Antalya and Erzurum are set to welcome a growing wave of travellers who want more than a beach or city break from their time in Türkiye, as the country moves decisively to turn sports into a year-round tourism engine. Visitors who once came mainly for summer sun or city sightseeing are now being courted with promises of world-class cycling routes, snow-sure ski slopes and pristine golf courses that keep resorts buzzing even in the depths of winter.

Türkiye is rolling out a broad strategy to diversify sports tourism beyond football, with plans covering 12 disciplines from cycling and golf to winter sports and emerging activities such as padel. Officials and industry leaders see this as a way to tap into a global sector that already represents around 10 percent of all tourism activity worldwide, compared with just 1.5 percent of Türkiye’s current tourism mix.

A national plan to grow a year‑round sports hub

The Turkish Sports Tourism Association has outlined an ambitious roadmap to showcase facilities across the country and attract more international athletes, teams and amateur enthusiasts. Its president, Nida Kiraz, has indicated that collaboration between the government and private sector will be essential if Türkiye is to claim a larger share of global sports tourism.​

Authorities are positioning sports as a pillar of sustainable tourism, alongside the country’s established strengths in culture, city breaks and coastal holidays. With Istanbul and Antalya already among the world’s most visited cities, extending stays and spreading visitor numbers into shoulder and winter seasons is seen as a natural next step.

​Antalya: cycling, golf and Europe’s biggest sports tourism fair

Antalya, long known as a Mediterranean favourite for beach holidays and all‑inclusive resorts, is now being recast as a base for active travellers and professional training camps. The city will host what is billed as Europe’s largest sports tourism fair from 31 May to 3 June, bringing leading sports companies, tour operators and destination managers together on the Turquoise Coast.

Cycling sits at the centre of this new identity, with Antalya emerging as a key destination as the sport’s popularity surges globally. In 2026, the region will stage three major events, the Tour of Antalya, a Gran Fondo and the Padelia event, which are expected to draw both elite riders and amateurs looking to combine racing with a holiday in the sun. Golf is also thriving, with courses in and around Antalya reported to be fully booked, turning what used to be quiet winter months into a lucrative season for hotels, caddies and local businesses.​

Winter sports: Uludağ, Erciyes and Erzurum’s Palandöken

On the winter side, Türkiye is promoting its mountain regions as an alternative to more crowded European ski hubs, highlighting both value and variety. Uludağ, near Bursa and within easy reach of Istanbul, is described as the country’s oldest and most popular ski resort, with snow typically covering the mountain from December to May and a modern cable car linking visitors to its hotels and pistes.

Further inland, Mount Erciyes in Central Anatolia offers dramatic volcanic scenery, long runs and reliable snow for skiing and snowboarding, appealing to travellers who want to combine a city stay with days on the slopes. In Erzurum, Palandöken Mountain has become one of Türkiye’s leading winter sports centres, with a ski season that can stretch to six months, night skiing, steep trails and powder conditions that have already convinced international organisers to bring major events to the region. These high-altitude resorts are being bundled into winter holiday packages that encourage visitors to stay longer, mixing skiing with local culture and cuisine.

Keeping hotels open and communities working through winter

Industry representatives have underlined how sports tourism is changing the rhythm of the tourism year in destinations like Antalya and Erzurum. Months once considered the dead season from December to February are now seeing rising numbers of athletes, amateur sports groups and active travellers, filling hotel rooms that previously sat empty and supporting jobs in hospitality, transport and guiding.

Sports tourism is being described as a crucial tool for maintaining employment continuity, allowing hotels to keep staff on year-round rather than relying on short, intense seasonal contracts. Local communities in mountain towns and coastal resorts alike benefit when restaurants, rental shops and small businesses can plan for steady winter trade instead of abrupt closures.

A richer, more active way to experience Türkiye

For travellers, Türkiye’s push into sports tourism promises a more layered and personal experience of the country, whether that means pedalling along the coast near Antalya, carving fresh tracks on the slopes of Uludağ or soaking up Erzurum’s high‑altitude air after a day on Palandöken. Visitors who might once have flown in for a few days on the beach or a quick city break are increasingly being invited to stay longer, train harder and explore deeper, discovering local traditions and warm hospitality along the way.

Türkiye aims to create new tourist facilities through its investments in various sports venues which include velodromes and Olympic complexes together with ski resorts and golf courses. The aspiration is for visitors to leave with more than just photographs because they will bring back experiences of shared transportation with others and their time spent descending snowy slopes together with newly developed friendships which began during their post-game dining experiences. The tourism industry believes that using sports as a core element of travel in Antalya and Erzurum and Uludağ and Erciyes will create a sustainable visitor economy which benefits both tourists and local residents.

