth Center Ice their training home, and it has put Florida’s Sports Coast on the Figure Skating map. We are happy to support any effort that helps develop Figure Skating and the Sunshine State Games.”
For a complete listing of the 2019 Olympic Day events throughout the United States, click here.
Olympic Day in the United States
The United States began celebrating Olympic Day in 2009, and it has continued to grow each year. In 2018, more than 560,000 individuals participated in 2,400 Olympic Day celebrations all across the country. Host organizations and cities joined more than 950 Olympians, Paralympians, coaches and hopefuls in celebrating Olympism in their communities.
About the Sunshine State Games
The Sunshine State Games are presented annually by the Florida Sports Foundation (FSF), the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization, and a division of Enterprise Florida, Inc. The Foundation works in conjunction with a variety of local sports industry partners to present the different competitions. The Sunshine State Games, an annual amateur sports tradition in Florida, is part of the state’s $57.4 billion sports industry that accounts for 580,000 jobs statewide.
About Florida’s Sports Coast
Florida’s Sports Coast offers travelers the chance to score once-in-a-lifetime memories with thrilling athletic opportunity. Home to 742 square miles of rolling green hills, scenic coastlines, countless amateur sports venues and complexes, picturesque trails and rich culture, this active destination offers game-changing experiences for everyone to enjoy— all situated on the beloved Gulf of Mexico. The sports-inspired lifestyle is celebrated in numerous aspects of today’s society and this motto is a promise to travelers that meaningful and epic activities can be found across this energetic destination.