Kudos for Cal at TEAMS

Terry is reporting from the TEAMS conference that the Cal Ripken World Series World Championship Game just won the SportsTravel Award for Best Single Sporting Event.

This is a national award, and the globally televised game (the culmination of nearly a week of tournament play with hundreds of kids and their families in attendance) beat out some pretty stiff competition. 

It is particularly gratifying since Harford County is represented at the TEAMS Conference.

Congratulations to Harford County, City of Aberdeen and the Iron Man himself for staging such a successful youth sports event.  It is a recognition well deserved.

The Match Game

Here's TEAM Maryland, with their captain/coach/cheerleader on the right. 

They are assembled on their court for a high stakes scrimmage known as The Match Game.

Think of it as speed dating for sports events and economic impact instead of love and marriage --although those elements are relevant in this romantic wooing.  For getting a major rights holder to fall madly in love with your destination, venue and amenities and committing to a long-term relationship means big, big bucks for the folks back home.

(Sorry for putting it in gold digger terms, but you get the picture.)

Terry and the TEAM found Maryland to be a hot ticket among the rights holders.  In fact, their dance card was filled with 22 scheduled appointments and even a few who were not originally on the list.

Part of the conference included networking opportunities and open sessions. TEAM Maryland was the sponsor of The State of the Sports Event Industry session.

 A panel of industry leaders talked about the promising growth of sports travel, participation, and attendance even as the rest of the economy struggles.   They identified new approaches by sponsors to get or remain in the game while resources are at a low.

The conference is still in progress, so Terry and TEAM Maryland are prospecting for more gold.  He plans to give a full recounting when he gets back.

Trolling TEAMS with Terry

It's hunting season again, and Terry is stalking big game in Charlotte, NC.

Not the kind with antlers, but the type that attracts spectators and participants, fills loads of hotel rooms, and generates a bundle of tax dollars.

That's right -- sports events and activities.  This time, Terry has lots of company with representatives of the major jurisdictions who now comprise TEAM Maryland.  Delegates from Harford, Prince Georges, Howard, Anne Arundel, Wicomico, Montgomery and Frederick Counties are participating, along with Baltimore City.

They have appointments with major rights-holders for events that have enjoyed similar success in Maryland (such as triathlons) and some that could be splendidly adapted to entire regions of our geographically diverse state -- like orienteering.

They will be meeting one on one with youth tournaments, arena invitationals, water sports and field competitions.

Terry has promised to send us a picture of Team Maryland in action.  Stay tuned.

Fans Afloat

I checked into one of my favorite designated Ravens watering holes before leaving on a Bermuda vacation.  Happy to see they appreciate Joe as much as I.  This Raven scarecrow blended in perfectly with the season (and the sentiment)

Although the boat would be somewhere in the Atlantic when the ball was snapped Sunday, I still packed my gear, determined to figure out a way to tune in, despite the lack of an international signal.

Silly me.  I should have realized the hard core had taken care of the problem before we had even passed Fort McHenry.  I heard a fellow passenger say to another "I'll see you in the Bolaro tomorrow."  It only took a moment to learn this ringleader had already negotiated for the satellite signal to be repositioned to accommodate the boatload of Raven fans on Sunday at sea.

So it was with pride and a sense of camaraderie that I decked out in full Flacco before hitting the buffet Sunday morning.   I hadn't made it any further than the omelette station when a realization hit me:  there were Steeler fans aboard.  In fact, there were more of them than there were of us.

Who would have thought?  I know they're as ubiquitous as Red Sox Nation, but on a boat from Baltimore, for heavens sakes?

Yes, and making no apologies.  There were as many Hines and Polarmos as Flaccos and Heaps.  And we had to share a lounge transformed into a sports bar for the occasion.

"Don't worry," said the ringleader I met earlier -- now decked out in a vintage Unitas jersey.  "We can take these guys."

