See how Orlando helped the world's largest volleyball event break records, and how we can do the same for your next event.

The world’s largest youth volleyball event broke a new Guinness Book of World Records mark in Orlando — and showed unwavering support for the destination — as it attracted more than 70,000 attendees from across the country to Orlando June 18 to 26, 2016. 

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships was one of the first citywide events to take place in Orlando since the recent tragic events. The event wove in a strong show of support for the Orlando destination, with many of the young athletes signing banners and signs for the community. 

“Orlando is just a fabulous place to come. Teams come back year in and year out because there are so many great experiences, from the theme parks to dining and much more,” stated Roger Goudy, President & CEO of AAU. “This is a great destination for our event.” 

More than 27,000 athletes from across the US competed on 177 courts at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort® and the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). The event has generated more than 2 million view-time minutes of live streaming including select championship matches on WATCHESPN, and served to further raise the visibility of the region as a key destination location in the youth sport marketplace. 

“In addition to the record-breaking number of visitors brought to us yet again by this event, the AAU remains a great community partner to Orlando, as evidenced by this incredible show of support from the organization and its athletes, parents and coaches,” said George Aguel, President & CEO of Visit Orlando.

Headquartered in Orlando, the AAU organization strives to give back locally. More than 40,000 meals were packed by AAU members in partnership with Feeding Children Everywhere to benefit Orlando-area youth as part of the new AAU Cares initiative. 

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