Daytona Beach has landed another national water sports competition that promises to bring up to 1,000 athletes to the area along with family members and a host of spectators.
The Volusia County Council agreed this week to pay $15,000 to host the open swim portion of the Pan American Masters Championship in August. That national competition, part of a 10-day event hosted by the Central Florida YMCA and sponsored by aquatics sports organization Union Americana de Natacion, also features water polo, diving and synchronized swimming competitions in Orlando.
But the culminating, two-day open water swim portion, a 5K and a mile-long race across choppy waves of the Atlantic Ocean, offers yet another opportunity for Volusia County to showcase the World's Most Famous Beach as a prime spot for sporting events.
The USLA National Lifeguard Competition was held in Daytona Beach last August for the second time in three years, bringing with it more than 1,000 competitors from some 50 teams, as well as more than 800 family members and vendors. Organizers and county leaders expect the Pan American Masters Championship open water swim, held on the final day of competition, to be a similar win for hotels and local businesses.
The competitors, ages 35 to 55, are expected to book a total of more than 900 room nights in hotels along State Road A1A, organizers say.
"They are coming in for multiple nights. They are bringing their families and they like spending money," event director Casey Taker told the council at Tuesday's meeting.
She added that this is the first time in the international competition's history that the open water swim portion will be held on the east coast of the U.S.
The Pan American Masters Championship, which includes four events over a a 10-day span, is "the largest swim meet in the history of the country," Rowdy Gaines, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, told the council. Overall, it's expected to draw up to 5,000 athletes and organizers are hopeful that the crowd descending upon Orlando for water polo, diving and synchronized swimming will head toward Daytona Beach for the weekend open water swim, which became a part of the summer Olympics in 2008 and has "exploded in popularity since," Gaines said.
While event organizers estimate the event will attract up to 1,000 swimmers, Gaines predicted there could be more. A world championship event this summer in Budapest, Hungary, drew 3,800 open water swimmers. "We can expect very similar numbers," he said.
The $15,000 the county paid will help the YMCA promote and organize Daytona Beach's portion of the event, which will take place Aug. 4-5. However, it's likely competitors and spectators will stay longer as the following days feature awards ceremonies and other festivities.
"I jumped at this," County Manager Jim Dinneen told council members. "I thought $15,000 was a heck of a small amount for this kind of reward we will get."
County Chair Ed Kelley pointed to the new marketing slogan of the Halifax Area Advertising Authority: "Wide. Open. Fun."
"What better fit" for that, Kelley said. "There's not much wider than our oceanfront. So I think this fits very well with that theme."