Sports Events & Tournaments

Photo Courtesy of Visit Lake Norman of the VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Series

Visit Lake Norman's staff is here to provide your event support and coordination with local media and government agencies, transit, businesses, and hotels for your participants, their guests, and spectators.  Our goal is to make your event as smooth as possible.  We want visitors to have such a memorable experience they visit Lake Norman again and again.

Amateur/Youth Sports 

Lake Norman has quickly distinguished itself as an amateur sports event hub. Every year more sports events call Lake Norman home. No matter what sport, Lake Norman can host it. Let Visit Lake Norman assist you with your next amateur sports event. 

Visit Lake Norman hosts quite an array of youth sports events every year! We have proudly welcomed the annual VisitLakeNorman.org Kickoff soccer event, the National Softball Association's (NSA) Class A World Series (2010) and the Junior Pan-American Synchronized Swimming Championships (2009), in addition to many more! For the first time in 2009 and 2010, Lake Norman hosted the Powerade State Games of North Carolina welcoming 14,000 youth and adults; and the inaugural Triple 8 Sports' Youth Holiday Football Festival & All Star Weekend (2011).

Bring the whole family and experience all the fun and adventures Lake Norman offers even beyond the event. amateur athletes from across the state.

Paralympic Sports

The National Wheelchair Basketball Association's (NWBA) International Tournament of Champions is coming to the Lake Norman region (8/8-13/2011). The event, secured by Visit Lake Norman, will bring 250 of the world's most elite wheelchair basketball athletes and coaches to compete for the championship title. The event is expected to generate an estimated $502,500 in visitor spending.  Visit Lake Norman assisted organizers to secure host hotels located in both Cornelius and Huntersville.

Congratulations Team USA!  2011 1st Place:  Men's USA-White Team and 4th Place:  Men's USA-Blue Team; and 1st Place:  Women's USA Team.

College Sports

Visit Lake Norman has played host to all degrees of collegiate sports. From its beginnings in 1992 when Davidson College hosted the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Final Four to FLW's College Fishing Northern Regional Championships in 2009 and the Southern Conference's Wrestling Tournament in 2010, Lake Norman knows collegiate sports. After all, Lake Norman is home to Davidson College and so, don't forget to support those Wildcats!

Endurance Sports

Lake Norman is home to triathlons, running/cycling races of all distances, dragon boat races and mountain bike challenges. There is no question, Lake Norman has a route and venue for any endurance event.  

• Warrior Dash of the Carolinas (Returning! May 19-20, 2012) 
• Warrior Dash of the Carolinas ( 2011) with over 13,500 Warriors participating
  
• Xterra NC Trail Run Series (2011)

Site Visits

 "Got game? Then we've got the perfect location for you to host your next sporting event! Lake Norman and the towns of Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville offers world class sports facilities, more than 1,899 quality hotel rooms, a wide variety of dining and entertainment options - all along the shores of the largest man-made lake in the Carolinas. Visit Lake Norman is here to help organize your event - from baseball to basketball, soccer to tennis, golf to fishing, cycling to football. Venues include the very best in parks and recreation facilities, one of the largest aquatic centers in the Southeast - the Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics Center and beautiful Davidson College - not to mention the 34-mile long Lake Norman with more than 520 miles of shoreline!

Down time for your family or participants is anything but that in Lake Norman. Lake Norman offers a wide array of leisure activities, from historic attractions to the excitement of the racing world. Charlotte Motor Speedway is just 20 minutes away and most of the area's race shops are only minutes away.

If you are looking to elevate your event to a "can't miss event", let Visit Lake Norman help with your game plan! Please contact Travis Dancy, Sports Sales Manager, at 704-987-3300 today!

Need a Venue?

Not ready for a site visit, yet?  The Lake Norman area has a variety of event space options that are available and accommodating. Go to the Meeting & Venue Facility Guide to search our listings. All venues are location in the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, or Huntersville in the South-Western part of Lake Norman.

We Offer Information Packets

Our towns of Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville have a lot to offer with wide array of leisure amenities for your athletes and spectators. Have an information packet waiting for your guest in their room when they check-in! Visit Lake Norman offers bundled information packets for a small fee. Packets include a dining guide, area attractions' brochures, shopping locations, and a optional map all tied together with curling ribbon. For those last minute planners, orders can be filled up to 10 business days prior to your event date.To order, download our Special Event Information Packet Form and fax to 704-892-5313.

