Sarasota County is becoming an important stop on the road to Tokyo ahead of this year’s Olympic Games, which are set to begin July 23. In addition to hosting various qualifying events, the county will host numerous team and individual athletes for training sessions as they prepare to compete on the world stage. The U.S. Olympic rowing team trials, which occurred February 22-26, kicked off the qualifying events. The U.S. Olympic team trials for canoeing and kayaking took place March 19-21 at Nathan Benderson Park. The region’s venue offerings, existing sports programming, and community support are some of the attributes that make it an attractive option for teams. Here's what else is coming up:

Softball

The Florida Gulf Coast League will host Team Canada and Team Mexico in its summer league. Team Canada will be playing four games between July 3- 4, 2021 at the Miss Sarasota Softball complex. Team Mexico will play a six-game series against FGCL Softball teams June 22-27, while training locally and hosting a softball camp. More than 400 athletes, including Olympians, will be training in the destination with FGCL this summer. Visit fgclsoftball.com for the full schedule.

Cycling (BMX Racing)

Sarasota BMX is one of only a handful of tracks in the United States that features dual 8- and 5-meter start hills. Because international racing rules require an 8-meter start, future Olympians are especially interested in training at tracks with this asset. This spring, Sarasota BMX has hosted the Colombian and British national teams for extended training sessions and anticipate additional bookings in the coming months.