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 Local Profiles 
Founder of the International Sports Classic
a profile of Howard Kelsey by Bob Cohen
Over 5500 individuals participated this year, quite a jump from the 30 basketball players in 1990. Howard is the founder and co-chair of the event.
| Howard Kelsey is an intense, friendly, ambitious individual, who is doing what he loves, and we are lucky enough to have him on our side in Vallarta.
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The XII Annual Sports Classic officially began on Wednesday, May 18th with more athletes competing than in any previous year. I had the opportunity to have a special interview with the founder and organizer, Howard Kelsey, in order to give our readers more insight as to why the event began, grew and flourished to this year's level.
Looking to open the talk, my first and most obvious question that came to mind was "How did this event in Puerto Vallarta start and come to fruition"? Howard began to speak; "Twelve years ago, a friend from the University of Guadalajara where I played professional basketball, who is now the Attorney General of Puerto Vallarta, saw me shooting hoops on the outdoor courts in 1990. He remembered me from the University and asked me if I could bring some players for a tournament. At the time there was no gym and I was afforded a budget of $300 USD. I phoned some friends and we started a basketball tournament with six teams, having to go to Carlos Obrien's to fill in the roster. In 1990 we had just six teams and the event was only basketball."
Kelsey compared the Classic to its current status, only ten years later. There is currently a budget of $70,000 USD, with 16 men's basketball teams, all of international competitive standards, four youth basketball teams as well as six other sports. Over 5500 individuals participated this year, quite a jump from the 30 basketball players in 1990. The Terry Fox run has been incorcorated into this years event, which increased the participant size tremendously. Howard is the founder and co-chair of the event; with the other co-chair being Gemma Garciarce, the owner of the beautiful and world class resort, the Sheraton Hotel and Vacation Club.
After a year or two Sra. Garciarce saw how the event was growing, became a partner and close friend, as well as a partner in the Convention Center project. Howard stated "If this event was going to grow, it had to go to the standards of Sheraton, as well as basketball Canada. They built it up and polished it to be sure it had a quality delivery." A question that I had was why Puerto Vallarta? Howard responded with personal pride and ambition. " Puerto Vallarta is an ideal place, because it has the rustic charm of Mexico, which other ports may not have, it's only a 3 1/2 hour drive from Guadalajara, where I am based out of the year when I'm not based in Vancouver. Also, it is in the State of Jalisco, where our roots as professional basketball players out of the University of Guadalajara are, and the university has an affiliate program here. You don't have to sell people Vallarta, you just have to let people know about it and have them come here once."
From personal experience I can't agree more with Howard. Moving here from San Diego, it took me a few years of vacation here before I packed my bags and relocated here. Another observation I have come to see is that a large majority of people vacation here, they tend to come back often. I asked Howard if he ever expected the event to grow to the size it is today, after having to pull people out of bars just years earlier. Kelsey then told me of his personal philosophy, calling himself a very unorthodox individual by never limiting his thinking. He stated that the Mexicans taught him to just jump into a project and figure things out along the way, and has proven quite successful in this endeavor. After a few years, and having Gemma come in as a partner, as well as watching the advertising support grow, this became the first true International sports event in Puerto Vallarta.
Howard then shifted gears and spoke about the future of the Classic, involving the NCAA, ESPN and FIFA hosting a Christmas Classic here. "The reason it has been delayed is the issue of the convention center location. There needs to be a facility that can host a world class event." He went on to state that we can host any level of basketball that's not formal in the Municipal Stadium, because as the stadium is now, it could not host NCAA, nor FIFA or NBA standard events. Vallarta is already qualified for this level, but the issue is a political one between the State and the Municipal authorities, because they are having a tug of war as to where the facility is to be located.
