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KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour wins 2008 SportsTravel Award for Best Amateur Sports Event Series
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| OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Amateur Softball Association is proud to announce the 2008 KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour was awarded the 2008 SportsTravel Award for Best Amateur Sports Event Series or Circuit on Friday afternoon. Other events nominated in the category were the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2007 Little League Baseball World Series, 2008 City Chase USA, 2008 Kick It; 3v3 Soccer Tour, and the 2008 Muddy Buddy Series. “This is such a tremendous honor for our association,” said ASA Executive Director Ron Radigonda. “The time and support of the local associations of ASA, our sponsors, the 42 cities, and ESPN was overwhelming. Everyone came together to make this tour one of the best. We also want to extend our appreciation and thanks to SportsTravel magazine and the TEAMS Conference for this opportunity and the 18-member USA Softball National team who were the heart and soul of the tour.” “The SportsTravel awards recognizes excellence in the management and promotion of sporting events and for the Bound 4 Beijing tour to win this award it shows how people in this industry view softball,” said Timothy Schneider, Publisher of SportsTravel magazine. “For softball, this is an important indication that softball holds a strong place in the minds of sport organizers.” Criteria for nomination and voting included superior organization of and attendance at the event, a superior experience for the competitors and/or spectators at the event, and how the site or venue served to enhance the event. “It is very exciting for the Bound 4 Beijing tour to receive this award,” said two-time Olympian Cat Osterman ( Houston, Texas ). “This honor is much deserved for the hard work and dedication put into the structure and planning of the tour. This award goes to all the cities and volunteers who spent countless hours to welcome the National team to their city.” Throughout the 60 games, beginning in Tucson, Ariz., and wrapping up in Irvine, on tour the team played in front of over 200,000 people in 45 cities. In front of amazing crowds and supportive fans, the team kicked off competition Feb. 19 and experienced a diverse amount of USA hospitality. The team surpassed many records during this tour including setting a Tour record attendance of 8,724 in Bowie, Md. It was the largest crowd in pre-Olympic Tour and was just shy of the all-time attendance record; at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as 8,750 people were in attendance at the gold medal game as the U.S. defeated China 3-1 for their first Olympic Gold. The ratings for the eight original games that aired on ESPN averaged a 0.55 national rating while the 11 original airings on ESPN2 averaged a 0.28. In total, over 10 million households tuned to watch the KFC Bound 4 Beijing US Tour in over 25 different airings on the ESPN family of networks. “The KFC Bound 4 Beijing US Tour impacted millions of American households as our USA Softball team prepared for Beijing,” said Director of Marketing Kelly McKeown. “Seeing and hearing the inspiring stories of little girls that dream to become members of Team USA is at the heart of this property and why the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) will continue to drive the development of the USA Softball program.” Edited Reprint from ASA National Headquarters' Website |