New golf practice facility opens … and more Southwest Sports!

compiled by Lauren Salinero


Representatives from Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort Orlando celebrated with an official ribbon-cutting of the new 16-acre practice facility. Golf course designers Tom Fazio and T. Logan Fazio were on hand to commemorate the occasion. The practice facility includes a double-ended driving range with a 2-acre natural grass tee box, a chipping and pitching area totaling 14,000 square feet, greenside and fairway practice bunkers, an additional 13,000-square-foot putting green, and TrackMan swing analysis technology.

Four Seasons Resort Orlando team members (l. to r.) Eric Allain, general manager of Tranquilo Golf Club; Thomas Steinhauer, general manager of Four Seasons Resort Orlando; Rusty Wilson, superintendent of Tranquilo Golf Club; T. Logan Fazio, golf course designer; and Tom Fazio, golf course designer cut the ribbon on the new 16-acre practice facility.


The Color Run Hero Tour comes to Orlando on April 14. This colorful run is dubbed the “Happiest 5K on the Planet.” Color runners can expect to run, dance or walk their way through brand-new Super Zones — enhanced color zones that feature two colors, vibrant music and more color than ever before. After smashing through the finish line, participants can hit the super-charged Finish Festival, including a Grub Garden, with food vendors and outdoor seating, and a Hero Zone, trampoline photo-op activation that gives runners the opportunity to soar into the sky and capture their #tcrhero moment. There will also be a foam area, music, dancing and The Color Run’s signature massive color throws every few minutes from the main stage.

The 2018 tour marks seven years of The Color Run bringing health and happiness to people’s lives. Each year, The Color Run takes on a new theme, and this year’s “Hero Tour” will be filled with superhero-inspired features as runners get doused in color ever kilometer of the run. The Orlando run benefits the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, which locally provides wholesome food to the hungry.

For more information and to register, visit www.thecolorrun.com/locations/orlando.


Officials of the National Women’s Soccer League announced the league will play a 24-game schedule for the 2018 season. For the second consecutive season and third time overall, NWSL teams will play 12 home and 12 away regular-season games. The 2018 preseason training camps begin Feb. 19, while the regular season kicks off the weekend of March 24-25. The regular season will culminate the weekend of Sept. 8-9 and be followed by the playoffs, including two semifinal matches Sept. 14-16 and the championship Sept. 22.

Orlando City Soccer Club representatives announced their plans for the club’s 2018 Kickoff to Soccer events, which is a monthlong celebration to commence the start of the Major League Soccer and NWSL seasons in Central Florida. Kickoff to Soccer begins Feb. 23 with the Soccer Ball presented by Orlando Health. At this event, fans have an opportunity to celebrate the start of the MLS and NWSL seasons, meet the players from both the City and Pride, and experience soccer culture from around the world. Other events include the annual Purple Pride 5K, Scarf the City, Kids vs. Pros, Orlando City Pub Crawl, and more.

For more information, visit orlandocitysc.com.


The ninth annual Golf for H.O.P.E. Tournament will take place Feb. 19 at The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Pointe. The event, the only annual fundraiser for Helping Other People Eat, has raised more than $200,000 during the past eight years. It has funded scholarships for eating disorder treatment, updates to the nonprofit’s educational outreach resources, and many other community initiatives.

For more information, visit www.hopetolive.com.


The nonprofit Futures Wood-Bat League is accepting registrations for its 2018 summer program. To register, players must be graduating high school and committed to play baseball in college. They also can be a current college player rostered at a NCAA, NAIA or JUCO school.

The registration deposit is a nonrefundable $200, and the registration deadline is April 28, 2018. Cost for position players is $750, and
primary pitchers are $450.

For more information or to register, visit www.fwlbaseball.com/registration.


In a continuing effort to promote health and wellness, the Orlando Magic Youth Basketball Academy celebrated NBA Fit Week 2018 with a Magic Fit Fun Day. Southwest residents and Magic Community Ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw joined other Magic players and representatives at the Kids Community College in Ocoee to host a fun day for 300 students who participated in the four-week challenge. The event included a variety of physical fitness challenges for the youngsters, including five stations: the Running Relay Obstacle Course, Egg and Spoon Race, Over-the-Head Basketball Handoff Game, Basketball Passing on Court, and Canvas Painting With a Basketball.

This year, 31 local schools and more than 17,000 students participated in the four-week challenge, logging more than 12 million minutes of exercise. Of those 31 schools, 14 completed the challenge with 100 percent school participation. After a random drawing, Kids Community College was selected as the grand-prize winner of a Magic Fit Fun Day.


The Nspire Network will sponsor a 5K run at Omni Orlando Resort on Feb. 24 to benefit Now We No Foundation. Funds raised by the $25 entry fee will help underprivileged women and young girls.

The Now We No campaign, which is composed of communities, women’s organizations and ministries, was spearheaded by the Nspire Network that is committed to development of first-class wellness products and educating individuals about all the health-related problems arising from products the FDA does not supervise.

The 5K will start at 10 a.m., and there are only 500 spots available for runners. To sign up early, visit nspirenetworkstore.com. For more information, call 386-216-9553.


Dr. Phillips High School’s men’s basketball team honored seniors Shawn Evans, Esdras Jean and Daniel Love for Senior Night. All three played well in that night’s game. Love scored 32 points, seven rebounds and six steals to seal the team’s 73-58 victory over Maynard Evans High School.

The men’s soccer team also held its Senior Night, honoring Aleksander Bojaxhi, Adam Chani, Widlin Charles, Colby Day, Jesus Pernia Escorche, Gabriel Gonzalez, Gabriel Gonzalez-Alaca, Stann Louis Jeune, Micah Martin, Matias Mele, Juan Sebastian Rodriguez and Sam Ross. The team went on to win its game that evening, 7-1, to close out the regular season with a record of 11-6-2. A few of the seniors scored their first varsity goals: Adam Chani, Widlin Charles, Colby Day and Gabriel Gonzalez. Jeune also added two more goals to his season tally, and junior Matt Clark sent in the remaining score.

Although we try to ensure that all information presented above is the most current, correct and dependable available, we do rely on others for the source of our news. Therefore, the Southwest Orlando Bulletin and Cornerstone Publishing & Multi-Media LLC cannot be held responsible for the validity of the information presented here, nor does mentioning it constitute an endorsement. Sports information is welcome and may be mailed to P.O. Box 851, Windermere, FL 34786; or emailed to Lauren@kearneypublishing.com. ♥