The New England Region Volleyball Association (NERVA) announced it will expand its Mizuno New England Winterfest Tournament at the Connecticut Convention Center (CTCC) beginning in 2017. NERVA will add an additional weekend from Friday, January 6, 2017 through Sunday, January 8, 2017 to the tournament which is expected to add 7,000 attendees to the 17,000 visitors Winterfest currently brings to the city of Hartford.
Each year, NERVA holds its annual Mizuno New England Winterfest at the CTCC in January, over the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Winterfest, the largest volleyball tournament in New England, is designed to showcase female volleyball players – ages 12 to 18 – to college coaches and recruiters from throughout the Northeast. NERVA recently added an additional tournament at the CTCC in the Spring of 2015 over Memorial Day weekend.
“We have watched NERVA grow at the Center since 2010 and we are excited to team up with them to offer an additional weekend to Winterfest,” says Michael Costelli, General Manager of the Connecticut Convention Center. “The event brings thousands of visitors and an incredible energy to the Center and the city of Hartford. We look forward hosting the athletes, coaches and spectators for the foreseeable future.”
NERVA has committed to holding Winterfest at the Center through at least 2019. The additional weekend is expected to bring an additional 900 overnight rooms to the region for a total of 5,400 rooms in 2017 and an additional 1,800 rooms starting in 2018 totaling 6,800 rooms. The original weekend brings over 4,500 rooms to the Hartford region.
“The New England Region is looking forward to the expansion of two weekends for our Winterfest tournament,” says Roxann Link, New England Region Junior Commissioner. “All of our clubs, players and coaches have enjoyed playing at the Connecticut Convention Center and are excited that we will be able to add more teams.”
Taking place in the Convention Center’s exhibit halls, the Winterfest always fills up quickly and is maxed out with 200 teams playing on 25 courts. The addition of a second weekend will allow an additional 90 teams to participate in the tournament in 2017 and an additional 200 teams starting in 2018.