June 23, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Experience Sioux Falls.

Summer weather means being out in the sun, taking a dip in the pool and enjoying some ice cream. While that is true, summer in Sioux Falls also means welcoming youth sports tournaments.

“The youth sports scene in Sioux Falls has always been strong, but things have really taken off in the last couple of years, particularly with soccer and softball,” said Teri Schmidt, executive director of Experience Sioux Falls.

Sioux Falls already has hosted a handful of tournaments over the past several weeks, including the annual Ohayon Invitational, which was organized by Dakota Alliance Soccer Club, or DASC, last month. The tournament brought in 215 teams from around the country, equating to somewhere between 9,000 to 12,000 participants and spectators, DASC estimates.

“We had a tremendous turnout for the Ohayon Invitational and received interest from a lot of teams, much more so than we anticipated, given the past year that we all came off of,” said Jordan Salamido, tournament director.

DASC also will be hosting its annual Fall Kick-Off toward the end of summer, which it estimates will bring in 4,500 participants and spectators.

Moving from the soccer field to the softball diamond, Sioux Falls People for Youth also is expecting a strong turnout for its upcoming tournaments. The 44th annual Ringneck Invitational, taking place July 2-4, is expected to bring in 128 girls softball teams for a total of 2,500 participants and spectators. Meanwhile, the organization’s USA Class A 16U National Championship at the end of July is expected to bring 40 to 50 teams from across the nation with more 1,000 participants and spectators.

“We love being able to host these high-quality tournaments year after year, and it’s fun to look back to where we started and see the growth and improvement we have accomplished as an organization over time to where we are today,” said Dave Nielsen, president of Sioux Falls People for Youth.

There are so many more youth tournaments taking place in Sioux Falls throughout the year, but with just these four tournaments, Sioux Falls will have seen at least 17,000 visitors to our city.

“Having the opportunity to host these tournaments in Sioux Falls is huge for our community,” Schmidt said. “These athletes and their families are coming here to participate in the tournaments, but they also find time to go out and enjoy our city by dining at our restaurants, shopping at our stores and visiting our attractions. This is a major boost to Sioux Falls’ economy that oftentimes many people don’t realize.”

These tournament visitors are not always just one-time visitors either.

“We hear from people all the time who visit our community for a tournament and end up enjoying their time here so much that they start planning a future family vacation to visit again,” Schmidt said.

“So if you happen to see these visitors around Sioux Falls this summer, please be sure to welcome them. At the end of the day, their spending is saving money for each household in taxes. That’s money back in your pockets and our chance to show all our community has to offer.”