In less than three months, eyes from around the world will focus on Indianapolis for another major sporting event — the second annual 2018 Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group One Thousand One.

Hosted at the Brickyard Crossing August 13 – 19, 2018, a Pete Dye golf course located inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 144 of the world’s best LPGA Professionals will come to Indianapolis to play the IWiT Championship, a four-day stroke play event with a $2,000,000 purse. At 2017’s inaugural event, Lexi Thompson beat out Lydia Ko by four strokes to win the tournament, a $300,000 winner’s check and became the first ever female to kiss the iconic yard of bricks in victory.

What makes this sporting championship unique is its partnership with the Indy Women in Tech Foundation (IWiT). Together, the mission is to provide awareness and funding for women and tech initiatives; particularly those focused on robotics, STEM days, and education/training for those wanting to enter, re-enter or transition to a career in tech.

Net proceeds from the championship are donated back to the IWiT Foundation, which in 2017 funded scholarships for women to attend Eleven Fifty Academy and Ivy Tech Community College, robotic grants for TechPoint Foundation for Youth, and more. You can read a previous story on the IWiT Foundation’s impact here.

“Indy Women in Tech is excited to bring the IWiT Championship to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway again this year. This event shines a national spotlight on Indy’s incredible Tech community and the collaboration that is occurring everyday to make Indiana a leader on many fronts” says Jody Dedon, Executive Director of IWiT.  “We have an exciting lineup of events planned this year and we hope you will join us at the Brickyard. Together, we will empower the future women of Tech as we grow Indy’s tech workforce.”

Two events that will return to IWiT Championship week are the IWiT Summit and The Eureka! Exchange. Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, gave the keynote at last year’s IWiT Summit, which brought 400+ tech leaders from across Indiana together to discuss how we as a community can increase opportunity for women in STEM careers. Other speakers included Cara Adams, Chief Engineer at Bridgestone Motorsports and an inclusivity session led by Peggy Boyer of Linkage. This year’s keynote speaker and event lineup will be announced soon.

The Eureka! Exchange will invite 1250+ Indianapolis students to experience the wonders of STEM through engaging hands on activities curated by industry experts. Last year’s event included Rolls Royce, Girl Scouts, TechPoint Foundation for Youth, Codelicious and more groups who did everything from making robots to coding and crafting airplanes. Dr. Sue Ellspermann, President of Ivy Tech Community College, gave a welcome introduction to over one hundred fifth grade students from Frankton Elementary School about how she was interested in math and science and later went to college and studied industrial engineering.

Tickets are available now at iwitchamp.com one day to four-day passes, VIP packages, parking and more. Looking to offer hands-on support? No LPGA event is possible without volunteers. Multiple opportunities are available online also at iwitchamp.com.