Your ticket to RISE

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ORLANDO — Greetings from the home of Mickey, Minnie and the gang.

I am spending time in Orlando at the third annual ESPN RISE Games. What are the RISE Games?

They are a two-week long elite and competitive level student-athlete focused event which are anchored by four elite high school sports events: Champion All-American Showcase, a US Lacrosse boys and girls event; the AAU 11th Grade Boys Basketball Super Showcase presented by Champion; the Under Armour High School All-America Softball game; and the elite 7-on-7 high school football event Champion Gridiron Kings.

In addition, to the elite events, there are competitive youth sports including boys and girls lacrosse, softball, football and Florida Premier 7s.

Started in 2009 with 4,000 participants, this year’s games have grown to include more than 14,000 athletes.

So what is going on at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex?

This weekend the events kicked off with an Opening Ceremony where athletes from the early competitions could meet and exchange pins and other team memorabilia.

After that, it was game time with girls lacrosse, softball, track and Florida Premier 7s taking to the fields.

Take a look at some of the photos we’ve compiled from the first few days of competition and check back here later in the week to see what else we’ve been doing down here.

Can’t wait? Need more? Then visit www.espnrise.com all week long for videos, photos and game summaries.