Author: Jason Gewirtz

Jason Gewirtz is the editor and publisher of SportsTravel. He has worked at the magazine in various roles since 2008, including as managing editor and editor. He is a former member of the Sports ETA board of directors.
Larry Alexander Crop

Larry Alexander Announces Retirement from Detroit Metro CVB

Larry Alexander, who helped bring several major sports events to Detroit as the longtime president and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, has announced his intention to retire. Alexander’s retirement will take effect December 31. Alexander oversaw the bureau for the past 22 years, a stretch that saw an economic transformation in […]

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Blerter USA Triathlon

USA Triathlon Signs Blerter and Athletic Brewing Company

USA Triathlon has announced two new partnerships, one with an event delivery platform and the other with the makers of a  non-alcohol beer—the first NGB to announce such a sponsorship. In a deal that extends through May 2023, USA Triathlon will partner with Blerter, a global event delivery platform to provide event management services. Blerter’s […]

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Brandon Thompson

NASCAR Names First VP of Diversity and Inclusion

Less than a week after announcing it would ban the Confederate flag from all its events, NASCAR has created a new position of vice president of diversity and inclusion, to be filled by league executive Brandon Thompson. In the new position, Thompson will oversee the league’s strategy for diversity and inclusion, as well as programs […]

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Guidelines

Sports Event Guidelines for Post-COVID Competition

As sports at all levels prepare to come back from weeks or months on hiatus, sports organizations are releasing guidelines that can serve as a framework for how to host events safely and successfully. The following are links to various published guidelines across a range of sports that are designed for event organizers to consult […]

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Photo: USA BMX

Case Study: 5 Takeaways from USA BMX’s First Event Back

Few sports may be better positioned than BMX to return to events. After all, the sport’s participants wear helmets that cover their mouths and serve as almost built-in masks. But staging an event in the new pandemic era isn’t as easy as telling people to get on their bikes because their faces may be covered. […]

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College World Series – June 26, 2019
Photo: Scott Clarke/ESPN Images)

College World Series Seeks Virtual Waves

This week would have marked the 2020 NCAA Men’s College World Series, a tournament that for years has attracted a large number of visitors to Omaha, Nebraska, the event’s longtime host. But with the NCAA canceling its spring championships, Omaha, like other cities, was left without one of its signature events. Looking ahead to next […]

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Mike Carrier crop

Mike Carrier Announces Retirement from Oklahoma City CVB

After a 35-year career in the hospitality industry, Mike Carrier, the president of the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau, has announced that he will retire on September 30. Carrier has led the Oklahoma City CVB since 2007 and oversaw the ongoing construction of a new convention center, among other developments. “Mike was the right […]

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Virus Outbreak Golden Gate Woes
The Great American 5000 virtual race, organized by Sports Backers in Richmond, Virginia, will begin in San Francisco and chart a course to New York. Photo: Eric Risberg/AP Images

Case Study: A Sports Commission Rethinks its Events

The coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on sports events at all levels. For sports commissions that organize their own events and rely on revenue from those events, the pandemic has been especially hard. That loss of events and revenue has raised a number of questions. When a sports commission exists to create events that […]

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Thomas Bach

IOC Issues Statement Condemning Racism

The International Olympic Committee has issued a statement that the organization “condemns racism in the strongest terms” and opened the door for athletes to express their feelings on the subject during a future Olympic or Paralympic Games. The issue of athlete protests on the podium has been a controversial one ever since U.S. athletes Tommie […]

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Virus Outbreak Japan Daily Life
The Olympic rings float in the water at sunset in the Odaiba section of Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Tokyo 2020 Moving to Simplify Games

Tokyo 2020 continues to move forward with plans for a downsized Olympic Summer Games in 2021, releasing a new timeline for operations planning that calls for an agreement on new service levels by July. The postponement to 2021 continues to have hundreds of moving parts, including the need to secure all 41 venues that had […]

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