Key Takeaways
- Groupbook brings a platform used by more than 2,500 youth clubs and tournament organizers, tied to a network of over 30,000 hotels.
- Competition Travel handles housing and logistics for more than 500 cheer, dance, and international events each year, according to Fastbreak AI.
- Both founders stay on in leadership roles, with Doug Freeman running a new club travel product and Susan Tucker leading concierge travel.
- These are Fastbreak’s second and third travel acquisitions of 2026, following its purchase of GroupHousing earlier in the year.
Fastbreak AI, the Charlotte, North Carolina based sports operations company, announced on October 6, 2026 that it has acquired Groupbook and Competition Travel, two group travel companies that will be folded into its Fastbreak Travel division. The deals push Fastbreak’s youth sports travel business into two categories it had not directly served: individual club and team travel, and cheer and dance competitions. Financial terms were not included in the announcement.
The acquisitions follow Fastbreak’s purchase of GroupHousing earlier this year. According to the company, Fastbreak Travel now books hundreds of thousands of room nights annually across North America.
What Does Groupbook Bring to Fastbreak Travel?
Groupbook is a U.S.-based platform built for the coaches, team managers, and club administrators who organize weekend tournament travel. Fastbreak AI said the company is trusted by more than 2,500 youth clubs and tournament organizers.
The platform connects families to more than 30,000 hotels, per the release, and handles the administrative work around a team trip: automated team communications, waiver collection, payment tracking, and trip logistics.
Groupbook founder and CEO Doug Freeman joins Fastbreak AI as a General Manager. He will lead Fastbreak Travel for Clubs, a new offering that lets club directors, coaches, and team managers book and manage travel for every event their teams attend. The product will be sold as part of Fastbreak AI for Clubs, the company’s platform for club sports organizations.
Freeman argued that club travel has been underserved by the existing market. “For too long, club and team travel has been an afterthought inside sports travel, treated as a smaller version of tournament housing rather than what it actually is, which is a completely different job with different needs,” he said in the announcement.
Competition Travel Adds Cheer, Dance, and Concierge Event Services
Competition Travel was founded in 2014 by Susan Tucker and specializes in event housing and travel management for competitive cheer, dance, and international event producers. The company supports more than 500 events annually, ranging from regional competitions to national championships, according to Fastbreak AI.
Its service model goes beyond room blocks. Per the release, Competition Travel manages hotel strategy, practice facilities, ground transportation, on-site logistics, and customized travel experiences for event organizers, athletes, families, and staff.
Tucker joins Fastbreak Travel as Vice President of Concierge Travel. In that role she will lead expansion into what the company described as fast-growing, travel-intensive event categories. She said the goal is to bring the same hands-on service her team provides cheer and dance clients “to more event organizers, athletes, and families.”
How Fastbreak Covers Youth Sports Travel From NGBs to Club Coaches
With GroupHousing, Groupbook, and Competition Travel now under one umbrella, Fastbreak Travel lists its customer base as national governing bodies, tournament directors, sports commissions, club administrators, coaches, and families.
John Stewart, Co-Founder and CEO of Fastbreak AI, framed the consolidation as a response to a split market. “Sports travel has been fragmented for a long time,” Stewart said, pointing to separate companies serving different customer types and different sports. He said Fastbreak Travel now meets customers “from an NGB running national championships to a club coach booking a single weekend.”
Fastbreak Travel is offered both as an integrated function of the Fastbreak AI amateur sports platform and as a standalone product for event operators, NGBs, and clubs. Fastbreak AI, founded in 2022, also counts the NBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB among the professional leagues using its broader operations platform, according to the company.
Three Travel Deals in 2026, One Club Product Still to Launch
Fastbreak has now spent 2026 assembling a travel business that reaches every buyer in the chain, from the NGB that awards a championship to the team manager collecting hotel payments from parents. GroupHousing gave it tournament housing, Groupbook gives it the club side, and Competition Travel gives it a dedicated foothold in cheer and dance.
The most concrete next step is Fastbreak Travel for Clubs under Freeman. The company has not said when the product will be available inside Fastbreak AI for Clubs, or how Groupbook’s existing base of more than 2,500 clubs and organizers will be migrated onto it.
Source: Fastbreak AI, October 6, 2026, https://www.fastbreak.ai/news-press/fastbreak-ai-acquires-groupbook-and-competition-travel
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Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
