International Participation: A Melting Pot of Young Talent
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Run 4 Roses youth girls basketball brought more than 2,700 teams to the Louisville Exposition Center this past weekend. The event ran from July 6 through July 10.
Teams came from almost all 50 states and Canada. Teams also traveled from Australia, Germany, Netherlands, while individual athletes from various countries also formed travel teams.
College Scouting: A Crucial Platform for Aspiring Athletes
In addition to competing for the highly coveted Run 4 Roses championship, a main goal of these young athletes is to be spotted by college coaches.
From July 7 to July 10, college coaches descended upon Louisville during one of the summer’s evaluation periods, a time when college coaches can watch these players in person but cannot have any face-to-face interactions. Coaches line the baselines – with top games drawing attention of 50+ college coaches.
Economic Windfall: Breakdown of Revenue Streams
Each team pays an entry fee to join the event and of course requires hotel rooms, food and transportation during the event. There are vendors that pay for space in the expo center to sell trendy apparel to thousands and thousands of young people. Parents and friends attend and pay admissions fees – and parking. Parking alone generates $800,000 for the event.
College coaches, meanwhile, are required to purchase “packets” containing teams’ rosters and players’ contact information. For Division 1 coaches, the price of the packet is $695.00.
The total economic impact for the city, according to local Louisville officials, is estimated at $21 million.
For Louisville, it is a major event – but Louisville is accustomed to hosting huge sports tourism events. The famous horse race, The Kentucky Derby, generated an estimated $396 million during derby week in May, according to University of Louisville economics professor Thomas Lambert.
[…] These events provide a chance for more student-athletes to be seen by recruiting college coaches. Joining AAU rosters can, for some, be prohibitively expensive and not all youth players’ families can afford it. In a recruiting cycle that depends so heavily on identifying new talent in spring and summer evaluation periods, perhaps this June scholastic weekend for girls basketball will provide opportunities for girls who otherwise would not have been discovered. […]