Orlando, Fla. (January 11, 2023) – Multiple AAU events and leaders are nominated for the 2023 SportsEvents Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards. Click here to vote now!
 
AAU’s 49^th President, J.B. (Jo) Mirza, is nominated as an Emerging Sports Events Industry Leader. President Mirza has dedicated more than five decades of service to AAU at the local, national, and international levels.
 
Elected in October 2022, his role is leading the entirety of the AAU organization’s volunteers, national staff, and event operators to provide quality participation event opportunities to continue to positively serve the AAU’s more than 720,000 members each year across the United States.



The AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships is nominated for Best Live or Virtual Sporting Event. More than 70,000 athletes and coaches, representing 48 states, two U.S. territories, and four international countries (Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Peru), converged at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) for the 49th AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in summer 2022.
 
The 18-day event brought in approximately $228 million in economic impact to Central Florida, with an estimated 178,000 total attendees positively impacting the local community and its businesses, shops, hotels and restaurants There were 4,450 teams (678 boys and 3772 girls) participating in 56 divisions. It’s the largest sporting event ever held at the OCCC —breaking last year’s record.



The AAU Junior Olympic Games, the largest multi-sport event for youth in the U.S., is nominated for The Most Anticipated Sporting Event to Watch.
 
In the summer of 2022, the 13-day event brought in nearly 19,000 participants and an estimated economic impact of $65 million to benefit the Greensboro, North Carolina community.
 
In the summer of 2023, the event – in its 57^th year -- returns to Des Moines, Iowa where the participation number is likely to grow. This will be the sixth time that Des Moines has hosted the AAU Junior Olympic Games. The state of Iowa is tied with Tennessee as the state that has hosted the most AAU Junior Olympic Games in the event’s history.



Other AAU nominees include:

• National AAU Baseball Chair Todd Skovron for Emerging Sports Events Industry Leader
• Longtime AAU volunteer Thomas Milner, AAU Baseball, for Best Live or Virtual Sports Event Planner
• AAU Gymnastics National Age Group Championships and Visit Springfield Illinois for Best Long-Term Partnership Between Planner and Destination