"The whole infrastructure is already here; hotel accommodations, the ocean, beauty of the city, but we cannot settle for a location that is not central and beachfront. The hoteliers and concessionaires are in favor of a prime location and why not have a world class facility there? This convention center will be used for much more than basketball, as Vallarta is a natural to host all type of events. This is something that that political folks will have to work out."
I asked Howard about his own background, in sports as well as individually. Kelsey, never at a loss for words continued." My high school coach was here last year for the first time. I graduated from Point Berry High School, then played basketball at Oklahoma State and another smaller university. I was taken with two others directly from high school at 17 to play for the national team, the first time players so young were chosen. I played eleven years for Canada, Danny across the table, who played for Duke, played eight. This was Canada's best run as we qualified first for the 1980 Olympics; we qualified second for the 1984 Olympics. In 1983 we won the Gold Medal at the World University Games, defeating Yugoslavia, beating the U.S., with Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and Johnny Dawkins starting. We lost to the U.S. in the L.A. Olympics and lost the Bronze Medal to Yugoslavia by six points. During the eleven years that I was on the Canadian team, we were ranked in the top five in the world consistently."
I was invited to play professional basketball for the University of Guadalajara, which is a professional team although it has a college infrastructure, and has 175,000 students. In Mexico, it is legal to form a professional team with a college infrastructure, whereas it cannot be done in the U.S. We played in a professional league against seven other teams from large cities in Mexico. I also pursued my Masters degree at the University of Oregon (where Nike was born and Sports Management), which has spun me into running sports events and still playing.
"Then I went on to coach the University of Victoria team from 1983-1989, in which we produced 16 Olympic medals and 64 Olympians in a University of 10,000 people. I became a partner of a corporation in Guadalajara and later I became one of a group that put together the Chivas soccer team in 1995 to privatize it. I was also fortunate enough to become the first foreigner to purchase ownership shares of the Chivas in its 97-year history. Last year the Chivas were purchased and my shares were purchased as well. Currently working with many prominent people in Vallarta and Guadalajara, my main focus is a world class convention center with a world class location and a world class operation. So, that's basically it in a nutshell for the last 23 years."
In a nutshell? Whew, Howard is an intense, friendly, ambitious individual, who is doing what he loves, promoting, playing and improving the quality of sports and we are lucky enough to have him on our side in Vallarta. This year's event is also an important one, as it marks the 61st year of Canadian - Mexican diplomatic relations. A friendly softball tournament will be played this weekend with the U.S. Embassy, the Canadian Embassy, the Municipality of Puerto Vallarta, and the Sheraton Hotel which will be a first as well.
In closing, we discussed the convention center once again, avoiding any political implications. Howard has been on a team that has developed the plans for the facility, spanning two Governors and four Mayors, and the proposal has been widely published, with the problem being that certain groups want it at certain locations, and this is one area that Kelsey will not budge, and is not negotiable. The facility must be waterfront, and used examples of how successful this has been worldwide in many major cities.
Howard then walked off to conduct the press conference for the event. I left out many names that he mentioned, at the risk of misspelling them, but he did thank many individuals and sponsors. Believe me, nobody has been forgotten. Come out and enjoy the fun and competition; much hard work has been put into it. Be assured that the XIII event next year will grow bigger and more competitive.
If you have a suggestion for a future profile, email us at Profiles@BanderasNews.com
Canada Basketball Alumnus Howard Kelsey Appointed Executive Vice-President
 Bob Cohen
Howard Kelsey, who is well known in Puerto Vallarta as the founder of the International Sports Classic that is coming up on its 18th year invited me to a live international teleconference to announce his appointment and acceptance as the new Executive Vice President of Canada Basketball.
 XV Annual Sidral Aga International Sports Classic In Puerto Vallarta May 16-18, 2008
 Bob Cohen
What Howard Kelsey began 15 years ago with a $300 budget has become an International sporting event for Puerto Vallarta. The 15th annual International Sports Classic will be held at the beautiful Sheraton Buganvillas Resort from May 16th-18th, 2008. |
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