DAYTONA BEACH SET TO HOST

WORLD LIFESAVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Preparations continue for the upcoming Rescue 2002ä World Lifesaving Championships taking place in Daytona Beach, Florida, May 7-19, 2002.

Rescue 2002ä brings world-class athletes from across the globe to the world’s most famous beach to compete in a variety of team and individual lifesaving competitions. This international championship, held every two years, is comprised of several competitions including events for national teams, club teams, masters, surfboats and open still-water boats.

This twelve-day competition offers lifesavers the opportunity to test their skills against athletes from more than 40 countries around the world.

Rescue 2002ä is hosted jointly by the Central Florida Sports Commission, Volusia County Government, the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce and the United States Lifesaving Association.

“Our progress towards hosting this event has been phenomenal thus far,” said Central Florida Sports Commission Volusia County Marketing Manager Brent Moore. “The response from the lifesaving community is incredible. We are receiving many requests for information each day, and the number of rooms already reserved continues to grow at a strong rate.”

Rescue 2002ä is estimated to generate $9.0 million in direct economic impact for the Daytona Beach area, combined with more than 16,000 room nights. More than 4000 competitors, as well as 6,000 additional visitors, are expected to attend this prestigious event.

Rescue 1998 and Rescue 2000 took place in Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney, Australia, respectively. Rescue 2002ä will be the first international championship taking place in the United States; however, in 1996 Volusia County hosted the highly successful national championships.

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2-2-2-2-2 DAYTONA BEACH SET TO HOST WORLD LIFESAVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The event’s ocean competition is scheduled to take place at Daytona Beach near the Main St. Pier, while the pool portion of the competition is being held at the state-of-the-art YMCA Aquatic Facility in nearby Orlando.

“As the largest lifesaving corps on the east coast, we are excited to capitalize on the combination of our history, location, facility, ability and experience to make this event a milestone for the world’s most famous beach,” said Joe Wooden, deputy chief of the Volusia County Beach Patrol.

“We are very excited to be bringing the largest international lifesaving competition to the world’s most famous beach,” said John Saboor, senior vice president of the Central Florida Sports Commission. “This competition serves as a wonderful opportunity to showcase Daytona Beach and Volusia County as a world-class sports and recreation destination.”

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CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mason Moore David Byron, APR

Kenton Smith Advertising & Public Relations, Inc. County of Volusia, Florida

(407) 872-7799 (386) 822-5062

mason@kentonsmithadv.com dbyron@co.volusia.fl.us