歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� Ryan Rude is a Bemidji native, and one that鈥檚 happy to be back among the friendly confines of home.

The newly minted sports tourism director of the nascent 218 Sports Inc. is hitting the ground running after six years working at Concordia College in Moorhead. Rude played basketball for the Cobbers for four years prior to starting his postgrad work at Concordia.

鈥淚 worked a few different jobs,鈥� Rude said. 鈥淚 worked in the admission office for about five years. I worked in the financial aid office for about a year and a half. And then kind of in between the two, I was also the director of basketball operations for the men's basketball team. So I did a few things there."

Rude continuously found ways to keep sports at the forefront of his professional life.

鈥淚 did a lot with the athletic office there and the coaches,鈥� Rude said. 鈥淚 was pretty involved with different events and with the athletic directors there. So that's how I found passion for athletics and events and that sort of stuff. So I knew I wanted to go into that at some point.鈥�

Rude picked up his master鈥檚 degree in athletic administration and coaching, which set the stage for his current role with 218 Sports Inc. After Ryan supported his wife 鈥� a travel nurse 鈥� as a stay-at-home dad with their two young children the past year-plus, the Rudes relocated to Bemidji, which has given Ryan the opportunity to reengage with sports stakeholders all over town.

鈥淲e've had a lot of busy times, but we moved back to the area a few months ago,鈥� Rude said. 鈥淪o 218 Sports was kind of just hiring and getting going. I knew Tracy Pogue and Dave Hengel, a couple of the guys who are on the board. And so I had heard about it from them and went through the interview process and ended up accepting the job.

218 Sports Inc. aims to connect the Bemidji sporting community in multiple ways. The organization plans to host its own tournaments while also aiding other community organizations with their competitions.

鈥淎nd now I'm (about a month) in,鈥� Rude said. 鈥淪o yes, it's been a whirlwind, but it's been awesome moving back to Bemidji and being able to tie my love for sports and my love for Bemidji and try and help out the community in this way.鈥�

Rude visualizes partnerships with groups across the city to augment their existing efforts while adding new opportunities for area athletes to compete at high-level showcases.

鈥淲e have a couple of goals in mind,鈥� Rude said. 鈥淲e definitely want to help the youth sports, but also the adults in the area to create more events and tournaments. We found there's a need for that in the community, to host more events. Especially being someone from here. I was constantly traveling to the Cities for tournaments. It felt like every weekend (when I was) playing AAU basketball, so this will help with that.鈥�

Pioneer File Photo

He posits that a number of sports could have interest in holding tournaments within Bemidji鈥檚 borders.

鈥淲e can create more events,鈥� Rude said. 鈥淚t could be anything from hockey, pickleball, triathlons, basketball, whatever. It could be a number of things, from youth to adult (levels). We want to be able to create more events for the community.鈥�

Beyond establishing playing opportunities for athletes of all ages, Rude wants to make Bemidji a tourist destination for competitors in the region and beyond.

鈥淎 big part of it is to help economic development. So we're tied (in) with the community and trying to help hotels and restaurants and businesses. Because when we bring in tournaments, we're going to bring in people from outside the community, and we're going to bring in teams and people. It's going to help generate revenue for the community.鈥