SIOUX CITY, IA (KCAU) – Here is a look at some of the scores from high school hoops around Siouxland!

GIRLS:

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 63, Lutheran High NE 27

Battle Creek 70, Madison 34

Creighton 50, Neligh-Oakdale 42

Hartington-Newcastle 55, Tri County NE 54

Homer 78, Wakefield 42

Osmond 49, Randolph 40

Winnebago 55, West Point-Beemer 24

Wisner-Pilger 60, Walthill 29

Centerville 57, Elk Point-Jefferson 43

BOYS:

AHSTW 44, Ar-We-Va 34

Rock Valley 67, Central Lyon 48

Kingsley-Pierson 55, West Monona 46

Woodbury Central 77, Trinity Christian 62

Boyden-Hull 65, Harris-Lake Park 26

Gehlen Catholic 52, Remsen St. Mary’s 36

IKM-Manning 77, Paton-Churdan 46

Manson-NW Webster 56, Alta-Aurelia 42

Missouri Valley 65, MVAOCOU 51

MMCRU 85, West Bend-Mallard 50

Newman Catholic 79, GTRA 65

North Union 58, Newell-Fonda 48

Okoboji 70, Emmetsburg 38

Pocahontas Area 73, Estherville Lincoln Central 57

Sibley-Ocheyedan 52, George-Little Rock 36

South Central Calhoun 35, East Sac County 29

South O’Brien 76, Siouxland Christian 49

West Lyon 63, Spirit Lake 57

Sheldon 53, West Sioux 44

Lawton-Bronson 66, Westwood 49

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KCAU 9 News | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.

Feb. 16—MILAN, Italy — The one goal that Taylor Heise hasn't checked off her hockey-playing bucket list is now there for the taking.

The Lake City native and former Red Wing High School and University of Minnesota women's hockey star is one victory by her United States team away from an Olympic gold medal. It's a goal she wrote above her bedroom light switch as a young player.

Heise played in high school state tournaments with Red Wing. She played in Frozen Fours with the Gophers. She has helped the Minnesota Frost win the first two Walter Cups as champions of the PWHL. She won three golds and an MVP award at the Under-18 Women's World Championships. She has two silvers and two golds — as well as one Best Forward award — in four Women's World Championships appearances.

Thursday, Heise and the U.S. will play for what is still the ultimate prize in women's hockey: an Olympic gold medal. The Americans will face either Canada or Switzerland at 12:10 p.m. Central Time on Thursday, Feb. 19, at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, in the gold medal game.

The U.S. beat both Canada and Switzerland by identical 5-0 scores in the preliminary rounds. Team USA has outscored its six opponents at these Games by a combined score of 31-1, and hasn't allowed a goal since Czechia's Barbora Jurickova scored 8:37 into the second period of the Olympics opener.

The United States takes a streak of 331 minutes, 23 seconds into Thursday's final, where they'll look to win their first Olympic gold medal since 2018.

The Americans, who have recorded five consecutive shutouts, haven't overlooked any opponent in these Games, including Sweden on Monday. They led 1-0 after one period, thanks to a Cayla Barnes goal 5:09 into the game.

They erupted in the second period for four goals, all but sealing the victory.

Heise sparked that second-period scoring burst with her second goal and fourth of the Olympics. It came 9:09 into the second, on a nice setup by linemate Hannah Bilka.

Caroline Harvey — the breakout star of these Games — started the play in the U.S. end, when she took the puck behind her own goal and passed it up to Abbey Murphy along the right wall. Murphy, a current University of Minnesota star forward, spotted Bilka flying up the middle of the ice and hit her in stride. Bilka skated into the Swedish zone with speed as Heise joined her on the left wing. Bilka drove the puck deep into the right circle, then slid a perfect backhand pass to Heise, who one-timed it just under the blocker of Swedish goalie Ebba Svensson Traft.

"This line has been so dynamic," former U.S. Olympic star and color analyst A.J. Mleczko said on the NBC television broadcast.

"A great collective team passing play to create the great finish by Heise," former Canadian hockey star and current television analyst Jennifer Botterill said. "Heise gets her second of this tournament, but she has been so critical all over the ice, and not necessarily getting the points to prove she's been all over."

Heise now has 20 goals and 58 points in international play, dating back a decade to her first U18 Women's Worlds, when she was a junior at Red Wing High School.

After her goal midway through the second, the U.S. turned up the intensity and put the game away with three more goals — one each from Murphy, Kendall Coyne and Hayley Scamurra — in a span of just 2 minutes, 47 seconds.

"I think after the first (period) we came in and were like 'you know, we have a little bit more to give,'" Heise said when interviewed on the NBC broadcast after the second period. "We have so many playmakers and so many goal scorers ... getting shots on net and then forcing them to change their goalie, that all gives us momentum as well."

