September 2, 1998

Mayor Deedee Corradini And Olympic Legend Carl Lewis Announce New National Program To Encourage Students

"As president of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, I've made a promise to focus on the health and well-being of the youth in our cities," said Mayor Corradini. "Last year, I approached Nike, which has strong community outreach programs of its own, with the idea to create an alliance benefitting kids. What resulted is the partnership between The U.S. Conference of Mayors and NikeTown, and the newly created Mayors' Sports Challenge. The purpose of this program is to help kids to set goals, work as a team, take pride in their school and pick up a sport that can help them to stay healthy for the rest of their lives."

The Mayors' Sports Challenge will begin this month in 11 cities -- New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Costa Mesa and Salt Lake City. Seven schools will be chosen to participate by the mayor's office in each region. Once selected, the seventh grade in each school will be designated a month in the academic school year (with the exception of December and January) to begin the program.

After receiving an overview of the program, the schools will select a date for their Mayors' Sports Challenge Training Day, a two-hour clinic held at the school's track or gymnasium. Volunteers from the area NikeTown store and school staff members will give the kids an introduction to running, instructional tips and the opportunity to participate in a variety of exercises and relays.

One of the goals of the Mayors' Sports Challenge program is to sustain the interest in running and encourage the kids, their teachers and the rest of the school to prepare for the Challenge Day at the end of the year. To promote this, each school will be given a NikeTown Running Starter Kit. This will include a track and field coaching book, a stop watch, a whistle, relay batons, starting blocks, finish line tape, and two letters of encouragement, one from the city's mayor and one from Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold medalist and national spokesperson for the program.

"These kits are going to make the kids feel just like professionals in training, and that will help to motivate them," said Carl Lewis. "Their hard work will pay off not only when they reach the Mayors' Sports Challenge, but when they walk away with a sense of accomplishment and pride in themselves from this experience."

In June, each region will host their own Mayors' Sports Challenge. Approximately 75 selected students from each of the seven area schools will convene at a local high school track. There, Carl Lewis, who will attend each of the 11 Challenges, will host a four-hour track meet with sprints (50M, 100M, 200M, 200M relay), middle distance (400M, 400M relay) and distance (800M, Mile relay and Mile) running. While the spirit of competition will certainly be evident, the goal of the Mayors' Sports Challenge is to make every child feel like a winner. After the event, each one will receive the same prize, a certificate and a commemorative T-shirt. Their schools will also be presented with a race clock.

NikeTown and The United States Conference of Mayors plan to make the Mayors' Sports Challenge an annual program that will extend to more cities each year.

The United States Conference of Mayors

J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352

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