Mission

Taos Sports Alliance (TSA) is dedicated to promoting and creating sporting, recreational and adventure tourism opportunities that improve health and economic outcomes and overall quality-of-life for Taos County residents.

A stronger, healthier Taos through sports and recreation development.

• Connect people to meaningful, memorable experiences through sports, recreation and entertainment.
• Embrace and drive positive change in the areas of health and economics through sports, recreation and entertainment.
• Create ‘community’ through fun and excitement.
• Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded in designing and developing the work of the Alliance.
• Consider the environmental impact of our actions.
• Build open and honest relationships with members, partners and sponsors through communication.
• Foster volunteerism in the sporting and recreation community.

According to the Alliance’s definition, Sports Recreation and Entertainment includes but is not limited to:

• Traditional and modern team sports (soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, ultimate frisbee)
• Individual-focused sports (running, cycling, golf, triathlon, archery, skating, tennis, equine)
• Mind sports (bridge, chess, backgammon)
• Adaptive sports (recumbent cycling, uni-skiing)
• Healthy activities (gardening, weight training, dance, Zumba, walking, nutrition and cooking)
• Outdoor activities (hunting, fishing, hiking, gliding, rafting, geocaching, camping)
• Spiritual practices (Yoga, Pilates, meditation, prayer, Feldenkrais, sweat lodge)
• Rejuvenating alternative health services (massage, cranio-sacral therapy, Reflexology, nutrition or herbal consultation, sound healing, acupuncture)
• Entertainment (live music, live theatrical performance, Pecha Kucha, workshops)

TSA believes that access to sports, recreation and entertainment improve quality-of-life in Taos County by:

• Improving health outcomes: reducing the instance and severity of diabetes, and obesity; offering alternatives to drugs and alcohol or gang involvement; increasing capacity to develop responsible behaviors, communication skills, grit and persistence, problem solving skills, and emotional outlets through teamwork and/or game play; increasing healthy lifestyles and environmental awareness through outdoorsmanship; fostering a passion for life on the individual and community levels through engaging, fun, inspirational, exciting or transformative experiences; improving emotional health through restorative practices.
• Promoting economic development: increasing tourism draw to Taos County independent of the ski and art segments; creating an environment which is inviting and rewarding for families, individuals and professionals looking to relocate to Taos; a resulting increase in Gross Receipts due to increased traffic at all Taos Town and County businesses; encouraging an influx of health and environmentally-conscious, middle to upper class professionals who will become permanent residents of the town and county and enrich the economic fabric of the community.

• Create a network of sporting and recreation organizations and individuals in order to centralize sporting, recreation and entertainment information for locals and visitors.
• Effect positive social change in Taos County by securing grants, providing TSA programming, and offering sponsorships, grants and scholarships for individuals and member organizations.
• Define and pursue the Taos County Sports, Recreation and Entertainment District model that is sustainable and independent of local politics.

The following breakdown tells how we plan to achieve the above three goals within the context of the TSA.

TSA Membership

1. TSA is a membership organization which engages its varied members to feed event and program information, local interest content and images to TSA who in turn is tasked with disseminating the information to our network in the local community, and to visitors through media channels such as facebook, and taossportsalliance.com. We pledge to work with all like-minded groups to cross promote activities and opportunities for sports, recreation and entertainment in Taos County. The scope of our membership includes individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses who see the value of centralizing information about sports, recreation, entertainment in Taos County for improved quality-of-life. We will strive to provide marketing and promotional business services for businesses or groups that do not have the capacity to do so for themselves.
2. TSA has built and plans to maintain a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with the Town of Taos, Taos County and Taos Municipal Schools for the purpose of achieving the mission of the TSA.

Grants

1. TSA will regularly apply for grants to fund our services, maintain our facilities and produce quality programming. We actively seek grants in areas of, youth diabetes prevention, childhood obesity prevention, youth participation (anti-drug/gang), rural economic development, sports-specific programming grants, and core operational support.

EVENTS (PROGRAMMING)

1. Continue to design, develop and run quality event programming which brings awareness to health issues through recreation and use proceeds from events to reinvest in the community through sponsorships, scholarships and grants to member organizations. Currently, TSA has annual events in Running, Cycling, and Soccer, we aim to add more variety in the near future as funding
allows.

Taos County Sports, Recreation and Entertainment District

1. Draft, and introduce state-level legislation for a Taos County Sports, Recreation and Entertainment District to provide a central authority for managing facilities, events, bookings and inquiries which is independent of local politics.
2. Design and implement the online component of the Taos County Sports, Recreation and Entertainment District. The site will organize and categorize activities by type and location, connecting visitors and locals alike with their options according to their interests. The site will include concierge style services to help visitors plan and book their activities, present discounts in cooperation with members, and may include paid advertising.
3. A seasonal print (and digital) publication is being considered for distribution in strategic locations within Taos, and also in Santa Fe, Angel Fire, Albuquerque, Salida, Breckenridge, Colorado Springs, Telluride, and similar drive circle recreation destinations.

Soccer Facility and Programming

Complete phase two and phase three development of Alexander Gusdorf Eco Park and create a lively and robust program schedule including NCAA, national and international matches, with an eye on marketing for high altitude training.

Continue to develop the youth programming opportunities, focusing on college showcase and coach-lead camps which bring visibility to local players.

Court Developmental Academy Programs to Taos as year-round economic development, national and international press attention.

Continue to provide promotion and sponsorship and support to independent Soccer Leagues in Taos and expand that support over the next 3 years.

Softball

Taos Sports Alliance acts as a sponsor for Taos Synergy Softball, and is helping them work toward a larger more successful program.

Chess

Taos Sports Alliance acts as a sponsor for Taos Knighthawk Chess Club.

Wellness

TSA intends to fold into both membership and planning for the recreation district all manner of restorative recreational activities, such as massage, yoga, energy therapies, nutrition, meditation, and spa services. This action will allow TSA and The District to capitalize on and further promote this industry, which is thriving in our area, but remains disparate, and to drive interest in Taos as a place to relax, explore, and rejuvenate while adventuring and recreating. The global alternative medicine sector is expected to reach close to $115 billion by 2015, according to Global Industry Analysts.