North American Roller Hockey Championships (NARCh) will return to Germain Arena July 11-27, 2014. Representatives of Lee County Sports Development estimate that 320 teams representing more than 8 countries, and 12,000 players and family members will converge on Lee County for this year’s event. THE ENTIRE EVENT IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC!
The Breakaway Sports Pub will also be open from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day during the NARCh Championships.
Lee County Sports Development anticipates that this year’s event will generate an estimated $7 million in direct economic impact, filling more than 13,000 room nights, and providing more than $123,000 in resort taxes. Lee County last hosted NARCh in 2011 at Germain Arena, welcoming teams from as far away as Japan, France, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and of course Canada. Lee County has hosted the finals an unprecedented five times. This will be the sixth year the event has been held in Lee County, more than any other city or county in the U.S. and Canada.
NARCh draws many highly skilled players and teams from all over world. The annual championships are widely accepted as being the best inline hockey teams in the world. The NARCh Pro Division is known as the pinnacle of inline hockey and $20,000 in prize money will be awarded to the champions. In all there are 32 different divisions ranging from 6 and under to 45 and over, including womens and girls. Highlights from the event will also be televised on Universal Sports Network on August 6th at 7:30pm.
Based out of Encinitas, California, NARCh was founded in 1994 and held its first finals in St Louis, Missouri with 39 teams. You can find out more information about NARCh on their website at http://narch.com/
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