INTRODUCTION – Sports Network International, Inc. (SNI) began as a small, family run company organized with the intent of producing first-class, youth athletic competitions throughout the United States. Over the past 30 years, SNI has grown from amazingly humble beginnings to become one of the oldest and most trusted companies in North America involved in the production of national sports and sports-related competitions for youth. Serving as the Event Manager and overall event coordinator for several major events held in large cities from coast to coast, SNI maintains its headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida.
SNI BACKGROUND – Founded in 1970 in Plantation, Florida, the company was begun by a small group of Optimist International members who had been asked by several Northern teams to put on a Thanksgiving youth football bowl game in a warm, sunny climate. That initial competitions held in the early 70’s was played on two dirt baseball diamonds marked out as football fields with four youth football organizations attending from Alabama, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Florida. Named the Little Yankee Bowl, that early four-team football tournament were the beginnings of the National Youth Football Championships. This Bowl competition became larger and larger each year as more and more teams spread the word about the fantastic football weekend. The growth of the event both honored and humbled our founders as they continued to put all of their energies into the now famous youth event. Player safety is a huge focus and SNI has been asked on numerous occasions to provide expert insight into league rules and regulations and other related items to aid in keeping the game as safe as possible.
SNI was soon asked to host military Junior ROTC drill and ceremony competitions for the United States military. In just a few years, Army, Navy and Air Force Service Championship events were being hosted across the country in various locations, as well as the massive, all-service National High School Drill Team Championships which services as the grand championship for military drill and ceremony. Hosting over 10,000 cadets annually at all events combined, these military-based events quickly grew to include JROTC Raider Championship events, as well as military training camps, DVD training videos and magazine, on-line websites and other military drill and ceremony related items. Our involvement in these national events has helped to raise the standards and notoriety of competition military drill as a sport over the past few decades throughout the world. Proper training and cadet safety, teaching leadership and good citizenship skills in partnership with the major service commands are the major focus of work in these areas. Currently, SNI is widely considered by many the subject matter experts in competition military drill design and implementation and have provided technical expertise to film and television productions, most visibly in the Disney production, Cadet Kelly.
SNI OPERATION – Events produced by SNI are totally self-sustaining and require no financial assistance from any portion of government or corporate America to be successful. Teams attend the events with most every event filled annually.
Youth teams who are interested in attending an SNI-produced athletic events register on-line and provide advanced money and paperwork to hold a space. By using this method of fee payment, all attendees are assured of having a fantastic, successful experience and businesses used for SNI events are paid IN-FULL, IN-ADVANCE when this is required. Business conducted in this nature has given SNI a spotless financial history with attendees and companies dealt with since the inception of the company.
SNI and CORPORATE INVOLVEMENT – In the years that have passed since its rudimentary beginnings over three decades ago, Sports Network has expanded its operations to include a number of new events as well as becoming a strong force in the Florida sports community. Major corporate sponsorships by Wilson Sporting Goods and The United States Army begun in the mid-80’s have given the company an association with powerful contacts in and out of the sports world. SNI maintains the same close ties to Wilson and the U.S. Army that have been in existence since the inception of the sponsorship. These entities understand the tremendous positive exposure that comes with an alignment with SNI youth events.
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SNI – SNI continues to make a major economic impact on areas where events are held. SNI-produced sporting events will contribute over 29,000 local hotel room nights. Checks written directly to hoteliers and other local businesses total well in excess of 2 million dollars currently. A conservative estimate of $9.2 million dollars is generated into the local economies where SNI events are hosted by the thousands of attendees.
Most all hoteliers and businesses have come to look at this income as being very important to their “bottom line”. This is mostly due to the fact that the events are often contracted annually or bi-annually, with all room and tax charges paid in-full, in advance rain or shine. Unlike many other special events, weather and sponsorship dollars are not a factor on how large or successful the events brought forth by SNI. The SNI events maintain repeat business, National notoriety, and millions of dollars in economic impact over the history of these great events.
SPORTS NETWORK INTERNATIONAL OVERVIEW – With a diverse event portfolio coupled with a spotless professional reputation, SNI has forged a business atmosphere which includes very few competitors. Sports Network does not produce any event unless we believe it has the opportunity to become one of the finest in the world.
While this requires SNI to be quite selective on the events it produces, it guarantees that those events now under production by SNI are among the finest available and getting better every year. This is shown by our 87% return rate for competitors in all SNI produced sporting events for the years 1985 through 2010! No other event management company can even come close to this success rate. SNI maintains a spotless business reputation by treating both suppliers and customers as we would like to be treated.