Summer is the season many consider the perfect time for a vacation to rest, relax and rejuvenate, but not in ‘Tournament Town’ in 2022. This summer, Greensboro is hosting the YMCA Long Course National Swimming Championships, the AAU Junior Olympic Games and the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship – all in a three-week span that will demonstrate the variety and impact of sports tourism in the area.
The crown jewel of this summer stretch is the 2022 AAU Junior Olympic games set for July 26-Aug. 6, boasting a staggering $38 million estimated economic impact. The Junior Olympics, last hosted in Greensboro in 2019, brings 18,000 athletes and more than 40,000 event attendees including athletes, families and fans. According to the AAU, the Track & Field portion of this event is the largest track event in the world.
“This lineup of summer events is a perfect example of how sports tourism is a key economic development driver in our region,” said Greensboro Sports Foundation president and CEO Richard Beard. “The economic impact of just these three summer events is nearly $70 million. We’re proud to host these great events and appreciate the efforts of Henri Fourrier and his team at the Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau for landing the AAU Junior Olympics in 2019, answering the call to bring the event back this year and scheduling its return to Tournament Town again in 2024. It’s also a credit to the hundreds of volunteers whose dedicated, hospitable, welcoming nature make Tournament Town known nationwide.”
The Junior Olympic athletes will compete in 12 sports contested on the Marcus T. Johnson Track at NC A&T State University, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex including the Greensboro Aquatic Center, as well as Wake Forest University. The event schedule is below; all events are at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex unless otherwise noted:
- Trampoline and Tumbling (July 26-29)
- Wrestling (July 26-29)
- Baton Twirling (July 27-30)
- Karate (July 27-29)
- Sport Stacking (July 28-30)
- Swimming (July 28-31)
- Taekwando (July 29-Aug. 3)
- Track & Field, NC A&T State University (July 29-Aug 6)
- Jump Rope (July 30-Aug. 3)
- Basketball (July 31-Aug. 3)
- Fencing (July 31-Aug. 3)
- Field Hockey, Wake Forest University (Aug. 1-3)
The Greensboro Aquatic Center hosted the YMCA Long Course National Swimming Championships July 19-23; the YMCA Long Course Nationals last took place in 2019 in College Park, Md., (YMCA of the USA cancelled the 2020 and ‘21 championships in conjunction with recommendations from the Center for Disease Control). This year’s event brought approximately 600 swimmers representing YMCA swim clubs from across the country and generate an estimated economic impact of more than $2 Million.
The 83rd annual Wyndham Championship, founded as the Greater Greensboro Open in 1938, is set for Aug. 3-7 at Sedgefield Country Club during the second week of the AAU Junior Olympics. The PGA TOUR’s sixth-oldest tournament is the final regular-season event which sets the field for the FedExCup playoffs starting the following week. PGA TOUR broadcasts are available to more than a billion homes in 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. The broadcast exposure central North Carolina enjoys through the Wyndham Championship pushes its estimated economic impact to more than $30 Million.
“We are thrilled to welcome many of the best golfers in the world to Sedgefield Country Club in August,” Beard said. “Having the PGA TOUR in our market each year is huge for our region, and when you can bring about 100,000 fans to a four-day event, it definitely drives economic development. The international television exposure we receive is truly priceless. The AAU Junior Olympics are happening during the Wyndham Championship, and late that week, we have a site visit from the international committee deciding if the 2027 World University Games will be in North Carolina or South Korea. It’s a great time to be a sports fan in Greensboro!”
About the Greensboro Sports Foundation:
The Greensboro Sports Foundation is a North Carolina non-profit organization which serves as the Local Organizing Committee for amateur sports events contested at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, which proudly includes the Greensboro Aquatic Center, and throughout Greensboro. Incorporated as the Tournament Hosts of Greensboro in 1993, the Greensboro Sports Foundation was founded in 2018, rebranded as the Greensboro Sports Foundation and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) designated organization.
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