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City of Los Angeles, CA
City of Los Angeles, CA
01/06/2012 | Press release
The 2012 International Basketball Dream Games - News Release
distribué par noodls le 01/07/2012 05:13
***NEWS RELEASE***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: January 5, 2012 Andrea Epstein // andrea.epstein@lacity.org Department of Recreation and Parks
213.202.2690 or 323.816.6712
Bobby Hockless // bobby.hockless@lacity.org Department of Recreation and Parks Westwood Recreation Center
310.473.3610
A BASKETBALL DREAM COME TRUE
The 2012 International Dream Games
Bringing together youth from 12 LA Recreation Centers
LOS ANGELES - For the third year in a row, the Los Angeles Sparks have teamed up with the Friends of West Los Angeles and the Department of Recreation and Parks to present the 2012 International Dream Games. Previously named the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Games, the International Dream Games were created to recognize the legacy of Dr. King, to bring people together for one common goal - to give kids in Los Angeles the chance to play sports.
In an effort to combat the budget cuts that have taken sports
out of schools in the Los Angeles community and left many
kids with no form of extracurricular activity, the Dream
Games will give kids from twelve different Los Angeles City
Recreation Centers the opportunity to participate in a
basketball exhibition during the weekend of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day.
The twelve participating recreation centers are Westwood,
Chevy Chase, Lou Costello, Baldwin Hills, Rosecrans,
Normandale, Banning/East Wilmington, Van Ness, Hubert
Humphrey, Peck Park, Bellevue, and El Sereno. Each
participant will play two games and receive a t-shirt to wear
during their games. Over 300 kids will be drafted onto
combined teams from the recreation centers in the spirit of
Dr. King to learn that differences in ethnic heritage,
socioeconomics, and religious beliefs all disappear once the
whistle blows and the game begins.
- more -
The International Dream Games co-ed divisions will tip-off on
Saturday, January
14 at 10:00 am at Van Ness Recreation Center and Westwood
Recreation Center. Van Ness Recreation Center and Westwood
Recreation Complex will both host a ceremony at 12:00 pm on
Saturday with special guests and a clinic. The Games will
conclude on Sunday at Westwood Recreation Center with the
girls' division games beginning at 10:00 am. Westwood
Recreation Center will also be hosting a clinic and special
guest, Lisa Leslie will be on hand to donate her retirement
photo to the Westwood Complex on Sunday at 12:00 pm.
The third annual International Dream Games are a continuation
of an ongoing partnership between the LA Sparks, the Friends
of West Los Angeles, and Recreation and Parks. The exhibition
games will be held on Saturday, January
14 at Van Ness and Westwood Recreation Centers and Sunday,
January 15 at Westwood Recreation Center with the first games
at 10:00 am at both locations. For more information on how
you can be involved and a complete game schedule, please
contact the Westwood Recreation Center at 310.473.3610.
About the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
The Department of Recreation and Parks maintains over 15,710 acres of parkland with over 400 neighborhood and regional parks, 184 recreation centers and facilities, 372 children's play areas,
321 tennis courts, 256 ball fields, 31 senior centers, 13 golf courses, nine dog parks, 14 skate parks, 12 museums and an urban forest of one million trees. The Department also provides after school, day care and athletic programs for children and teens, including basketball, volleyball, softball and flag football leagues. For more information about the Department of Recreation and Parks, please visit www.laparks.org.
About the Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks are entering their 16th season in the Women's National Basketball Association. The Sparks won back-to-back WNBA Championships in 2001 & 2002 and have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in eleven of their fourteen years in Los Angeles. They are one of the five original teams still operating in the WNBA, they were purchased by a group of investors, led by Carla Christofferson and Kathy Goodman and they are one of six WNBA teams owned and operated independent of NBA teams. In 2011 Sparks Chairperson Paula Madison introduced Lisa Leslie as the newest member of the team's ownership group. In doing so, she became the first former WNBA player to invest in a league team. The Sparks play their home games at STAPLES Center in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. For Sparks' ticket information, call 1-877-44- SPARKS.