FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2008
FHSAA lacrosse, small school tennis finals headed for Central Florida
GAINESVILLE – West Orange High School in Winter Garden will be the site of the Inaugural FHSAA Lacrosse Finals state championship tournament, the Association office announced today. The dates of the inaugural event are April 18-19.
The following week, the 2008 FHSAA Tennis Finals state championship tournaments in Class 2A and 1A will be held at Red Bug Lake Park (team competition) and Sylvan Lake Park (individual competition) in Seminole County. Class 2A competition is set for April 21-23. Class 1A competition will take place April 23-25.
The Central Florida Sports Commission and West Orange High School are the hosts for the lacrosse finals, while the Sports Commission and Bishop Moore Catholic High School will partner to present the Class 2A and 1A tennis finals.
“We are excited by the prospects of conducting the Association’s inaugural lacrosse finals and the Class 2A and 1A tennis finals in the Orlando area,” said FHSAA Executive Director John A. Stewart. “Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing high school sports in the country, and we are pleased to finally be able to offer an official state championship to the schools and student-athletes who participate in it.”
Stewart added: “We are also pleased that by their willingness to step up and serve as host organization for the Class 1A and 2A tennis finals, the Central Florida Sports Commission has made it possible for the tennis finals in all four classifications to be held in the same area.”
It is the first time the Class 1A and Class 2A tennis finals will be played in Seminole County. The Class 3A and Class 4A tennis finals, which will be played in the same week, once again will be hosted by Edgewater High School at Sanlando Park and Lake Brantley High School in nearby Altamonte Springs.
“We are pleased to extend our partnership with the FHSAA by welcoming two more championships to our community,” said John Saboor, president of the Central Florida Sports Commission, which also hosted the swimming and diving and football finals in 2007. “We believe that the opportunity to host these spring events is the direct result of the positive synergy created by hosting successful fall championships.”
This is the first year the FHSAA is conducting a state championship series in boys and girls lacrosse. The two-day event will be held on West Orange High School’s new synthetic turf field at Warrior Stadium. Semifinal games will be held during two sessions on Friday, April 18. The finals are scheduled for Saturday night, April 19th beginning at 5 p.m. Four teams in both girls and boys divisions will advance to the FHSAA Finals.
About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida. It has a membership of more than 700 middle and senior high schools, and sponsors postseason competitions to determine the official state high school champions in 28 different sports.
About the Central Florida Sports Commission
The Central Florida Sports Commission is a non-profit, private organization created to attract international, national and regional events and sports-related business and activities to Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, as well as the City of Orlando. The Sports Commission is the Central Florida area’s clearinghouse and first point of contact for sports and sports-related activities and is committed to developing the region’s sports product.
Contacts:
Jack Watford
Associate Executive Director, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org
Jason Maderer
Marketing Manager
Central Florida Sports Commission
(407) 648-4900 ext. 16/321-287-8275 (Cell)
jmaderer@orlandosports.org
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