Heise's first Olympics has flown by, and she has soaked up every minute of it, from the Opening Ceremonies to meeting legendary rap artist and Olympics fan Snoop Dogg, and now to playing for a gold medal.

"You have to take advantage of every moment you have," Heise said, "and just be grateful to be out there."

BOX SCORE: United States 5, Sweden 0

Feb. 16—MITCHELL — The Mitchell Marlins boys hockey team faced a challenging road trip over the weekend, dropping a trio of games away from home against two tough programs.

In the first matchup against Oahe on Friday, the Marlins were outshot 46-15 and fell 7-0. Despite the loss, Mitchell goaltender Gavin Polreis turned in a busy night and tallied 39 saves.

The road trip didn't get any easier as the Marlins faced Rushmore of Rapid City on Saturday and Sunday for a doubleheader. The Thunder are currently the top team in the South Dakota Amateur Hockey Association and remain the only undefeated squad in all of South Dakota high school hockey.

On Saturday, Mitchell was outshot 67-5 and suffered a 14-0 loss. Polreis once again shouldered the load in goal, finishing with 53 saves in a relentless offensive performance from the Thunder.

Game 2 of the weekend set on Sunday proved equally challenging. The Marlins were outshot 73-9 and fell 19-0 to the Thunder, extending their losing skid to seven games.

Mitchell (5-14-1) will look to regroup as it heads back on the road to face Aberdeen on Friday, Feb. 20 in Aberdeen. Earlier in the season on Jan. 25 at the Mitchell Activities Center, the Marlins defeated the Cougars 4-3.

Feb. 16—Wisconsin-Superior men's hockey earned a road sweep of Wisconsin-Stevens Point last weekend to conclude the regular season and with it a chance to play at home one more time in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

The Yellowjackets won 4-2 on Friday, Feb. 13 and 3-2 on Saturday, Feb. 14 to get into a tie for third-place in the six-team WIAC standings. Though UWS loses the tiebreaker with Wisconsin-River Falls, the two wins ensure the Yellowjackets will host the Pointers this weekend in the 4th-vs.-5th playoff game.

UWS gained the upper hand on Friday with a pair of goals late in the first period from Roope Tuomioksa and Ikki Kogawa, the latter coming on the power play.

The Pointers made it a one-goal game again just 16 seconds later, but never led, as Collin Pederson scored near the game's midpoint and Tyler Rider had a late empty-netter.

Jan Skorpik made 19 saves in the UWS net.

On Saturday, UWS scored the game's first three goals, then held on as the Pointers made it a one-goal game again.

Tuomioksa scored early, Chris Ishmael made it 2-0 in the second period and AJ Reed scored the 3-0 goal early in period three.

Skorpik finished with 29 saves.

UWS finishes the regular season 13-10-2 overall, 6-8-1 in the WIAC and will host the Pointers in a single-game playoff on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Wessman Arena in Superior.

Wisconsin-Superior women's basketball could not get the better of a Bethany Lutheran team that is still unbeaten in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, as the Vikings took a 55-48 victory on their home floor on Saturday, Feb. 14 in North Mankato.

The UWS offense struggled with 20 turnovers and made only 2-for-14 3-point attempts but managed to stay within 25-22 at halftime and were still tied until the Vikings finished the third quarter on a 7-0 run for a 41-34 edge, then pushed their lead into double digits.

Hope Carlson scored 12 to lead UWS (10-13, 7-3 UMAC), while Maddie Reott added 10.

UWS will play at Crown on Wednesday night in its last road game of the regular season.

Wisconsin-Superior never fully recovered from a 25-point first half at Bethany Lutheran and stayed behind, falling 82-65 in North Mankato on Saturday.

A 19-4 run by the home team over a six-minute stretch of the first half made it 23-8 Bethany with 8:58 left until halftime. UWS trailed by 10 at halftime and closed to within four, 48-44, with 12:18 to play, but Bethany followed with a 15-2 run over the next four minutes to put it away.

Nick Nordaune's 11 points in 17 minutes led UWS offensively.

The Yellowjackets (6-17, 2-8 UMAC) travel to Crown on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Wisconsin-Superior softball opened its 2026 season with two games indoors in Dundas, Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 14: a 9-2 loss to Carleton and a 7-4 win over Macalester.

UWS scored its two runs against Carleton on one hit in the top of the third on an RBI fielder's choice by Karen Balabon and an error. Six Yellowjackets had one hit apiece.

Against Macalester, Balabon, Peyton Bennett and Larissa Snyder had three hits apiece, while Samantha Swartz and Sophia Otto had two.

