U.S. Figure Skating 2010 Synchronized Skating Qualifying Competitions coming to Cedar Rapids
The Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club (EIFSC) are pleased to announce that Cedar Rapids has been selected as a site of the U.S. Figure Skating Association’s 2010 Midwestern & Pacific Coast Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships. The Championships will be hosted by the EIFSC, January 28 – 30, 2010 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.
Approximately 120 – 160 teams, ages 6-24, compete in the Championships, averaging 20 athletes per team. Top finishers of the event will qualify for the 2010 U.S. Synchronized Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 3-6, 2010.
The event will generate an estimated $1.3 million in direct visitor spending and 4,000 total projected hotel room nights. More than 2,400 skaters, coaches and families attending this event will be housed in hotels in Cedar Rapids, Coralville and Iowa City.
The Coral Ridge Ice Arena in Coralville may also be used by teams practicing for the competition in Cedar Rapids.
“The Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club pursued this competition to bring positive news to the Corridor in the wake of the Flood of 2008,” said Tammie Hoover, president of the Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club. “It is our hope that the spending by skaters and their families coming to this competition will help stimulate the local economy. We also see this event as a way to introduce more people to the sport of figure skating and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.”
“The CVB is thrilled to have helped this event come together and come to Cedar Rapids. It exemplifies what can happen when local enthusiasts team up with a national organization to use a great local asset like the Ice Arena,” said Tim Boyle, president of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Cedar Rapids will benefit economically, as well as the entire Corridor. Young skaters will have the opportunity to see great talent up close and in person.”