Event Sponsorships

Interested in sponsoring and supporting one of Visit Lake Norman's tourism impacting affiliated events? To find out more information about an event, please contact Travis Dancy, Sports Sales Manager, 704-987-3300.  

Upcoming Signature Sporting Events:

• Warrior Dash of the Carolinas (5/19-20/2012)
• NC AAU Track & Field District Championships (6/9-10/2012)
• Top Gun Softball's Summer World Series (7/12-15/ 2012)
• PDGA Combined World Disc Golf Championships (7/14-21/2012)
• Nation's Baseball East Coast Select Nationals (7/18-22/2012)
• AAU Diving National Championships (7/24-31/2012)
• VisitLakeNorman.org Fall Woody Classic Lacrosse Tournament (9/22-23/2012)
• Ramblin' Rose Triathlon (9/23/2012)
• 23rd Annual LKN Fall Classic Soccer Tournament (11/17-18/2012)
• Top Gun Softball's Winter World Series (11/2-4/2012)
• Ryan Newman Charity Fishing Tournament (12/9/2012)

Sample of Past Signature Events Hosted:

• American Bass Anglers BWS National Championship (2008)
• American Bass Anglers Divisional (2010)
• BASS Open Fishing Tournament (2011)
• Bass Pro Shop's Bassmaster Southern Open Fishing Tournament (2012)
• Carolina Big Bass Classic (2010)
• FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Super Tournament (2009, 2010)
• FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL)Regional Championship (2009)
• FLW College Fishing Regional Tournament (2009)
• FLW National Guard Open Tour Event (2010)
• 26th Annual Jim Ledbetter Fishing Tournament (2012)
• National Bass Circuit (NBC) Pro Series Fishing National Championship (2009)
• Professional Anglers Association Tour Event (2010)
• Ryan Newman Charity Fishing Tournament (2010, 2011)
• The Bass Federation State Championship (2009)
• WalMart BFL Super Tournament (2008)

• Asian Festival & Dragonboat Races (2010, 2011)

• Carolina Classic Remote Control Airplane Regional (2011)
• Carolina Criterium Remote Control Airplane Regional (2011)
• US Team Trials F2C Remote Control Airplane Championships (2011)

• Carolina Fall Challenge Soccer Tournament (2008)
• Carolina Shootout Soccer Tournament (2010)
• First Strike Soccer Tournament (2012)
• Lake Norman Fall Classic Soccer Tournament (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• North Meck Soccer Club's Annual Boys College Combine (2011)
• VisitLakeNorman.org Kickoff Soccer Series Tournament (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
• VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Classic Tournament (North Meck Soccer Club) (2009)
• VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Series Friendlies Tournament (2011, 2012)
• VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Series Adidas Boys College Combine Camp (2012)
• VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Series Youth Academy Festival (2012)

• Carolina Synchro Rising Stars Invitational (2012)
• Pan American Junior Synchronized Swimming Championships (2009)
• South Zone Region A Synchronized Swimming Championships (2012)
• US National Synchronized Swimming Championships (2010)

• Cool Breeze Triathlon (2010)
• Fall Harvest 5K & 10K Runs (2010)
• Huntersville Sprint Triathlon (2010, 2011)
• Ramblin' Rose Triathlon (2008)
• Warrior Dash of the Carolinas (2011)
• Xterra NC Trail Run Series (2011)

Diving:

• USA Diving Springs Masters National Championships (2012)

Gymnastics

• Everest Classic (Gymnastics) (2012)
• North Carolina Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Gymnastics State Championship (2011)

• National MTB Oktoberfest Mountain Bike Festival (2008)

• National Softball Association Class A World Series (2010)
• Top Gun Softball Summer Nationals (2011)
• Top Gun Softball Winter World Series (2011)
• Nations Baseball (2010, 2011, 2012)
  

• National Wheelchair Basketball Association's (NWBA) International Tournament of Champions (2011)

• NC High School Athletic Association's 4A Western Wrestling Regional (2012)
• Southern Conference Wrestling Tournament (2010)

• Powerade State Games of North Carolina (2010)

• Tarheel State Meet (2010)

• Rural Hill Scottish Festival & Highland Games (2010, 2011, 2012)

Lacrosse

• National Lacrosse Conference Tournament (2012) 

Football

• Triple 8 Sports' Youth Holiday Football Festival & All Star Weekend (2011)