The AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships have again been recognized as an outstanding event in the youth sports marketplace.

Connect Sports honored the event along with a host of other sport organizations during an awards ceremony during the Connect Marketplace in New Orleans on Aug. 23. Click here for complete list of 2017 winners.

“The Connect Sports Tourism Excellence Awards have been designed to recognize the best in our industry,” said Patrick Higgins, Connect’s vice president of Marketplaces. “These awards will celebrate specific types of events and the people and venues who ensure their success.”

Since 2012, the AAU Girls’ volleyball event has held the Guinness Book of World Records spot for most teams competing at a volleyball event.  Each year it has broken this record: the 2017 event drew 2,438 teams to the Central Florida area. The 2016 event had an estimated economic impact of more than $52 million.

The event has garnered numerous awards this past year including Sports Destination Management’s Champions of Economic Impact award, SportsEvents Magazine’s Sports Event Planners to Watch, and the National Association of Sports Commissions Sports Event Organizer of the Year.

“We are truly honored to accept this award on behalf of the nearly 120,000 people who travel to Central Florida annually for this event,” said Dr. Roger J. Goudy, President/CEO of the AAU. “The relationships we have built throughout Central Florida, including Visit Orlando and Walt Disney World Resort, make the AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all our athletes and their families.”