Amanda Royce has joined the Maine Sports Commission as sports development director.
Royce joins the Maine Sports Commission from the New England Mountain Bike Association where in her role as events director she coordinated events including NEMBAfest, the largest mountain bike festival in the Northeast, held in Carrabassett Valley in 2022. Before joining NEMBA, she spent nearly a decade at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, where she was a 4-H outdoors and camp administrator.
A resident of Porter, Royce is from New Hampshire where she earned her master’s degree in recreation management & policy from the University of New Hampshire and a bachelor’s degree in recreation resource management from Lyndon State College, Vermont.
In her role as sports development director, Royce will oversee sourcing leads to attract new events, and have a presence on select local organizing committees throughout the bid and event planning processes.
“Amanda’s passion for sports and outdoor recreation, and her deep experience and knowledge in sports tourism and event management, make her the ideal person to help us continue to work to promote Maine as a four-season sports destination,” said Sheila Brennan Nee, strategic director of the Maine Sports Commission.
Royce said that she is excited to highlight the indoor facilities and venues, as well as the amazing outdoor resources and opportunities that Maine has to offer.
Maine Sports Commission is a nonprofit organization that works to advance, elevate and promote Maine as a four-season sports destination, strengthening the state through sports tourism, encouraging healthy, active lifestyles. Sporting events contributed an estimated $155.6 million to the Maine economy and attracted approximately 253,071 out-of-state visitors in 2019, according to a study conducted by the University of Southern Maine’s Center for Business and Economic Research.