Rapid City Golf Pro inducted into SD Golf Hall of Fame

Rapid City, SD — Jason Young, The Golf Club at Red Rock, was inducted into the SDGA Hall of Fame in April at a ceremony in Sioux Falls. Jason has been the Head PGA Pro at Red Rock for the past 20 years and has build one of the states premier junior golf programs in the state. Under his guidance Jason earned the SDGA Family Junior Program of the Year seven times at Red Rock and Hillsview Golf Course in Pierre before taking over at Red Rock.

Jason was very instrumental in the recruitment of the upcoming AJGA youth event that will be held at Red Rock this September.

This week Jason, his team and the Rapid City Sports Commission hosted a site visit for the AJGA. This will be the AJGA’s first event in the region and they visited the course to establish the volunteer, and hosting needs to make the event a success. 

Rapid City Sports Commission attends tradeshow in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, NV – The Rapid City Sports Commission attend the annual Sports ETA Conference in Las Vegas last week to recruit regional and national events to the community. The Commission met with 35 rights holders and vendors during the one on one appointments.

Some of the highlights included meeting with USA BMX, two national 7 on 7 rights holders, World Darts Federation, USA Track and Field and Hype Nation Volleyball. Several organizations would be options for the indoor sports complex but also are looking to expand in the region.

During the event, Domico Rodriguez helped facility a session for the SMID (Small/Mid Size Destinations) during the education sessions to discuss issues that smaller destinations face in the industry.  

605 Raptors 7 on 7 Football team makes their team debut in Denver

Rapid City’s second 7on7 team, the 605 Raptors made their debut last weekend in Denver as they competed in the Red Zone Elite’s, The Summit 5280’. This is the second Rapid City team that is offering the newest brand of fast paced football for area football players. The Raptors consist of student athletes from Rapid City, Wall, Sturgis and Custer.

The Raptors join the Hidden Gems Elite on the 7on7 circuit providing football players to hone their skills during the spring season.

Some key standouts for the Raptors

– Thayne Leichtnam-Skeen (RC Stevens – c/o 2027) QB

– Jace Hibbard (RC Central – c/o 2028) lead the team in Receiving TDs

– Jack Jolley (Sturgis Brown c/o 2027) lead the team in INTs.

The Raptors are back on the road May 2nd in Des Moines, Iowa while the Hidden Gems Elite are headed to Fort Lupton Colorado. A big thank you to all of the coaches for providing these athletes the opportunity to develop their football skills this Spring.  

Midland Scientific Open Tennis tournament set for June

Rapid City, SD — For the past 10 years Midland Scientific has been the main sponsor of a high-level prize money tennis tournament hosted in Rapid City in June.  In 2025 the prize money was $25,000 and this year it is $30,000.  It is called the Midland Scientific Open. 

It brings in players from all over the country.  One of our proudest moments for the tournament was when it was highlighted as a significant justification in obtaining over $3,000,000 in Vision Funds to remodel the Sioux Park Tennis Complex.  The net proceeds of the tournament are used by the Black Hills Tennis Association (BHTA) to provide tennis scholarships to underserved youth to allow them to participate in tennis.  Scholarships provide memberships at local indoor tennis facilities so these kids can play the sport year-round and potentially go on to play high school tennis.  Helping youth and furthering the economic impact to the community. 

The BHTA has granted over $17,000 in scholarships each year.  We want to help more kids receive sponsorships, but we need your help.  Please consider donating to the tournament, all proceeds go to our future players.  visitbhtennisassociation.com. For more details. 

Upcoming Events

The Games Disc Golf Tournament – May 2 – Jackson Disc Golf Course

Early Bird Softball Tournament – May 9-10 – Parkview Softball Complex

Rumble in the Hills Lacrosse Tournament – May 9-10 – MFC Sports Complex