SportsTravel Podcast

The National Council of Youth Sports has member organizations that go beyond just sports organizations. Destination marketing organizations are also involved as are groups whose missions it is to foster a great youth sports experience. But the sports organizations that belong to the National Council of Youth Sports represent some of the largest groups by participation in the country. Some 60 million young people are registered to play sports in these member organizations, making the council the perfect place to engage in deeper conversations about youth sports. And that’s some of what we’ll dive into in this deep conversation with Wayne Moss, who has been the organization’s executive director since 2018. Specifically, we’re going to discuss the top of safety in youth sports, a topic that encompasses not only emotional and physical safety in the form of abuse prevention but also physical safety when it comes to preventing injuries on the field of play. And as the country saw in real time last season when the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin nearly lost his life during a Monday night football game, this topic is especially top of mind of late.

Youth safety is one of several themes that will also be part of the council’s upcoming National Youth Sports Week, an opportunity to engage in a deeper dialogue nationwide about youth sports. National Youth Sports Week will be the first week of October in 2023 and will coincide with our TEAMS Conference and Expo, which will be held October 2nd through the 5th in the Palm Beaches of Florida. Wayne Moss will be one of our featured speakers at the conference as we delve even deeper into the topic of youth sports safety. But in this conversation, you’ll get a preview of that discussion and a greater understanding of the work that the National Council of Youth Sports is putting into that dialogue. 

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Sustainability has never been a more important factor in the sports market with events that are some of the most high-profile in the world. Tim Trefzer has led sustainability efforts at Mercedes Benz Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff and the Atlanta Falcons among others. He also co-founded the Sustainable Sport index, the sports industry’s first benchmark of sustainability. SportsTravel Managing Editor Matt Traub talked with Tim recently on how sports organizations can use its events to educate people about climate change, how much sustainability has increased as a priority in sports and its venues, the most important topics of focus still needed for sports venues to be sustainable and much more.

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The second annual TEAMS Europe included leading experts from global organizations including the National Football League, the International Olympic Committee, World Rugby, the International Tennis Federation, LaLiga, Major League Baseball and more.

TEAMS—the world’s leading conference and expo for the sports-event industry—unites sport event organizers with destinations, venues and suppliers interested in hosting or supporting their events. The conference returned to the ExCeL Center in London from June 27–29, 2023. In addition to business development through a marketplace with pre-arranged appointments, the conference featured educational sessions focused on some of the most significant events and issues in the industry today.

1:48: How North American Professional Sports Have Found New Markets 

12:00: Rugby World Cup: 2023 And Beyond

21:22: Games Learning: Best Practices from the Olympic Movement 

29:10: The Legal Arena: Trends You Need to Know 

36:35: Sustainability Now: How Your Organization Can Be More Responsible 

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USA Gymnastics is looking to build a national training and wellness center that will serve as the hub for the national governing body and has issued a request of expressions of interest directed at destinations and real estate developers targeting a 2026 project completion, said President and Chief Executive Officer Li Li Leung during a discussion on the SportsTravel Podcast.

The NGB is seeking a partner to design, build, operate and maintain a campus comprising a modern training and wellness center and ancillary facilities for the national team in various disciplines as well as develop the overall grassroots growth of the sport. USA Gymnastics does not have a centralized training and wellness center currently. The new center may also become home to the NGB's national headquarters.

In this episode, Leung discusses why the NGB is seeking the new location as well as preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games.

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You wouldn’t be much of a sports fan if you didn’t have a bucket list of events you want to see in person before you, well, kick the bucket, as it were. While plenty of people talk about such a list, few of us write it down, and even fewer of us set out to actually accomplish it. And that makes David Carter unique. Carter is a national authority on sports business and strategic marketing, and the author of four books about the sport business industry. He founded the Sports Business Group in 1999 following more than 10 years of consulting for the sports and entertainment industries, and he’s an adjunct professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business with an emphasis on sports.

