Tales and Topics from the Panhandle to the Keys – Passing Out Some Good On Ya’s to the Florida Sports Community

Passing Out Some Good On Ya’s to the Florida Sports Community – Volume 1, Edition 17
By Nick Gandy

When was the last time someone recognized an achievement of yours with a “Good On Ya?”

It’s a simple and quick acknowledgement of a job well done for an everyday achievement.

We at the Florida Sports Foundation and “Tales and Topics from the Panhandle to the Keys,” are now in the business handing out well-deserved “Good On Ya’s,” to our friends and associates around the state.

Good On Ya to the nearly 3,200 Florida Senior Games athletes who qualified for the 2026 Games in Local Senior Games Series Qualifiers from January through April.  They began what offers them a three-step journey from Local to State to National competitions.

What’s even more encouraging, there’s another round of Florida Senior Games Series Qualifiers beginning in September giving athletes an opportunity to qualify for the 2026 Florida Senion Games, December 5-13, in Florida’s Sports Coast/Pasco County.  The 2026 Games are a qualifier for the 2027 National Senior Games, June 30-July 11, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Good On Ya to our friends at Florida’s Sports Coast, in Pasco County, for working with the FSF to host the 2026 Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships, this weekend at Advent Health Center Ice, with more than 330 skaters on the ice from Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 17.  In December, the FSF returns to Pasco County for the 35^th Annual Florida Senior Games and for two more years through the 2028 Games.  Since 2022, 9,419 athletes aged 50 and over have competed in Pasco County.

Good On Ya to St. Pete/Clearwater for their commitment to Major League Baseball hosting opportunities.  Besides the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays Spring Training, Pinellas County has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays since 1998.  The Rays are currently one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball winning 10 of their last 11 games to move into first place of the American League East.

During the 2026 Florida Spring Training season 231,826 fans attended games in Pinellas County, 143,392 at Clearwater’s BayCare Ballpark, home of the Philadelphia Phillies and 88,434 at TD Ballpark, in Dunedin, home of the Toronto Blue Jays.  For the summer of 2026, the Clearwater Threshers and Dunedin Blue Jays call those two parks home, giving baseball fans more opportunities to a day at the ballpark.

Good On Ya to Pensacola Sports and its President/CEO, Ray Palmer, who was recently inducted into the Sports ETA Hall of Fame. Pensacola Sports is the first and oldest sports commission in Florida, dating back to 1955, Palmer has been the President/CEO since 2002.  He will retire at some point in the near future.  Good on ya, to you as well, Ray!

Good On Ya to the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. The City Beautiful was selected as an Olympic Q-Series host on the road to the LA28 Olympic Games. The four-stop series will feature training opportunities and competitions in 3×3 basketball, beach volleyball, BMX freestyle, climbing, flag football and skateboarding. The journey comes to a close in Orlando, after stops in Tokyo, Shanghai and Montreal, drawing athletes and fans to the East Coast of the US., June 8-11, 2028.

Good On Ya to the Tampa Bay Sports Commission for securing the Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Championships at Benchmark International Arena in March of 2027 and 2028. It marks the first time that this prestigious championship will be held in Tampa. Since 2000, 18 of the National Champions have come from the SEC including Florida, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma.

The city is no stranger hosting premier SEC events, having previously staged the 2009 and 2022 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, as well as hosting the SEC Football Media Days for the first time this July.

Good On Ya to the Gainesville Sports Commission and Alachua County for securing the 2027 World Masters Athletics (WMA) Indoor Championships, to be held at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center and West End Park.

Building on the success of the 2025 championships, this prestigious international event will once again bring elite masters athletes and visitors from around the world to Alachua County. In 2025, Alachua County hosted the Championships for the first time in the U.S., welcoming over 3,700 competing athletes from 98 nations, along with family, coaches and spectators. Total attendance was estimated at 17,433, with 16,190 visitors from outside the county. The economic impact of the event was over $24 million.

Good On Ya to 12 Florida college softball teams advancing into the post-season.  In the NCAA Division I Softball Championships that begin this weekend, Florida has the most entries in the 64-team field with six.  The Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles will be serving as regional hosts, while the Central Florida Knights and Stetson Hatters will play in Tallahassee and the Florida A&M Rattlers will play in Gainesville.  The South Florida Bulls also earned a spot in the Fayetteville, AR regional.

In the NCAA Division II Tournament, the West Florida Argonauts, Tampa Spartans and St. Leo Lions heard their names called.  In the NAIA Tournament, the Southeastern Vikings are hosting in Lakeland while the Keiser Seahawks and St. Thomas Bulldogs earned a berth.

These Good On Ya’s are a small sample of why Florida was ranked second in the Nation in amateur and spectator sports at the Sports ETA Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Look for more Good On Ya’s in future “Tales and Topics from the Panhandle to the Keys.”  The efforts of all of these Good On Ya’s in greatly appreciated.

Nick Gandy is a 40-year sports communications professional who has worked with the Florida Sports Foundation, the state of Florida’s lead sports promotion and development organization, since 1998.

May 13, 2026