Bay Hill Women’s Golf celebrate the holidays … and more Southwest Sports!

compiled by Lauren Salinero


Bay Hill Women’s Golf Association’s nine-hole and 18-hole clubs held their annual holiday events. Bay Hill nine-holers had fun with an “Auld Lang Syne” holiday scramble. During the luncheon afterward, charity coordinator Nancy Beasley and advocate Kathy Burt introduced speaker Tia Aery, executive director for Family Promise of Greater Orlando. The generous women raised more than $2,000 for Family Promise of Greater Orlando, which has been dedicated to assisting homeless families with children in Central Florida for 15 years. It seeks to guide, motivate and inspire homeless families to life beyond their crisis of homelessness back to independent living.

The Bay Hill Women’s Golf Association nine-holers club celebrates the holidays with a scramble and luncheon.

For the 10th year, Bay Hill Club 18-holers donated toys to support the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Child Life program. During the luncheon that followed golf, Sheri Mosely, department manager for children’s and women’s services and community engagement at Arnold Palmer, spoke to the group explaining how the toys are sorted and presented to the children who are hospitalized during the holidays.

The Bay Hill Women’s Golf Association 18-holers club donates toys to support the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Child Life program.


Orlando Magic players joined head coach Frank Vogel and CEO Alex Martins for the 27th annual Orlando Magic Youth Foundation Open, a premier fundraising golf tournament that raises money for local youth. The event generated more than $215,000. More than 200 golfers competed at Disney’s Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses and then gathered for an exclusive awards reception.

“It’s great to get all the people who are big fans of the Magic out here to raise money for OMYF and have a great time,” Martins said. “Disney does an unbelievably great job putting it on for us, and it seems to get better and better every year. So, this is another great success for the OMYF.”


Thousands of marathon runners braved freezing temperatures and converged on Walt Disney World earlier this month to participate in one, two or all of the events taking place during the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. This year was the biggest weekend celebration ever in honor of the marathon’s 25th anniversary. Runs began Jan. 4, with the Walt Disney World 5K presented by Cigna, followed by the 10K the next day, half marathon of 13.1 miles on Saturday, and, finally, the 26.2-mile marathon on Sunday. Kids 13-younger were also welcomed to join the fun with the 1-mile runDisney Kids Races presented by GoGo squeeZ Applesauce on the Go.

For runners who strove to literally go the extra mile, Goofy’s Race and Half Challenge consisted of both the half marathon and marathon for a total of 39.3 miles. For those who wanted even more of a trial, the fifth annual Dopey Challenge was a four-day, 48.6-mile endurance challenge that consisted of running the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon within pacing requirements.


Orlando Magic and Amway Center teamed up with KultureCity to become the first NBA arena in Florida certified by KultureCity as sensory inclusive. KultureCity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to rethinking accessibility to create acceptance and inclusion for all individuals. The certification process included Orlando Magic and Amway Center full- and part-time team member sensory-awareness training and all the implementation of enhanced services that includes sensory bags, signage and weighted lap pads. The new initiative will promote a positive, accommodating experience for all fans and guests with sensory sensitivities who attend events at the arena.


Four of the world’s top six soccer teams will be on display as the 2018 SheBelieves Cup makes its final stop at Orlando City Stadium on March 7. Orlando will host the final two matches in the annual four-team tournament.

Second-ranked Germany, third-ranked England and sixth-ranked France will join top-ranked USA in a tournament that includes international women’s soccer powers and dozens of the world’s best players in the six-game competition. The U.S. team won the inaugural tournament in 2016, while France won the 2017 games.


The University of Central Florida Knights football team marched down Main Street, USA, at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom in a special parade in their honor as a celebration of Orlando’s hometown team having a championship season with a perfect record and outstanding academic success. The football team was joined by cheerleaders and the marching band. The Knights finished its best season ever with an undefeated record.

The student-athletes also posted the highest graduation rate among all public institutions in the nation in the Football Bowl Subdivision for four consecutive years.


Dr. Phillips High School’s women’s soccer team scored a 3-1 victory over Apopka High School to win the program’s first Metro West Conference Championship. DPHS standout players from the match included senior Carmel de Oliveira, captain; senior Stephanie Oliveira, captain; freshman Jill Ross and sophomore Chloe Washington.

The Panthers’ women’s weightlifting team also claimed a Metro West Conference Championship. Seven of the 10 lifters earned podium finishes, including two champions. Sophomore Jada St. Cyr took DPHS’s first individual title in the 139-pound class with a total lift of 255 pounds, and junior Amani Guzman earned a title in the unlimited division with a 330-pound total lift. The team made yet another impressive showing at the KSA Holiday Duals at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. It swept through all six matches by a total score of 463-42 to win the tournament championship handily. In addition, junior Shania Gowan, a state champion, earned the tournament’s most valuable wrestler.

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