But perhaps of even greater interest, Carter has set out with his best friend to tackle their own bucket list of sports events — 25 events before they turn 75 years old. Carter is serious about the endeavor as well. He’s put his list to a spreadsheet, with ground rules about what events he’d like to see and where. No country can be visited twice. No sport should be watched twice. These are just some of the ground rules. But the effort also comes with considerable planning and more than a few lessons about why you should put some thought into planning your own list should you try to tackle it. In this conversation, SportsTravel Executive Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz talks with Carter about what he’s learned some nine events into his own list of 25 events and what observations he has about today’s hottest issues and trends in sports events.

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USA Boxing Executive Director Mike McAtee discussed the years-long process in coming with plans for a new international federation in the wake of the IOC’s expulsion of the International Boxing Association, the various issues the national governing body has had with the IBA — including fight manipulation — and more in this episode. McAtee also discussed the future plans for World Boxing; whether the international drama surrounding the sport has been a topic of discussion at USA Boxing events; and the recent news that the IOC has promised boxing's spot in the LA28 program is secure.

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Dr. Kris Alexander had an upbringing not unlike many of us in that when he discovered the joy and excitement of video games, he never looked back. But unlike many of us, he has turned that passion into a successful career, not just playing the games but educating the future work force that will help the industry continue to flourish and thrive. As professor of video games at Toronto Metropolitan University, Alexander has built a program that now includes about 300 students and has produced the Red Bull Gaming Hub, an active events center that serves as not just a laboratory of sorts for his students, but a functioning venue that has hosted esports and other neighborhood events.

As you’ll see from this discussion, Alexander is passionate about video games and esports and has a compelling case to make as to the benefits that games can bring in educating students and as sources of continued business development. In this conversation with SportsTravel Executive Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz, Alexander goes into his own fascinating background in video games as a player, his transition to academia, the future of esports and video gaming and some behind-the-scenes insight on what it takes to successfulyl execute a TED Talk viewed by more than 1 million people.

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Jim Scherr was named the first chief executive officer of World Lacrosse in 2017. Prior to that, he was CEO of the United States Olympic Committee from 2003 to 2009. Scherr, who competed as a wrestler at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, was the first Olympian to serve in that position with the USOC. Before joining the USOC, Scherr served as executive director of USA Wrestling from 1990 to 2000, and also was the National Collegiate Hockey Conference commissioner from 2012­ to 2013. During his time at World Lacrosse, Scherr has grown the sport globally ahead of the 2023 World Lacrosse Championships from June 21-July 1 in San Diego.

Scherr discusses the World Championships with teams from 30 nations competing for the championship, getting a version of lacrosse on the docket for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, his background in the Olympic movement, the social media power of the Premier Lacrosse League and much more.

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Izell Reese is the chief executive officer of RCX Sports, a youth sports experiences business, running and operating leagues, camps, combines, tournaments and events. Reese has been the Executive Director of NFL Flag since October 2019, working closely with the NFL to expand the sport of flag football around the world. RCX has also recently entered into partnerships with the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer for youth programs. Before entering the youth sports world, Reese played safety in the NFL for seven years.

Reese describes how his experiences in youth sports and the NFL influence how he works as CEO at RCX Sports; partnering with the NFL on NFL Flag and the exposure the sport got from the Pro Bowl; new alignments with the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer; strategies on increasing participation of girls in youth sports; and a special moment coming for him in his hometown of Dothan, Alabama 

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One of two international federations in the esports world, the International Esports Federation’s mission is to further esports on a global scale. With 130 member national federations, IESF president Vlad Marinescu discusses esports on a global level, the international outlook for the industry, esports at the grassroots level around the world compared to the United States, the tightening of financial backing within the professional esports space, esports’ possible place in the Olympic sports landscape and much more.

This episode is sponsored by the EsportsTravel Summit, the world’s largest gathering of esports tournament and video-game event organizers and the only event focused on the travel side of the esports industry. Presented by SportsTravel and hosted by Destination Toronto, the 2023 EsportsTravel Summit will be held July 12–14, 2023, in Toronto. The biggest brands in the esports world will attend the event and their representatives are featured as presenters. For more details on everything planned, please visit esportstravelsummit.com.

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