Abby Mitchell (Carlton/Wrenshall) allowed four runs on 11 hits for the victory.

UWS (1-1) has another indoor weekend Feb. 28-March 1 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin-Superior took advantage of some warm weather to get on the baseball field at Gustavus Adolphus on Sunday, Feb. 16, though the host Gusties took both games, 2-0 and 3-2.

In game one, the home team made two first-inning runs hold up and held UWS to four singles. Zach Romans took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits in four innings.

Brian O'Dwyer had an RBI single for UWS in the fifth inning of game two and was part of a double steal that gave the Yellowjackets a 2-1 lead in the seventh, but Gustavus' Isaiah Hasz hit a two-out, two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.

UWS (0-2) is next scheduled to be on the field Feb. 28 vs. Carleton at Marion, Iowa.

Feb. 13—ST. CLOUD — It was setting up to be a big afternoon for Kasey Senden and the Bemidji State women's hockey team.

The freshman defenseman scored her first college goal just under six minutes into the first period against St. Cloud State at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Hailey Armstrong made it 2-0 two and a half minutes later with a power-play goal.

However, the Huskies scored four times in the second period and twice in the third to pull out a 6-2 win in the series opener.

Julianna Labbé scored twice in 69 seconds to tie the game in the second period. Alice Sauriol and Sofianna Sundelin made it 4-2 before the second intermission.

Sydney Bryant and Sauriol scored in the third period for SCSU.

Bemidji State (6-22-3, 3-21-1 WCHA) goaltender Ava Hills stopped 31 shots in the loss. Jojo Chobak made 25 saves for St. Cloud State (10-19-2, 6-17-2 WCHA).

St. Cloud State 6, Bemidji State 2

BSU 2 0 0 — 2

SCSU 0 4 2 — 6

First period — BSU GOAL: Senden (Armstrong) 5:49; BSU GOAL: Armstrong (Bray, Smith) PPG, 8:07.

Second period — SCSU GOAL: Labbé (Sauriol, Lamb) 6:43; SCSU GOAL: Labbé (Bryant, Sauriol) 7:52; SCSU GOAL: Sauriol (Farrell) 11:15; SCSU GOAL: Sundelin (Sauriol, Wolfe) 15:34.

Third period — SCSU GOAL: Bryant (Farrell) 15:11; SCSU GOAL: Sauriol (Pion) 16:24.

Saves — Hills (BSU) 31; Chobak (SCSU) 25.

SEVEN SPRINGS, Pa. – Before heading home from the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Winter Games, athletes gave it one last push Thursday to win a medal.

Awards ceremonies were held for more than 300 athletes who competed in alpine skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing during two days of competition at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.

“The vibe has really been up this year, and everybody has been very excited at these games,” said Michelle Jordan, a member of the Winter Games snowshoeing event committee.

“We have a lot of returning athletes, but we also have a lot of new athletes. We always say Winter Games is a different beast than the other games throughout the year, but because of that it makes it such a unique event, and it’s one big reunion.”

PHOTO GALLERY | Special Olympics Pennsylvania Winter Games | Seven Springs Mountain Resort

Cambria County athlete Ashlee Ragan celebrated her bronze medal in a snowshoeing event.

“This is my first year doing snowshoe, and it means a lot to me,” she said. “I worked my hardest, and I’m glad that I did it.”

Ragan, who also received two additional medals at the games, said it feels great to compete.

“I have to practice a lot, and we practice at UPJ (the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown),” she said. “I plan to keep competing because I like to participate with my team.”

Adam Spiker, a Somerset County athlete, was participating in his first Winter Games.

“My teammates did snowshoe and I decided to give it a try,” he said after receiving a silver medal in a snowshoe event. “I love it and being on snowshoes.”

Spiker said the games are thrilling.

“I want to keep doing this,” he said. “I liked being with my friends and meeting new people.”

Somerset County athlete Vanessa Carroll, who was competing in snowshoe for the first time, celebrated her gold medal win.

“I really like this and wanted to do it because it sounded like a lot of fun,” she said. “I learned how strong I can be.”

Carroll said meeting new people has been her favorite part of the games.

“I’m going to keep doing this because it’s fun,” she said.

Andrew Sambol has been participating in Winter Games for more than 20 years and has received multiple medals.

“There’s camaraderie and friendly competition,” the Somerset County athlete said. “You bet I’ll be back next year. I look forward to this every year.”

Jordan said the hope is that athletes had a great experience at the games.

“It’s about teamwork; it’s about listening to your coaches; it’s about learning that things have to be in place sometimes for things to go well, but when they don’t go well, they are learned lessons that you can work on for next year,” she said. “It’s also about making sure there’s sportsmanship. There’s no sore losers here; everybody is a winner.”