From its inception, Florida has been renowned as a state where great athletes hone their skills.
The 2024 Paris Olympics were another example of that as the Sunshine State sports the second-most Olympians of any state with 47.
Among the luminaries who represented Florida in Paris were swimmer and eight-time gold medalist Caeleb Dressel (the third largest gold medal tally in Olympics history); Perry Baker, who set a men’s rugby sevens Olympic record after scoring four tries in a victory over Uruguay; Coco Gauff, who is a women’s tennis superstar and was named a flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony; Ashleigh Johnson, a Princeton University alum and the first Black athlete to make the U.S. Olympic team in water polo; and Sha’Carri Richardson, who captured the silver medal in the women’s 100 meters.
Olympic excellence is nothing new for Florida, as the state has historically sent a multitude of legends to the Olympics over the years including swimmer and 12-time medalist Dara Torres; swimmer and 11-time medalist Ryan Lochte; two of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time in Serena and Venus Williams; famed diver Greg Louganis and five-time Olympic medalist Justin Gatlin, who qualified in the 100 and 200 meters at 34 years of age.
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Florida Attractions for Athletes
The state of Florida is a stander bearer in numerous categories. It is ranked No. 1 in domestic travel; has the longest coastline (1,197 statute miles) in the contiguous United States, with 825 miles of accessible beaches to enjoy; is the boating and fishing capital of the world; and ranks highest for sports tourism economic impact.
Florida is also the theme park epicenter of the world. Many family entertainment titans reside in Florida, including Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, LEGOLAND and Busch Gardens. Florida is also home to 15 Major League Baseball teams in the month of March for Spring Training, where more than 35 million fans have attended games in Florida since 2000. The state saw more than 1.4 million fans in south Florida ballparks in March 2024 alone.
And with a host of incredible destinations including Jacksonville, Panama City Beach, Miami, the Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale, Naples and the Palm Beaches, to name a few, it’s no surprise Florida was again voted the No. 1 domestic tourist destination in the United States.
How Florida Olympic license plates help athletes
The state has also proven to be a trailblazer in the way it helps its younger athletes prosper.
The Florida Sports Foundation features a license plate program in which state residents can select from a variety of personalized license plates ranging from their favorite Florida professional sports teams to plates sporting Olympic rings. By purchasing a sports license plate, residents support youth and amateur athletes and help aspiring Olympians achieve their dreams of competing in the Olympic games.
The Florida Sports Foundation, an organization that has promoted the state’s sports industry since 1992, supports the state’s nine professional sports teams. Through the sale of pro sports license plates, fans can back their favorite team and Florida’s $57.4 billion sports industry.
Fifty percent of sales is distributed directly to the U.S. Olympic Committee to help support the U.S. Olympic Movement and Florida’s Olympic athletes. Fifty percent of the proceeds are used by the Florida Sports Foundation to promote amateur sports in Florida, including the Florida Senior Games State Championships and Florida’s Sunshine State Games. The FSF also promotes sports tourism through sports development grants.
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Here are just a few examples of amateur sporting events that the license plate dollars support in communities across Florida:
- AAU Karate National Championships
- AAU Taekwondo National Championships
- USTA National Championship and National Clay Court Championship
- World Baton Twirling Championship and U.S. National Baton Twirling Championship
- South Beach Triathlon
- Northwest Track & Field Classic
- Perfect Game Baseball Championship Series
- XIII CMAS Fin Swimming World Cup 2018
In addition, a portion of the sports license tag fees goes toward supporting major sports events such as the Super Bowl, NFL Pro Bowl, and NHL Hockey.
With the 2024 Paris Olympics having passed, the sporting world has set its sights on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. With many top-notch facilities across the state, Florida has positioned itself as the premier training destination leading into the 2028 Olympics.
Why Train in Florida?
Florida has always been a hub for Olympic hopefuls, starting with the Sunshine State Games run by the Florida Sports Foundation. The state also sports a variety of talented collegiate athletes in Florida’s university system that have trained competed and won at the Olympics, to the elite level training facilities throughout the state (Pure Athletics Track Club in Clermont Fl, where many of Team USA gold medal winning T&F athletes trained for Paris).
To help these athletes continue to fulfill their Olympic dreams, Florida will be creating a program called “Come Train In Florida” that will promote Florida as the premier training center for the LA28 games, to all international and domestic Olympic hopefuls.
The Florida Sports Foundation will engage its 35 destination partners to highlight the unique, elite level training facilities they posses as well as their community’s willingness to support these athletes in their pursuit of Olympic gold.
One of the main things in that equation, just as important as a top-level athletics facility for a respective Olympic sport, is the community’s ability to support elite level training (IE: International travel arrangements, language barriers, nutrition, non-sport related training (weightlifting, cardio conditioning etc), recovery and downtime entertainment.) The Florida Sports Foundation’s partners have all of those and more and “Come Train In Florida” will bring that information to the front steps of the coaches and decision makers of the international Olympic athletes.
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