BY ROBB LUEHR
rluehr@journaltimes.com | Posted: Monday, June 22, 2009 12:00 am
An already full summer has become even more full this year.
The Racine County Convention and Visitors Bureau has drawn another big event to the Racine area, one that is expected to draw at least 5,000 people to the area.
The Kick It Regional 3-on-3 Soccer Tournament Chicago Regional will be held Aug. 8-9 at the SCORe Soccer Complex in Franksville. Dave Blank, president and CEO of the RCCVB, said the organization signed a three-year contract to hold the event here.
That will be the capper on a summer full of major events right in Racine, beginning with last weekend's Lighthouse Run and continuing Saturday with the annual stop here on the Extreme Volleyball Professionals Pro Beach Volleyball Tour.
Add in annual events such as the Big Fish Bash, Spirit of Racine Triathlon and Racine.org Cycling Classic, and there's no shortage of things to do.
"There's no reason for anyone to say there's nothing going on in Racine," Blank said.
The soccer tournament is a big deal, with up to 350 teams and 5,000 to 7,000 people coming to spend their money with area merchants and hotels.
This is the first time the soccer regional has been held in Wisconsin and the way it was brought here actually came through a man Blank dealt with while contracting with the EVP Tour. He represented the Kick It program and thought the Racine area would be a good place for the tournament.
"We have a great soccer facility (SCORe) and he came up and visited and the RASA (Racine Area Soccer Association) people put it together," Blank said.
The 3-on-3 program is for boys and girls ages 8 to 12 and is played on a field measuring 20 yards by 40 yards. There are no goalkeepers, which promises plenty of action.
The entry fee for the regional tournament is $198 per team plus processing and handling fee. The entry deadline is July 31.
Qualifiers from the regional will advance to the World Championships Jan. 16-18 at the Wild World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
To qualify for the regional, players must play in the local tournament July 11-12 at the Uihlein Soccer Complex in Milwaukee. The entry fee is $180 and the deadline is Friday, July 3.
To enter either tournament visit the program's Web site (www.kickit3vs.com) and click on the tournaments link.
The RCCVB recently renewed its contract with the EVP Tour, keeping the event at North Beach for the foreseeable future. The regular tour stop is Saturday and Racine will again host the EVP World Championships Sept. 12, also at North Beach. Admission is free to both events.
The Spirit of Racine Triathlon is July 18-19 and again will feature three races that begin and end at North Beach. The Women Only Triathlon is at 7 a.m. and Blue Wave Triathlon is at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 18, both are contested at sprint distances (750-meter swim, 12.4 bike ride, 3.1-mile run). The Spirit of Racine Triathlon is at 7 a.m. Sunday, July 19 at the half-triathlon distances (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, 13.1-mile run).
Visit www.spiritofracinetri.com for complete information, including online entry for all three races.
The Racine.org Cycling Classic, part of the International Cycling Classic and Superweek Pro Tour series, the oldest and longest running multi-category cycling race in the U.S. The series, which draws riders from all over the world, lasts two weeks and includes 17 courses in 16 cities across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
The Racine race returns to downtown Thursday, July 23, with races all day, including the 100-kilometer pro race at 6 p.m. that concludes the event.
Because of ongoing road construction downtown, the course for the event will change and will be unlike any previous course here.
"We had to be very creative," Blank said. "We made some adjustments and we will use Sixth Street, part of Fifth, State and part of Lake Avenue. There will be right turns and a couple of lefts."
Even brighter news is that reservations at area lodging establishments are up compared to last year, Blank said, mostly because people don't want to travel too far from home because of the economy.