The 2013 LA Watts Summer Games (LAWSG) is an interscholastic athletic competition that promotes positive interaction, respect and achievement among high school youth. The Games take place on June 8-9 and 14-15 this year for healthy competition among more than 4,000 California high school athletes. The first LA Watts Summer Games were held at Locke High School and consisted of 150 student-athletes competing in three different sport competitions. Over the past 45 years, close to 300,000 student-athletes from diverse socio-economic backgrounds have participated in the LA Watts Summer Games, including 8 Olympians and 6 Hall of Fame recipients, and star athletes such as Florence Griffith Joyner, Lisa Leslie, John Elway, Michael Cooper and many more.

This year marks the first annual LA Watts Summer Games Leadership Summit on May 4, with the aim to provide education about the mission and history of the Games and to provide a platform for leadership skills development for coaches and team captains. The half-day conference is designed to bring together coaches within the Southern California area currently involved in youth sport programs and high school-aged student athletes serving in the role of team captains for their team. 

We'll be leading a panel of experts as we dive into the always hot topic of "Student Athletes and Social Media," focusing on both what to do and not to do on social media. There have been several cases recently of student-athletes who've been too outspoken on Twitter or Facebook, and their comments have been damaging to both their athletic programs as well as their own individual careers. One in particular we'll be dicussing is Ohio State QB Cardale Jones, who tweeted this last fall...

If you're in the LA area on Sat May 4th, please come and join us!


Student-Athletes and Social Media: Lessons and best practices for student-athletes and coaches

Sat, May 4, 2013
11:00am

Panelists:
Matt Elliott, Director of Compliance, UCLA
Trenton Cornelius, Assistant Commissioner, CIF - Los Angeles City Section
Brian Murphy, Senior Advisor, John R. Wooden Award
Garry Paskwietz, Founder, WeAreSC.com and co-host on ESPN 710

Location:
Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets
7400 W. Manchester Ave.
Los Angeles, California, 90045

For many in the sports community, the announcement last month from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regarding schools' obligations to provide access to sports programs for students with disabilities was a sea-change moment, much like Title IX was for women's athletics. Inclusion has always been a core message in the disability community, and this directive presents a great leap forward to carry that theme throughout the grassroots of the sports world.

As expected, this also brought with it a myriad of questions about how these programs should be implemented, what constitutes a fair, safe and level playing field for all competitors, and what types of equipment and facilities are necessary. We've been in touch with the team at Active Policy Solutions who drafted the directive, to shed some light on these issues. As with any significant change, there are going to be a few bumps in the road. But for most athletes with disabilities, a few bumps have never stopped them from accomplishing any of their goals.

Q and A: Disability in Sport

On January 24, 2013 the Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague Letter clarifying schools’ obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide extracurricular athletic opportunities for students with disabilities.

This Dear Colleague Letter provides a clear roadmap for interpreting the guidance so that schools can better integrate students with disabilities into mainstream athletic programs - and create adapted programs for students with disabilities.

I. Benefits of Participation

1. Why should schools offer athletic programs to students with disabilities?

The benefits of athletic and physical education programs are equally important for students with disabilities as they are for all students. Physical activity is key in addressing the obesity epidemic that is especially problematic for individuals with disabilities, as 50% of people with disabilities do not engage in any physical activity. Participating in physical activity helps reduce obesity and prevent health problems, such as heart disease, breast cancer and debilitating stress?related illnesses like depression.

Individuals with disabilities who participate in sports have higher self-esteem, better body images and higher rates of academic success; and are more likely to graduate from high school and matriculate in college; and experience greater career success and more options.

When we created this platform, the name "Sports and Social Change" was something that came to us pretty easily. Our entire initiative is to focus on the intersection of sports and the people, programs and events that drive positive social change. However, we realize what doesn't come easy is that change. It takes time, unwavering dedication and often great sacrifice to enact lasting change in society.

Fans Against Violence

ASSOCIATED SPORTS: Baseball, Basketball, Football (American), Football (Soccer), Ice Hockey, Rugby, Lacrosse
CAUSES SERVED: Community, Peace
AGE GROUPS SERVED: All
EMAIL: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
WEBSITE: http://www.fansagainstviolence.org

Violence: The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against a person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation. (as defined by the World Health Organization)

The physical nature of contact sports like football, hockey, rugby, lacrosse is often highlighted in the media and highly revered by many. And the players on the field or in the arena fully accept that it's a part of the game they choose to play. But for sports fans at the stadium, there's been a disturbing trend - physical violence in the stands, fan against fan. While "trash-talking" has always been a part of rivalries both on and off the field, the escalation of insults turning into fisticuffs has reached a point where personal safety is now a valid concern. What were once isolated incidents have become far too commonplace. And people like Kathy Samoun have had enough.

Kathy is the founder and executive director of Fans Against Violence, a nonprofit dedicated to elimiating fan-on-fan violence, with a mission to "encourage fan safety at professional sporting events through education, discussion and partnerships with like-minded organizations." Kathy and the FAV team have quickly become the leading voice on this issue, and through in-stadium initiatives like the "FanShake" they're helping sports fans enjoy a safe, fun day at the ballpark.

Here's a great opportunity for those in the Phoenix, AZ area to learn more about how the Arizona Diamondbacks Community Relations team works with area nonprofits. The 2012 Diamondbacks Speaker Series at Chase Field has an event happening on July 24th featuring a discussion on community relations and nonprofits, led by Debbie Castaldo, Vice President of Community Affairs and Executive Director of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation.

Tickets are $20 and include the networking event in the Miller Lite Diamond Club and that evening's game against the Colorado Rockies.

For more information contact:
Kristen Leetz
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
602-462-4243