Polk County will host FHSAA state championships for 6 sports in Lakeland, Winter Haven
Polk County is becoming a bigger home to FHSAA state championships, as four more tournaments will be added to the two the county currently hosts.
The FHSAA on Friday announced that in addition to boys and girls basketball returning to the RP Funding Center, the state tournaments for boys and girls volleyball and boys and girls weightlifting are coming to the county. The boys and girls basketball state tournaments have been held in Lakeland consecutively since the mid-'90s.
The boys and girls weightlifting championships will be held at the RP Funding Center, while Polk State College in Winter Haven will serve as host for boys and girls volleyball.
“The commitments being made by each of these organizations, along with Polk County’s overall location, amenities and track record for hosting state championship events in the past, makes this a winning formula for all involved,” FHSAA executive director Craig Damon said in a news release.
The tournaments coming to town are the result of a newly formed partnership between Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing, the RP Funding Center, Polk State College and Polk County Public Schools.
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“PCPS is honored to work with PCTSM and our local partners to host state championships for the FHSAA,” Polk athletic director Dan Talbot said. “PCPS will collaborate with the RP Funding Center and Polk State College to host championship matchups for basketball, volleyball and weightlifting. Each competition will bring significant numbers of visitors, creating a tremendous economic impact for our area. Polk County is well known for hosting high profile FHSAA events, and we look forward to continuing that tradition.”
The 2023 boys and girls basketball state tournaments will once again be held on consecutive weeks, with the girls competing Feb. 22-25, and the boys the following week of March 1-4.
Girls weightlifting is a winter sport and the 2023 state meet will be Feb. 17-1. Boys weightlifting is a spring sport and will be held April 14-15.
The FHSAA’s partnership with the RP Funding Center for both events will run through 2025 and will have an option to renew the arrangement longer if mutually agreed.
Girls volleyball, a fall sport, will is returning to Polk County. It was held at George Jenkins High School from 1995 through 1998 and at The Lakeland Center from 2002 to 2010. Since leaving in 2010, the state tournament has bounced around to five different sites in the past 11 years.
The girls volleyball state tournament will be held on Nov. 11-12. Boys volleyball, a spring sport, will be May 19-20.
“This is just another great example of what makes Polk County such a great place to work, play and stay,” said Mark Jackson, director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing. “Partnerships for PCTSM have been a core philosophy for decades and continue to pay dividends to the businesses and municipalities we serve while providing what we hope is a home field advantage for our winning Polk County athletes.”
The projected economic impact for all championship series is expected to exceed $30 million over five years.
Roy Fuoco can be reached at roy.fuoco@theledger.com or at 863-802-7526. Follow him on Twitter: @RoyFuoco.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County lands four more FHSAA state championship tournaments
