When it comes to listing cities in South Dakota that host championship events, Aberdeen is certainly on that list. Aberdeen has been a hotbed for hosting championship events for many years, and this year will be no exception.

The 2023 calendar has a full slate of events for players, coaches, and fans, involving many different types of sporting events. Some events, such as indoor soccer tournaments and swim meets, have already taken place in January. But the year is just beginning for Aberdeen, as the next big sporting event takes place this weekend with the State Gymnastics Meet at Aberdeen Central High School on Friday and Saturday.

Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Executive Director Casey Weismantel says the city has a full schedule of sporting events it will host throughout the year, but noted that the city has what it needs to meet an organization’s demands.

“Whether it’s a big state event or multiple events held by an organization like swim or soccer or hockey, Aberdeen is very sports-minded to accommodate them,” Weismantel said.

Although the city is willing to accommodate the organizations and their events, Weismantel noted that one of the biggest challenges is finding a place to host an event that Aberdeen desires to bring in.

“The biggest challenge is sometimes you want to bring in an event or host an event, but you just might not have a facility to host it,” Weismantel said. “It might be something that you want to bring to NSU and the Barnett Center or to the Civic Arena, but they might already have something scheduled, so you have to play in the parameters of the facilities that are available.”

Weismantel also stressed the responsibility that the CVB has in helping the organizations and volunteers take steps toward hosting events in Aberdeen.

“The biggest challenge for us in the CVB is to help empower those local organizations and volunteers to step up and be willing to host, and to be willing to throw their hat in the ring knowing that we are here to help,” Weismantel said.

Next month, the city will again host the Class B state high school boys’ basketball tournament, which it has for the better part of three decades at the Barnett Center. On the other end of the spectrum, the city will host the first-ever state softball tournament sanctioned under the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA). That tournament is scheduled for June 1-3 at Koehler Hall of Fame Field and South Players Complex. Weismantel said the city has prepared for new or first-time events before and is ready to add the state softball tournament to the mix of events in Aberdeen.

“We’ve done stuff like that in the past. Aberdeen was the first to host state soccer,” Weismantel said. “You try to be as hospitable as possible and try to put your best foot forward, and moving forward there’s always going to be some bumps or kinks you got to work out. But we are going to really, honestly put a hard effort into hosting that event to the Aberdeen hospitality standards in hopes that they’ll keep coming back.”

Not only does the CVB want to keep the softball tournament in Aberdeen, it also continues to put forth the effort of keeping, as well as attracting, other events to the community. The CVB is looking forward to bringing in events such as the state high school clay target championships, which take place June 9-11, the state go-karting championships, and the South Dakota Special Olympics bowling tournament. The city is also bidding on USA BMX events, which it has hosted in the past. Along with the state basketball tournament in March, Aberdeen will also be hosting the South Dakota Wrestling Coaches Association AAU Wrestling State Championships March 24-26.

Despite the busy calendar year, Weismantel says he is excited for the city of Aberdeen.

“We are excited to be a part of this,” Weismantel said. “We are excited to see the calendar full, and just hope that Aberdeen steps up like I know we can, to host these events.”

To learn more information about upcoming events in Aberdeen, visit the Aberdeen Area Events Facebook page or https://visitaberdeensd.com/events/