Chula Vista Olympic Training Center to Host Junior Olympic Skills Regional Competition on International Olympic Day
CHULA VISTA, Calif. – The U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista will host the Junior Olympic Skills Regional Competition on Saturday, June 23. Events begin at 9:30AM. Saturday, June 23 is also recognized around the world as International Olympic Day.
Youth from across San Diego County who qualified at local competitions will have the opportunity to compete on the fields at the Olympic Training Center. Winners from each age group will advance to the National Junior Olympic Skills Competition, which takes place this August in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Junior Olympic Skills Competition introduces America's youth to the excitement, benefits and healthy lifestyle that sports offer. The event focuses on four sports: basketball, soccer, tennis and track & field. This year, a new Olympic sport aptitude test called the U.S. Olympic 5-Ring Challenge was introduced.
With the support of returning event sponsors Kellogg's Frosted Flakes®reg;, the United States Tennis Association and Band-Aid®reg; Brand, the United States Olympic Committee has expanded its reach beyond the 2006 program, in which there were 1.5 million participants and 5,700 local qualifying events.
"With the participation levels this program witnessed in 2006, it is evident that kids across America are hungry for programs that involve exercise, sports and making friends," said United States Olympic Committee Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr. "The U.S. Junior Olympic Skills Competition is providing communities with programs that allow children to showcase their athletic skills while building character, self-confidence, childhood memories and even possibly, future Olympic heroes."
To expand the program so that kids remain active year-round and to encourage youth to compete in athletics, the United States Olympic Committee created the U.S. Olympic 5-Ring Challenge. This Olympic sport aptitude test gives participants the opportunity to evaluate their skill level and determine which Olympic sports may best be suited for them. The Olympic 5-Ring Challenge was introduced at more than 7,000 local Junior Olympic Skills qualifying events that took place in communities across the country.
This Olympic sport evaluation assesses a child's level in five areas of athleticism: power, agility, flexibility, speed and strength. Exercises are basic drills that require minimal set-up and can be performed at home. Additionally, kids can track their progress online as they practice and repeat the exercises in an effort to improve their results. Kids can also compare their results online to other participants in the same age group.
Junior Olympic Skills Program Overview:
Program sport competitions involve testing youth in a variety of skills such as basketball (score as many points as possible by making baskets from designated shooting areas), soccer (dribble and shoot accurately in the fastest time possible), tennis (serve a low-compression tennis ball and continue to hit the ball against a wall and above the net as many times as possible in a 30-second time period) and track & field (perform two fundamental events, the 50-meter sprint and standing long jump).
The U.S. Junior Olympic Skills Competition is free and is hosted by multiple community groups across the United States, including local city parks and recreation departments, police athletic leagues, Boys and Girls Clubs, schools and YMCAs. For information on hosting a qualifying event in your area, please visit www.jrolympicskills.com.
Advancement
Participants may advance through three levels of competition, including local, regional and the National Finals in Colorado Springs, Colo. Boys and girls ages 8 to 13 are eligible for participation and will compete separately in three different age groups: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13, with participant eligibility determined as of Aug. 31, 2007.
The National Finals will be held in August at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Any media planning to attend are asked to contact Diana Wright at (619) 482-6119.
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Diana Wright
Public Information Coordinator
U.S. Olympic Training Center
2800 Olympic Parkway
Chula Vista, CA 91915
Office: (619) 482-6119
Fax: (619) 482-6200
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