With many exhilarating events this past year, 2017 was an important year for the sport tourism industry! Here’s what to look forward to in wrapping up 2017 as well as events happening in the first few months of 2018 in Maryland.
Ending the exciting year with a bang is the Governor’s Challenge in Wicomico County, the country’s largest holiday basketball tournament. Governor’s Challenge is held in Salisbury, Md. and is in its 37th year, bringing roughly 120 teams to the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center and its surrounding high schools. The Governor’s Challenge will take place from December 26th-30th.
One of this year’s exceptional bowl games is the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, taking place at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 28th. The Military Bowl, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, will feature a matchup between representatives from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the American Athletic Conference. The Military Bowl serves as a premier regional event benefiting the United Service Organizations (USO) and other organizations supporting members of the Armed Forces and their families. Since its inception in 2008, the Bowl has donated more than $700,000 to the USO and provided more than 25,000 complimentary tickets for troops and their families. This year, the U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen will take on the University of Virginia Cavaliers at 1:30p.m.
Also on the 28th, the 9th Annual Chris Sole Holiday Hoops Classic will take place in Charles County with Westlake and North Point High Schools being the two main sites for the two-day holiday hoops tournament.
Carrying us in to the 2018 new year, we have events such as the 15th Annual PHUNT 25k/50k Trail Race in TEAM Maryland partner county, Cecil County as well as BithEnergy MLK 5K in Howard County, Md. Aside from trail runs and races, Prince George’s County will be hosting several gymnastics meets at Fairland Sports and Aquatics Center throughout 2018, starting with the Blue Moon Excel Invitational. Fairland will also host the Maryland State Trampoline Clinic in January.
LaxCon, hosted by US Lacrosse, will be coming to the Baltimore Convention Center January 19th-21st. Some key characters speaking at the convention will include current Johns Hopkins Women’s Lacrosse head Coach Janine Tucker, current University of Maryland women’s lacrosse head coach Cathy Reese, current Duke University Men’s lacrosse head coachJohn Danowski as well as several other lacrosse celebs.
To top it all off, the beginning of March will be an exciting time for hockey enthusiasts who would like a change of scenery from their normal arena setting. On March 3rd, Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis will be replacing their football field with ice as the Washington Capitals take on the Toronto Maple Leafs ay 8p.m. as part of the 2018 NHL Stadium Series.
For more exciting events coming to the State of Maryland in 2018, please visit our website for what is upcoming. From the staff at Maryland’s Sports Commission, we wish you all a happy and safe Holiday break as well as a Happy New Year!
