COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 7, 2021) – USA Volleyball has announced that Orlando will host the Sunshine Classic Girls Qualifier through 2025. The event will be held annually at the Orange County Convention Center, with the 2022 edition scheduled for April 1-3.
“We are happy to partner with the Orange County Convention Center and GO Sports in bringing the Sunshine Classic Qualifier back to Orlando for the next four years,” USA Volleyball President and CEO Jamie Davis said. “The Sunshine Classic is a premier qualifying tournament for the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship, and we know that our athletes, families, officials and staff love all that Orlando offers as a destination for them.”
The Sunshine Classic is one of 12 qualifiers that feed into the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship. Qualifying season for the 2022 national championship in Indianapolis (June 23-July 4) begins March 5-7 at the Salt Lake City Showdown.
“We value our longtime partnership with USA Volleyball, and we thank them for their continued confidence in the Center of Hospitality,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “We look forward to the prospect of working with USA Volleyball and the Sunshine Qualifier.”
In 2021, more than 1,100 teams competed at the Sunshine Classic, and USA Volleyball awarded 36 bids to the national championship.
“We are so pleased to welcome back the Sunshine Classic Girls Qualifier, featuring the best indoor volleyball athletes from across the United States for the next four years,” said GO Sports President and CEO Jason Siegel. “On behalf of our partners at the OCCC, Orange County and Visit Orlando, we are looking forward to providing an exceptional experience for all of the coaches, athletes and families that will be traveling to our community for the event.”
About USA Volleyball
Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and World ParaVolley as the National Governing Body for the sport of volleyball including the disciplines of beach, indoor, sitting, snow and beach ParaVolley in the United States. With more than 425,000 registered members, USA Volleyball conducts national championship events, coaching and officials certification programs, and grassroots development across all disciplines in a lifetime sport in which all can participate. USA Volleyball’s teams have won an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984, four Paralympic medals since 2004 and numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles. #PathtothePodium
About the Orange County Convention Center
The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) has hosted more than 100 face-to-face events since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic – July 2020. Through the Center’s Recovery and Resiliency Guidelines, GBAC STAR accreditation, pioneering collaboration with Orlando Health, and detailed planning efforts with each client and event, the center has proven that events can be held safely in this new era of health and safety protocols. Most recently, sporting events have dominated the center’s spring and summer calendar, welcoming various youth volleyball, basketball and wrestling tournaments to the region with athletes, coaches and spectators from around the world gathering safely at the venue.
About Greater Orlando Sports Commission
GO Sports is a private, nonprofit organization established to attract and manage sports-related events, conferences and activities that drive positive economic development in the City of Orlando, Lake County, Orange County, Osceola County, and Seminole County. Founded in 1993, the organization has hosted or co-hosted more than 1,450 events in the Greater Orlando area with a total economic impact exceeding $1.9 billion in spending within the community. For more information, please visit GreaterOrlandoSports.com.