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Festivals Celebrate 2010 LA84 Foundation
Summer Aquatics Program

Eight-hundred young swimmers competed on in the swimming festival of the 2010 LA84 Foundation Summer Aquatics program, August 28, at John C. Argue Swim Stadium, in Los Angeles. With hundreds cheering family and friends in the bleachers, youngsters competed in age-group races in freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. Many of them also competed in the freestyle and medley relay races. The following day, 165 water polo players filled the LA84 Foundation /John C. Argue Swim Stadium for the water polo festival.

The swimming and water polo events were the culmination of the 2010 aquatics program, which the previous weekend featured diving and synchronized swimming competition at the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center.

The 2010 festivals marked the 25th year of the LA84 Foundation Summer Aquatics program, which has provided coaching and competition for more than 200,000 Los Angeles-area children and teenagers. Results & Galleries.

Foundation Funding to Assist L.A. High School Coaches

The LA84 Foundation as part of its Save Our Sports campaign will make it possible for new coaches in the Los Angeles Unified School District to meet the state’s coaching education requirements at a reduced cost. The Foundation and the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) announced the release of a new online training course for high school coaches in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD): LA84 Foundation's CIF Coaching Orientation. With funding assistance from the Foundation, the first 250 LAUSD coaches to take the course will receive a $20 discount on the normal $38 retail price. "I could not be more excited that the LA City Section is partnering with the LA84 Foundation and the American Sport Education Program to develop an online coaching education program for LA City Section coaches," says Barbara Fiege, LAUSD Director, Interscholastic Athletics, and CIF Los Angeles City Section Commissioner. Read more

Robert Graziano Elected New Chair of LA84 Foundation

LOS ANGELES – June 17, 2010 – Robert V. Graziano has been unanimously elected as the new chair of the LA84 Foundation Board of Directors. Graziano, the managing partner of the Family Advisory Services Group at Northern Trust, succeeds outgoing chair Thomas E. Larkin, Jr., who will continue to serve as a Foundation director.

Read more

A Message from LA84 Foundation President Anita DeFrantz:
Saving Los Angeles High School Sports

Save our sports We all know that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is facing a $640 million deficit for the next school year. One cost-cutting measure proposed by the district was a $1.4 million reduction in coaches’ stipends that would have eliminated many sports in 2010-2011.

With 35,000 student-athletes, competing in 14 sports at the 72 LAUSD high schools, the LA84 Foundation Board could not stand by idly and watch as high school sports opportunities evaporated. Read more

LA84 Merchandise Now Available

You can support the activities of the LA84 Foundation and youth sports by purchasing LA84 Foundation merchandise, including designs celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1984 Olympic Games. Store.

New Images

Summer Swim 2007 Photo Galleries.
   2010 Summer Aquatics Galleries: Diving. Swimming. Synchro. Water Polo.
   Video Gallery: Legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games.   Sports In My Life.
                               The Magic of Sports.
    LA84 Campus.

LA84 Foundation: Legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games

Alumni of the 1984 Olympic Games celebrated the 25th anniversary of the landmark event on July 18 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The LA84 Foundation featured prominently in the celebration, which included a screening of the Foundation latest video “LA84 Foundation: Legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games.”

Nike Grind

NikeGrind2 The LA84 Foundation and Nike are working in partnership to create new playing surfaces at sports facilities in Los Angeles. Nike Grind, recycled rubber left over from the manufacture of Nike shoes, is a key component in the resurfacing project. Learn more in this new video.

A Legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games

RaferJohnson The LA84 Foundation is a direct legacy of the highly successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The 1984 Games defied expectations, featuring stirring ceremonies, memorable sports performances, teams from a record-number 140 nations, innovative designs, thousands of dedicated volunteers and smooth-running logistics. The Games also produced a surplus of $232.5 million. The United States Olympic Committee received 60 percent of the surplus to fund athlete development programs. The remaining 40 percent provided the endowment for the LA84 Foundation, which to date has invested more than $185 million in youth sports in Southern California. Learn more about the 1984 Olympic Games and the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.

LA84 Connie Cycling Teams Excels at Junior Nationals

click picture to enlarge

Young athletes in the LA84 Foundation Connie Cycling Program won 12 medals and recorded 22 top-10 finishes at the 2010 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships, July 8-11, 2010 at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center, in Trexlertown, Penn. Medals are awarded to the top five finishers at the junior nationals.

