Aubrey Genereux, 17, has practiced judo, a modern Japanese martial arts and combat sport, for nearly 10 years.
She’s in Gainesville to put her skills to the test and potentially qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Hundreds of judo athletes from more than 40 countries are competing at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe.
The international competition will include events for athletes under 18 on Wednesday and under 21 on Thursday, followed Saturday and Sunday by the Panamerican Open Florida 2026, an official qualifier for the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
These competitions are expected to bring a couple thousand visitors from outside the area, said Stephen Rodriguez, the county’s sports and events manager, despite the city’s regional airport flying only about two dozen flights daily. He said this competition gives local hotels, restaurants and other businesses another opportunity to benefit from sports tourism.
The Alachua County Sports & Events Center, which opened in 2023, was designed to attract larger sporting events to the area and boost local businesses, Rodriguez said.
“The primary mission of the building is to bring in events like the one we have this week,” Rodriguez said.
Genereux, who now trains in New Jersey, traveled with her mother, Becky Genereux, who lives in Port St. Lucie. Aubrey Genereux, who competes internationally as a member of the U.S. national team, is scheduled to face opponents in both junior and senior competitions.
“I’ve been doing judo since I was super little. My family’s been in the sport, like, all of our lives,” she said. “I fell in love with the sport super young, and I train all over the world.”
The sports and events center is funded in part through a tourist development tax paid by visitors who stay in local hotels. The center has already attracted tens of thousands of visitors since opening in 2023, said Jessica Hurov, the county’s tourism and economic development director.
“When we attract an international competition, we bring athletes, coaches, families and spectators who stay in our hotels, dine in our restaurants and experience what our community has to offer,” Hurov wrote in an email.
The facility attracted more than 43,000 visitors and generated an estimated $16.7 million in economic impact from October 2025 through March, she said.
“Those results reflect the opportunity the board envisioned when it made this investment,” Hurov said.
The judo competition is another opportunity for Alachua County to attract visitors from around the world. The center has hosted several sporting events since opening, including the 2025 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships, which generated a little more than $24 million in economic impact, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the center stays busy throughout much of the year, with the main sports season running from January through July. During that time, it hosted competitions in basketball, volleyball, gymnastics and track and field. The facility also hosts non-sports events throughout the year, bringing different groups of visitors to Gainesville.
The judo competition is the center’s first martial arts event, giving the facility an opportunity to host a new type of competition and attract a different group of visitors to Alachua County.
Rodriguez said bringing international competitions to Gainesville gives the county a chance to reach people who may not have visited the area otherwise.
“It’s really all about the visitors,” he said. “Welcoming them to our community and really showing that we do have a community that embraces visitors.”