May 15 - Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, has announced a nationwide commitment here at the Team USA Media Summit to get over 1.7 million American children active as part of her Let's Move! initiative which aims to wage a war on childhood obesity.
The First Lady (pictured above, centre) was joined by some of America's biggest London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic prospects, including triple Olympic swimming champion Natalie Coughlin, where it was revealed that a number of major sporting organisations, including the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and US Paralympics, will provide beginner athletic programming to more than 1.7 million youngsters in 2012.
"This year, 1.7 million young people will be participating in Olympic and Paralympic sports in their communities – many of them for the very first time," said the First Lady.
"That is so important because sometimes all it takes is that first lesson, or clinic, or class to get a child excited about a new sport.
"So this summer, together with our children, we can support Team USA not just by cheering them on but by striving to live up to the example they set.
"In the end, some of these athletes will bring home the gold, but all of them will make our country proud, and all of them will inspire a generation of young people to get active, to strive for excellence and to pursue whatever dreams they may hold in their hearts."
Obama, who will lead the Presidential Delegation to the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 27, is working to turn the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games into action by getting more kids healthy and active.
In March, she welcomed Samantha Cameron (pictured above, left), the wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, to the United States by hosting a mini-Olympics event for local school children.
She also spoke at the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Warrior Games last month, the USOC's Paralympic-style competition for wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans, at the Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs.
But her close relationship to the USOC has been clear for some time after she gave a speech to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its Session in Copenhagen in October 2009, alongside her husband President Barack Obama, when Chicago were bidding for the 2016 Games, although the American city lost out to Rio de Janeiro.
The Let's Move! scheme is being spearheaded by the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), who have created a website, www.ahealthieramerica.org/olympics, to help families find affiliated sports programmes in their area.
PHA and USOC will work with several National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to help take the initiative forward.
"We're incredibly honoured to have Mrs Obama join us in Dallas to celebrate the accomplishments of America's finest athletes and announce new ways we can all work together to increase access to sport for young children," said USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun.
"The Let's Move! initiative is an important one and something the entire Olympic family in the United States is eager to support."
The initiative will see a number of projects from NGBs, including from USA Cycling/USA BMX, who will offer free 30-day memberships to tracks and free races/clinics at 350 BMX tracks nationwide this summer.
USA Gymnastics will challenge its local member clubs to host introductory clinics and events for National Gymnastics Day on September 22, while US Paralympics will facilitate 300 Paralympic ambassador visits to schools and community centres and provide training for an additional 1,000 local leaders.
Among other projects, the US Soccer Federation will engage 12,000 youths in 13 cities through the US Soccer Foundation's Soccer for Success programme – providing free, afterschool training to urban children – while USA Swimming will enrol 530,000 new learn-to-swim participants in its 'Make a Splash' programme.
Coughlin, who introduced Obama at the Team USA Media Summit, praised the initiative.
"It was extremely important to my parents that I was active from an early age," said the swimming star.
"I started swimming competitively at age six to make friends, be active and be healthy.
"It wasn't important to my parents that I win ribbons or trophies, but it was important that I was active and dedicated to something in addition to school.
"Not only did it feed my competitive drive and help me be healthy, but it made me a better student and a better kid.
"To join with the First Lady and spread that message is truly an honour."
PHA President and chief executive Larry Soler echoed Coughlin's (pictured above, second right) comments.
"This summer, Team USA will inspire us all with their skill, their grace and their abilities," he said.
"Because of today's commitments, the inspiration will not end after the Closing Ceremonies.
"The First Lady's leadership has brought together a group of organisations that are committed to helping more than a million young people engage in sports in ways that were previously unavailable to them.
"It's important for us to remember that being active and moving more doesn't mean you have to train like our nation's elite athletes – but being active is part of a healthy lifestyle."
Source: www.insidethegames.biz
By Tom Degun