Chaz Morales won the 500m TT in the men’s 13-14 age division. He also registered a 2nd-place in the scratch race and 4th in the points race. Morales’ performance earned him second place in the Omnium, or all-around championship.

In the women’s 10-12 division, Rebecca Israel had three podium finishes with a 3rd place in the 1k scratch race, 3rd in the 500m TT and 4th place in the Omnium.

Jules Gilliam, riding in the men’s 10-12 age group, finished 3rd in the 2k scratch, 5th in the 1k scratch and 4th in the Omnium.

Kate Wilson, in the women’s 17-18 division, took 4th in the points race and 5th in the pursuit.

Two alumnae of the LA84 Connie Cycling program – Tara McCormick and Christine Barron – also won medals in Trexlertown.

A total of 11 riders from the LA84 Connie Cycling Program competed at the national championships. Other team members included Ashlie Cooper, Gavin Hooper, Stephen Israel, Donavon Johnson, James Hillyer, Anthony Novoa and Spencer Buchanan. They were coached by Tanya Dubnicoff, a three-time Canadian Olympian and former world sprint champion and gold medal-winner at the Pan American and Commonwealth Games.

More than 700 youngsters have participated in the track cycling program, now in its fifth year of operation, with funding from the LA84 Foundation. It is based at the Home Depot Center Velodrome in Carson, Calif., and led by Olympic medalist, world champion and U.S. Cycling Hall of Fame inductee Connie Paraskevin. The program not only trains competitive racers, but also introduces novices to the sport, while providing them with free access to bikes, helmets, track time and coaching.

Conversation With Olympians

Jordan Malone, J.R. Celski, Angela Ruggiero and
                      Alan Abrahamson

Vancouver Winter Olympic Games bronze medalists Jordan Malone and J.R. Celski and Olympian and IOC member in the United States Angela Ruggiero participated in a conversation regarding their experiences in Vancouver at an event on June 10 held at the Foundation. The conversation was moderated by sports journalist Alan Abrahamson. More than 40 Olympians who competed in the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games between 1948 and 2010 were in attendance. They were joined by members of the Southern California Speedskating Association (SCSA) and their families. Jordan Malone and J.R. Celski trained at the SCSA with Coach Wilma Boomstra. The Foundation has supported the efforts of the SCSA since 1989.

   New Court & Skate Park Open in                           Lennox
   Pete Carrol at Lennox

     Coach Pete Carroll & Nike skateboarder
                       Theotis Beasley

Youngsters in the West Athens area of South Los Angeles now have a brand new multi-sport court and a refurbished skate area to enjoy at the Lennox Sheriff's Youth Center. The facilities are the latest project of the LA84Foundation/Nike partnership to improve/create sports facilities throughout Los Angeles. Former USC head football coach Pete Carroll, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and skating star Theotis Beasley participated in the dedication event on May 28th.
   Lennox skate park

The Lennox Sheriff's Youth Center was selected to support the efforts of Coach Pete Carroll and his organization A Better LA in the West Athens area. The selection was also based on the the strength and track record of the Sheriff's Youth Foundation in operating the youth center and others throughout Los Angeles

LA84 Foundation President Anita L. DeFrantz has been inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame. [more]

LA84 Foundation/Beyond the Bell Branch Middle School District-Wide 2010 Softball Finals

San Fernando Middle School Girls Champions

The girls team from San Fernando Middle School and the boys team from Griffith Middle School won top honors at the the LA84 Foundation/Beyond The Bell Branch Middle School District-Wide Softball Finals on May 8, 2010. The top four teams for boys and girls had advanced to the finals after a season of competition and winning regional competitions. Teams from Henry, Porter and Emerson middle schools rounded out the boys division. The other three girls teams were from Byrd, Carnegie and Griffith middle schools. The finals, organized by the Los Angeles Unified School District Beyond the Bell Branch staff, took place at Webster Middle School. Courtesy of the LA Dodgers, the winning teams received tickets to attend the Dodgers game on May 22.

This is the third year of the partnership between the LA84 Foundation and Beyond the Bell to offer seasonal organized sports programs at all 87 middle schools in the District.
Griffth Park Middle School Boys
Griffith Middle School Boys Champions

Festivals Celebrate 2010 LA84 Foundation Summer Aquatics Program