WATCH FOR Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships athletes to compete on the same ice used as 2014 Winter Olympic athletes at the Ellenton Ice Complex. The competition will be held May 16-18 but the entry deadline is Monday, April 14th for mail-in entries and Friday, April 18th for online entries.
Recent Olympians training at the Ellenton Ice Complex include Felicia Zhang and Nate Bartholomay (pictured at left), who earned their spot on Team USA with a second place finish at the U.S. National Championships. Stacey Kemp and David King represented Great Britain for the second time and Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers train part-time at Ellenton Ice and earned spot on Team Canada.
The 2014 Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships schedule will be available May 1, 2014.
WATCH FOR two of Florida’s pro teams head down the stretch of the regular season and ready for the post-season.
The Miami Heat has a crucial game Friday against the Indiana Pacers. The Heat currently lead the Eastern Conference race for the number one overall seed by percentage points with 53-23 record, while Pacers have a 53-25 record. Including the game Friday, Miami has six games regular season games remaining and have clinched the Southeast Division. The Heat’s last regular season game is April 16 and the playoffs begin April 19.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have clinched playoff spot and are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference post-season standings with four regular season games remaining, through Sunday, April 13, three at home. According to NHL.com, if the post-season began today, the Lightning would meet the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs beginning on April 16.
WATCH FOR Lake County to become one of the largest beach volleyball facilities in the southeast, if county commissioners approve a plan to build a sand volleyball complex at their April 8 meeting. The 20-court volleyball complex would be built at the 68-acre Hickory Point Recreational Complex on Lake Harris in Tavares. The Florida Region of USA Volleyball and Lake County Florida hope to bring tournaments ranging from amateur, to high school and college, to professional tournaments to Lake County.
WATCH FOR continued success for Florida LPGA golfer Lexi Thompson, who won the Kraft Nabisco Championship Sunday, the first LPGA major title for the Coral Springs resident.
Thompson, 19, shot a near-flawless 4-under-par 68 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., to win by three shots over Michelle Wie. Thompson, who started the final round tied for the lead with Wie, finished with a four-round total of 14-under 274.
It was her third victory in her past 12 LPGA tournaments and the fourth of her career.
“I’ve worked my whole life to win a major,” said Thompson, who became the second youngest winner of a major on the LPGA Tour. Boca Raton’s Morgan Pressel is the youngest, having won the Kraft Nabisco in 2007 at the age of 18. Pressel tied for 11th at 2 under.
The Weekly “What to Watch For in Florida Sports,” is compiled by the Florida Sports Foundation, the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization. Follow the Florida Sports Foundation on Facebook and on Twitter #fla_sports. Visit http://www.flasports.com for more information about the Florida Sports Foundation and the vibrant sports industry in the Sunshine State. Florida is Where The World Comes to Play.
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