Spectator Sports
Sports Council
The Greater Savannah Sports Council works to promote the Savannah area as a site for local, regional and national amateur and professional sports events. In 2006, the Sports Council, which can be reached at 644-6414, helped attract, plan and stage these major events:
- Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
- ENMARK Savannah River Bridge Run
- Memorial Health Hockey Classic
- GACA North/South All-Star Basketball Classic
- Savannah Saltwater Shootout
ENMARK Savannah River Bridge Run
Fleet Feet Sports
355-3527
www.fleetfeetsavannah.com
Attracting participants ranging in age from 8 to 80 from throughout the nation, this 10K run starts and ends in the Historic District and takes competitors to Hutchinson Island and back over the 1.4-mile-long Talmadge Memorial Bridge, which rises 196 feet above the Savannah River. The race and the bridge's 5.5 percent incline tests the endurance of some 3,000 elite and recreational runners. Also held at the same time is a 5K run/walk that starts on the island and ends downtown. The event is held on the first Saturday in December.
Savannah Sand Gnats
Grayson Stadium, 1401 E. Victory Drive, 31404
351-9150
www.sandgnats.com
The Sand Gnats, a Class A baseball team affiliated with the New York Mets organization, won the South Atlantic League championship three times during the 1990s. Savannah's team adopted the Sand Gnats moniker at the end of 1995, and it has become one of the most popular nicknames in minor league baseball. The team's 140-game regular season runs from April into September and features 70 home dates played at historic Grayson Stadium, which dates to 1926.
Memorial Health Tybee Marathon
Tybee Island
921-4786
www.runtybee.com
Coordinated by the Savannah Striders Track Club, this event on a Saturday in February actually involves three races — a marathon, a half-marathon and a 5-kilometer run. In 2007, more than 2,550 competitors entered the races. The marathon and half-marathon begin and end at Memorial Park.
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
Hutchinson Island
236-1333
www.libertymutual.com/legendsofgolf
One of the most prestigious tournaments on the Champions Tour, the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf makes its home at the Club at Savannah Harbor, part of the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa on Hutchinson Island. The tournament, featuring many of golf's greatest players, is held in mid- to late April.
Memorial Health Hockey Classic
Savannah Civic Center
651-6556
Be front row, center ice for every hit, slam and goal as the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, the University of Florida and Florida State University players give hockey fans an adrenaline rush. This sell-out sporting event in January is a Savannah favorite.
