Awards
Sports & Properties, Inc. is the recipient of a number of national and regional awards, both for its event production and bid development work. The awards include Event of the Year, the highest award in the sports tourism industry. A listing of the awards follows, with additional details on the related events and bids below.
By Award
Event of the Year - World's Best Sports Events Awards. For SPI's production of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The World's Best Sports Events Awards, presented annually by SportsTravel Magazine are considered the "Oscars" of the industry. To capture the award, the Championships beat out the College Football Playoffs, Women's World Cup Soccer, and the Super Bowl.
Marketing Campaign of the Year - National Association of Sports Commissions Industry Awards. For the marketing campaign developed and implemented by SPI for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
World's Best New Event - World's Best Sports Events Awards. For SPI's creation and production of the USA Masters Games.
National Best in Category Award - Printing Industries of America. For SPI's creative design and packaging, writing, and production of the bid for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. USA Swimming called it the best bid for any event the organization has ever received.
USA Gymnastics Appreciation Award - USA Gymnastics. For SPI's role in producing the American Cup, the U.S. stop on the international gymnastics World Cup Tour.
Best in Category Award - North Carolina Printing Industry Awards. For SPI's concept for, and production of, the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials Bid Book.
Special Judges Award - Printing Industries of the Carolinas Awards. For SPI's creation, writing, and packaging of the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championships bid.
Special Judges Award - North Carolina Printing Industry Awards. For SPI's production of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials bid.
By Event and Bid
The 2016 USA Masters Games
On October 31, 2017, SPI was awarded Best New Event at the World's Best Sports Events Awards presented by SportsTravel Magazine for the 2016 USA Masters Games. The USA Masters Games were launched in 2016 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Games were held over an 11-day period, from July 21 to July 31, 2016, and featured 24 sports, ranging from Badminton to Weightlifting, for adult athletes ages 21 and over. More than 2,540 athletes, ages 21 to 91, competed in the Games. Participants came from 43 states and 10 foreign countries including Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, and Venezuela. Athletes set 11 World Records, 15 American Records, 6 Zone Records, and 47 State Records during the Games.
2016 Olympic Trials - Swimming Bid
The bid created, written, designed, and produced by SPI won Best in Category and the Special Judges Award at the North Carolina Printing Industry Awards where the design and layout of the bid book were especially cited. The bid then went on to win the National Best in Category Award from the Printing Industries of America.
2015-2018 ACC Baseball Championships Bid
In addition to landing the ACC Baseball Championships for an unprecedented four years, the bid book also won the Special Judges Award at the Printing Industries of the Carolinas annual awards competition.
2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
In April of 2015, the National Association of Sports Commissions awarded SPI with the Marketing Campaign of the Year Award for the quality of campaign supporting and prioritizing, the 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The event also captured both the Best Multi-Sport/Multi-Discipline Event, and the sports tourism industry's highest award, Event of the Year, at the World's Best Sports Events Awards, presented by SportsTravel Magazine.
2014 American Cup
In March of 2014, the International Gymnastics Federation World Cup Tour made its first-ever stop in North Carolina. The superior production values and record-breaking attendance earned SPI the USA Gymnastics Appreciation Award.