ORLANDO, Fla. - This month, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) signed Rival as the national operating partner for the AAU Esports program. The AAU broke into the esports gaming ring last year, when it announced esports as the newest addition to its 41 sports.
 
“My vision for youth sports is simple,” said Dr. Roger J. Goudy, President and CEO of AAU. “To raise tomorrow’s leaders on today’s playing surfaces. No matter age, background or skill level, there should always be an attainable path for participation in amateur sports for all.” 
 
Rival will become the national provider for AAU esports games, competitions, programs, and platforms and will be added to the AAU event line-up this summer.
 
“Rival is excited to be partnering with such an iconic organization like AAU. AAU founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in amateur sport, we are honored to be chosen to bring into relevance a new sports vertical, esports. Rival will install its unprecedented technology platform into the AAU ecosystem to bring into focus, for all young amateur athletes, the path to the newest and modern sport of gaming. Rival looks forward to bringing new and innovative sport opportunities to AAU members current and future while expanding the reach of the AAU message throughout the world,” said Shawn Murnan, Rival CEO.
 
It is Dr. Goudy’s vision that brought AAU and Rival together as esports is the newest of these “playing surfaces” allowing for gender and age equality across a multitude of gaming titles rooted in traditional sports.
 
During its early years AAU worked closely with the Olympic movement to prepare athletes for the Olympic games. In 1967, the AAU established the AAU Junior Olympic Games to provide athletes of all skill levels an opportunity to compete for a gold medal. Rival sees AAU as the ideal organization to bring to the world stage its revolutionary technology and will use this platform to create the world’s first AAU Junior Olympic Games for esports.
 
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ABOUT THE AAU:
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest- non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by nearly 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 41 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts.
 
ABOUT RIVAL: 
Rival provides a first-of-its-kind, enterprise SaaS solution that empowers companies and organizations to leverage the popularity of esports to acquire new customers, drive engagement, build a loyal community around their brands, and create new revenue streams. Through its proprietary technology, Rival opens up the thrilling world of gaming to the massive global audience of casual gamers and offers organizations a turnkey, esports platform to engage that audience with branded virtual tournaments and recreational competitive play. For media inquiries, please contact media@gorival.com | www.gorival.com