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Alabama Tourism News
12-07-2007From the Alabama Tourism Department...
-- Tuscaloosa to host USA Triathlon Olympic Trials
-- United States Sports Academy donates painting to 5 Rivers
-- Sweet Golf Alabama
-- Grand Hotel makes Zagat guide book
-- Bank Travel magazine has 6-page section on Alabama
-- Alabama waterfall site named best in nation for camping
-- Ruffner Mountain Nature Center groundbreaking
-- Spots still open for consumer travel show volunteers
-- Pam Swanner planning to return to Alabama
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Tuscaloosa to host USA Triathlon Olympic Trials
The 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials for triathlon will be held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., USA Triathlon (USAT) officials announced today. The race is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2008.
Tuscaloosa was chosen based on its success with hosting USAT Collegiate Nationals earlier this year and the course’s match with that of the Olympic Games course in Beijing. USAT officials were also pleased with the enthusiasm expressed by the mayor’s office and the local community during the search process. “USAT is absolutely thrilled by the unprecedented level of support Tuscaloosa officials are providing to Olympic Trials and Collegiate Nationals,” said USAT National Events Director Jeff Dyrek.
“We are deeply appreciative of the confidence shown to the City of Tuscaloosa by the USOC and USAT to host this historic event,” said Mayor Walt Maddox. “The U.S. Olympic Trials for triathlon has officially woven Tuscaloosa into the global fabric of the Olympic tradition.”
“We're proud to showcase Tuscaloosa on a national and international level during our State Tourism Office promotion of the Year of Alabama Sports,” said Robert Ratliff, Executive Director of the Greater Tuscaloosa Convention and Visitors Bureau. “This event expands our diversity of sporting events that Tuscaloosa is capable of hosting.” www.tcvb.org
United States Sports Academy donates painting to 5 Rivers
The United States Sports Academy donated “Mobile Bay,” a one-of-a-kind painting created by world renowned artist Wyland with school children from Mobile and Baldwin Counties and a limited edition print of Wyland’s “Ocean Paradise” to 5 Rivers – Alabama’s Delta Resource Center, on Tuesday at the 5 Rivers Center in Spanish Fort.
“On behalf of Alabama Governor Bob Riley, I would like to thank the United States Sports Academy for this kind donation,” said Lee Sentell, Director of the Alabama Tourism Department during the dedication ceremony. “We are pleased to see the support of the local community for the 5 Rivers Center.”
According to 5 Rivers Manager, Hank Burch, these two pieces are “a tremendous gift to 5 Rivers and a very fitting tribute as the State closes out its 2007 ‘Year of Alabama Arts’ tourism campaign.”
The 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center is operated by the State Lands Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. This new facility, located on the Mobile Bay Causeway, serves as a gateway for outdoor recreation, conservation education and land stewardship in Alabama. http://www.outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/5rivers/
Sweet Golf Alabama
Kerry Teague with the Alabama Tourism Department coordinated a media tour last month to golf courses across the state. One of the writers on the tour was David Wood, author of the soon-to-be published book "Around the World in Eighty Rounds." The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and Tuscaloosa’s Ol’ Colony are highlighted in the first in a series of articles he has written based on his golf experience in Alabama. Following is an excerpt from that article, for the complete article see http://cybergolf.com/indexGenerator.asp?newsID=5643
Sweet Golf Alabama by David Wood
With all due respect to golf's birthplace in Scotland's Kingdom of Fife, California's majestic Monterey Peninsula, the golf wonderland of New Zealand, and magical Kaua'i with its beguiling ocean-view courses, a new locale on the globe has politely barged into that lofty group of the world's top golf destinations. That locale is the entire state of Alabama. That's right Alabama! The land of Southern hospitality, moon pies, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, Bear Bryant, and slow-cooked barbeque is now the top golf destination in the United States! There I said it. It needed to be said.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (www.rtjgolf.com, 800/949-4444) put the state on the golf world map in 1992 with the noble idea of creating accessible, first-rate public courses. The Trail now boasts 464 holes spanning the length of the state, from the verdant rolling hills of the north to the pine-lined wetlands in the south. Golf seems to thrive on Alabama's fertile soil. The Trail courses are shockingly superb. Now that a bunch of new Alabama courses have been built to expand the Trail, the golfing bounty of the state is flourishing even more.
Ol' Colony (http://www.tcpara.org/ocolonygolf.php, 205/562-3201) in Tuscaloosa is a Jerry Pate gem and one of the best municipal courses in the U.S. Owned by Tuscaloosa County, Ol' Colony is a strategic layout requiring a bit of pondering and chin-scratching before giving your ball a whack willy-nilly. Attention must be paid! Though not overly long at 6,464 yards, tall pines and beefy oaks gobble up wayward drives as doglegs tempt you to cut the corner at your peril.
Alabama is what the golf world needs more of - plentiful and outstanding golf, welcoming folks genuinely pleased to see you, modest green fees (given the pedigree of the course architects), and layouts challenging for all abilities. Hey, give Alabama its props - they did the whole shebang right.
Grand Hotel and RTJ courses makes Zagat guide books
The Grand Hotel Marriott Resort in Point Clear is listed in the prestigious Zagat guide book “2008 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts, and Spas” that has just been released. Several Robert Trent Jones Golf courses also made Zagat’s “America’s Top Golf Courses” survey. The Ross Bridge golf course at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort in Hoover ranked No. 2 among new courses in the U.S., while the course in Florence als
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