2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships named Event of the Year

GREENSBORO, N.C. (November 11, 2015) – The 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held January 17-25, 2015 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, NC has been named Event of the Year by SportsTravel Magazine. The Championships also won for best event in the Amateur Multi-Sport/Multi-Discipline category.

This year we are pleased to recognize a number of outstanding sporting events,” said Timothy Schneider, publisher of SportsTravel magazine, which organizes the annual TEAMS Conference & Expo held this year in Las Vegas, where the SportsTravel Awards presentations took place last night. “The Event of the Year winner is a prime example of achieving excellence in organization and management for both competitors and spectators. We take pride in being able to serve as a resource for the readers of SportsTravel magazine as they consistently execute high-quality events,” Schneider went on to say. “Both the event organizers of the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the host city of Greensboro should be proud of all they have achieved through their successful collaboration.”

In the 13 years that the SportsTravel Awards have been presented, this is the first time an event from North Carolina has won an award. To capture Event of the Year, the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships beat out other major award-winning events such as the College Football Playoff, Women’s World Cup Soccer, and the Super Bowl.

“The SportsTravel Awards are like the Oscars of our industry,” said Hill Carrow, Chairman of North Carolina 2015, the Local Organizing Committee for the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships. “To land not one, but two, national awards, including the biggest prize of all, Event of the Year, says a lot about the quality of our host organization, the event presentation, and the athlete experience.”

Four years ago the 2011 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships was a finalist as Best Multi-sport/Multi-Discipline Event but lost out to the national State Games of America. Between 2011 and 2015, U.S. Figure Skating expanded the Championships significantly by adding two new classes of national competition. This added a full day to the Championships and required competition in two venues simultaneously.

“We pride ourselves in Greensboro on providing an experience for athletes and fans that is second to none,” said Henri Fourrier, President & CEO of the Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The recognition from SportsTravel Magazine and its thousands of readers is a nice validation of why Greensboro is known as Tournament Town.”

North Carolina 2015, the Local Organizing Committee for the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, was a collaborative effort among the Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, the Greensboro Sports Commission, Sports & Properties, Inc., North Carolina Amateur Sports, and the Figure Skating Clubs of the Carolinas.

“While Figure Skating is mostly an individual sport, success in hosting events the size of the Championships is truly a team sport,” said Kim Strable. “Our Local Organizing Committee for the Championships did Greensboro proud. Most importantly, the figure skating athletes raved about the event and that is likely what put us over the top when it came to picking the award winners.”

The end of the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January did not signal the end to major Figure Skating events in Greensboro. Thanks to the broad support and interest generated in the sport by two national championships held within four years in the city, this Friday night, November 13, Pandora On Ice will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex featuring Olympic and World Champions Charlie White and Meryl Davis, and Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. In July of 2016, the Coliseum will be the host venue for the Figure Skating competition in the inaugural USA Masters Games, which is on track to be the largest national participant event ever held in the state of North Carolina.

About the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place January 17 to 25, 2015. The Championships concluded with the Smuckers’ Skating Spectacular on Sunday evening, January 25. At the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, National Champions were selected in Ladies, Men, Pairs, and Ice Dance at the Senior, Junior, Novice, Intermediate and Juvenile levels. The 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships featured the three major components of the Championships-competition, practice and FanFest-all in one building, under one roof: an innovative, and highly popular, event presentation pioneered by North Carolina 2015, the Local Organizing Committee for the event.

About North Carolina 2015
North Carolina 2015 served as the local organizing committee for the 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in Greensboro, NC, January 17-25, 2015. NC 2015 encompasses a collaborative team consisting of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, the Greensboro Sports Commission, the Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Sports & Properties, Inc., North Carolina Amateur Sports, and North Carolina Figure Skating Clubs. The 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships were sponsored locally by BB&T and VF Corporation, Presenting Sponsors; and by Official Sponsors the Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Graphic Visual Solutions, the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, BEM, The City of Greensboro, Vela, The Cemala Foundation, Pepsi Bottling Ventures, Lowes Foods, Ice Rink Events, HAECO Americas, Edea, Cone Health, Hagan Davis Law Firm, ExactTarget, Rice Toyota, Apple Rock, Krispy Kreme, North State Communications, Olympia, the Korea Tourism Organization, The Greensboro Partnership, Systel Business Systems, and Lenovo; by The News & Record and WFMY News2, Diamond Media & Marketing Partners; and by Official Media & Marketing Partners I Heart Media, Guilford Woman Magazine; Capitol Broadcasting Company, Forsyth Family Magazine, Forsyth Woman Magazine, and O. Henry Magazine.

For more information, please visit northcarolina2015.com