As Rapid City grows, so does the number of athletic events in town. This past year, the Rapid City Sports Commission has helped bring in new tournaments for pickleball, tennis and more. Rapid City is known for hosting events such as LNI and state high school tournaments, but it’s branching out.
“Whether it’s standard sports, you know, your favorite ones that everyone knows about. Now we’re doing Body Building, BMX, Tumbling and Trampoline. Like all of that, it’s great, it just opens up the eyes of our community,” Executive Director Domico Rodriguez said.
New events also include sports through the South Dakota Special Olympics and the Rapid City Flame.
“Just this last year I started working more directly with the Sports Commission which has been fantastic. And we’re hoping that we can continue that partnership and keep moving forward and keep promoting our events to come to this area for our athletes,” RC Flame Sports Director Yvette Lassegard said.
These tournaments can see hundreds of athletes traveling to town to compete, which helps the local economy.
“On average it brings in a couple thousand people at a time for events. So I’m sure for league events and things outside of the Special Olympics it’s got to bring in a lot more. So I think it’s a great thing and I think it’s a great opportunity for the city,” Lassegard said.
The Sports Commission looks to start planning for future seasons early.
“We’re doing a Black Hills National Wrestling Tournament in April, obviously state basketball stuff and there’s just a lot of stuff going on and we’re usually working about six months ahead of schedule just to make sure that things are shaping up,” Rodriguez said.
The Special Olympic State Bocce and Softball Tournaments begin this Thursday and runs through Sunday evening.
Source: https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/new-sporting-events-continue-to-help-out-rapid-city/