I can't really do justice to the mayhem that ensued for those few hours.  The ship was rocking and rolling even before the game, but it was really tossing during the action.  Even the few stray Redskin and Giants fans (also in uniform) got into the act.

Despite the threats to make the losers swim home, everyone really got along great.  An informal and bipartisan tailgate broke out with food smuggled from the buffet and everyone partook (no need for designated drivers, either.)

It might have been more exhilarating to be in Heinz Field for the thrilling victory, but sharing a floating sports bar with a great bunch of homies and some good sports from the north was something this Ravens fan won't forget.

Go Ravens!  Beat Denver!

Deluge in a Drought

Terry was telling me about a major event taking place on the Potomac this past weekend -- the Olympic qualifying USA Canoe/Kayak Slalom National Championships, the country's premier white-water paddling event.

That must be a real trick, said I.  As well known as the Potomac is for its thrilling falls around the Pencil Sharpener, Pummel and the downright scary Mather Gorge, this hasn't exactly been the year for whitewater.  Or any other kind of water for that matter.  The drought this summer has reduced many rapids to sputtering streams.

Not so in Dickerson, said Terry.  Mother Nature gets all sorts of help from energy giant PEPCO, who provide a steady flow of thermal treated waves as part of their turbine system.

You might wonder how on earth a security conscious public utility and whitewater competitors looking for a challenging course could devise such a splendid facility.  The answer is -- the Barcelona Olympics.

Although the Potomac had always been a regular stop on the circuit because of the aforementioned features, the problem was consistency (as we've seen this year)  Weather conditions produced unpredicatable experiences and top level athletes needed a course with a reliable flow.  And there, right along the Potomac and C&O Canal, was the answer.  A byproduct of energy production, just waiting for adaptive reuse.

Since 1959, the 900 foot long channel has returned cooling water from the Dickerson Generating Station to the Potomac River, 41 miles upstream from Washington. Water is pumped from the river to cool the power plant's three coal-fired generators, and then emptied into the channel for gravity flow back to the river

This is what the 40-foot-wide concrete channel that returned warm-water discharge from the generators back to the Potomac looked like in 1991.  That's right -- warm water.  The first artificial whitewater slalom in the country is actually a linear Jacuzzi that can be used all year round.

In 1991, an aspiring Olympian sold his idea of converting the chute to two of the power plant managers, and, in support of the 1992 Olympics team, and PEPCO approved the insertion of approximately 75 artificial concrete boulders and two wing dams into the channel.

Today, the course has four 200 foot sections, connected in a straight line, end-to-end, with a 2-foot drop at the end of each section. A final 100-foot section ends in the river, with or without a drop, depending on the river level. Overall slope adds another seven feet of drop, for a total course drop of 15 feet plus zero to four feet into the river at the end.

It is, by any standards, a splendid course.  You can see the results of the competition at Bethesda Center of Excellence, who operate the USA Canoe/Kayak National Training Center.

Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi, a native of Bethesda, trained on the Potomac as a youngster and was one of those who rode the artificial course to the top of the Olympic podium in 1992.   Jacobi now heads USA Canoe/Kayak, the governing body for U.S. racing.

So it is a pretty good guess that the Olympians you'll be seeing in London in 2012 were splashing around the Potomac this weekend.  It's worth noting that Maryland also has another of only three artificial whitewater courses in the country.  Farther (a lot farther) up the Potomac in Garrett County you'll find Adventure Sports Center on a mountaintop near Deep Creek Lake.  This whitewater facility opened in 2007 and is open to the general public as well as the venue for national and international competitions.

Once again, Mother Nature, with a little help from her friends, has provided Maryland with some top quality venues prove we're Here To Play -- on every level.

Purple Friday

We have a seasonal ritual here in Baltimore.  It's called "Purple Friday" and it is ardently observed in the Warehouse.

As a faithful communicant of Purple Friday, I was decked out in my Flacco jersey (with amethyst accessories) when hoofing to work this morning.  It gave me a new perspective on how committed this town is to their team, and how supportive they are of their young quarterback.

