Story submitted by Robin Burton

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Clarksville-Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is pleased to announce that the community will host the 2016 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Sixth Grade Girls Basketball National Championship.
 
This news comes on the heels of the announcement of Clarksville winning the bid for the 2015 and 2016 Boys AAU National Championships. The Girls event will take place mid-summer of 2016, within days of the AAU Boys Championship games.
 
“The CVB works extremely hard to recruit these type of sporting events,” said Geno Grubbs, Chairman of the CVB. “We have been working with the national AAU office for more than 15 years and have a great relationship with their team and that has helped in bringing tournaments here year after year.”
 
The CVB marketed four main points about Clarksville-Montgomery County for the AAU tournaments, including major interstate access and proximity to Nashville’s International Airport, multiple well-equipped venues within a short driving distance, financially committed community and business leaders, and exclusive media coverage made possible by area media partners.
Clarksville-Montgomery County will host Division one, two and three tournaments during the upcoming girls event. During the weeklong tournament, the championship games are expected to generate approximately $2.8 million for Clarksville-Montgomery County. That figure is on top of the $3.3 million that the 2016 boys’ tournament is projected to bring into the community as well. Money generated comes from travel funds spent on hotel accommodations, food, recreation and shopping.
 
The girls’ games are also estimated to bring over 6,500 participants, coaches and family members. That, coupled with the boys event, will mean nearly 17,000 people will be in the community at some point during the summer months. Both the boys and girls events will take place in high school and middle schools gyms throughout the county, with the championship bracket played historically at Austin Peay State University Dunn Center.
 
During the weeks leading up to the events, as well as the week of, the CVB plays a key role in facilitating the tournament including logistics, marketing, volunteer recruitment and community relations.
 
“We are extremely excited to announce that the girls tournaments will be here,” said Theresa Harrington, Executive Director of the CVB. “We have been continually working to bring more amateur sporting events, such as soccer, fishing and running, here over the next several years. It is a great way to not only promote our community but also increase revenue for our tourism partners.”
 
About Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. Find out more about the AAU at www.aausports.org.



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