I was startled when I got the first thumbs up from the garbageman on Cathedral.  But when I got the "way to go, Joe" from the newsboy, I realized the sentiments were not for me, but my jersey.

I was in front of the Basillica when someone emerging from morning mass gave me a shoulder punch and said "you'll get it on this weekend."  And there were numerous "Go Ravens" shouts from the commuters at the red lights.  (One even cawwed.)

I guess this is what it must be like to be an avatar.  Last Sunday night I stopped by a watering hole in my neighborhood to watch the Manning Bowl.  I was still wearing my game day jersey and was surprised to see other versions (one black, one white) of #5 in the sports bar.  Had never met either guy, but suddenly we were kindrid spirits.  "Needs to get out of the pocket faster," said one.   "Has to do something about those feet," said the other.  "Did you see how he had those feet placed?  That's the problem."

"Maybe it's just that time of the month," I offered.  (Admittedly, the guys don't think of things like that.)  "He'll get past it and be just fine."

The point is, Joe needs to know he has a lot of fans between Chase and Camden.  I'd be willing to bet that although folks all over town are concerned about his well-being, they still believe in Joe Cool.  And they definitely love their Ravens.

Just look around you on Purple Friday.

The Season for Spinning

Yes, the election is only six weeks away, and spin doctors are pedaling in overdrive about their candidates.  But a different kind of spinning gets our adrendline pumping in Maryland every fall.

I always look forward to this edition of Spokes Magazine because it features so many major cycling competitions, fund-raising rides and fun tours that take place throughout Maryland.  This issue was chock full of news about the first successful Tour de Frederick, certain to be come an annual event in the historic piedmont region.

However, the feature article was about the upcoming Seagull Century which originated 21 years ago as a function of the Salisbury State Bicycle Club.  From the first outing with 68 riders, the Century has grown to the largest bicycle event in the Mid-Atlantic region.  It is on track to exceed the 8,300 registered riders who participated last year.

As a three day event, the Century has significant economic impact in addition to being a rally for cycling enthusiasts.  As a "ride" and not necessarily a race (although there is determined competition among some teams who participate) the Century attracts cyclists of all skill levels to Maryland's Eastern Shore.  It also fills hotel rooms all the way to Ocean City.

Because of the growth of the race, an additional route is being added this year to prevent overcrowding and to give riders another slice of Eastern Shore hospitality.

The St. Mary's Century takes place next weekend, starting and finishing in Leonardstown at the College of Southern Maryland.  Formerly known as the Amish 100, this 21st annual ride sponsored by Patuxent Velo offers the traditional century (100 miles) plus a 62 mile or 35 mile course. 

The routes take riders through the scenic peninsula along the river and bay and farmland of Southern Maryland.

Like the Seagull, the St. Mary's event is considered a tourist boon because of all the overnight visitors it brings to enjoy Maryland hospitality.

Leafing through the pages of Spokes, I was very encouraged to see how many Maryland counties had display ads touting their cycling appeal.  Talbot County, which dedicated six heritage bicycle trails last year, portrayed the beauty of the trails and countryside in a colorful collage.  Dorchester County, the "Heart of the Chesapeake" showed cyclists enjoying a trail ride along a tidal basin.  Caroline County offered their free cycling guide with 11 bike routes through picturesque small towns, while Worcester promoted their View Trail 100, encouraging visitors to explore the beach and countryside.

Fall is definitely the time to pedal around Maryland, whether you enjoy the challenging grades of the mountains, or the gentle roll of the seaside trails.  The competitions are fun and exhilarating, but the everyday outings with family and friends remind you how much our state has to offer in outdoor recreation facilities.

Check out these sites to plan your next adventure, get some exercise, or simply explore Maryland.

AND SPEAKING OF CYCLING,  Terry is still working on that proposed "Tour de Maryland" at a future date.  There should be more to report in a few months.