June 22, 2010
CODP of Springfield, Missouri Adds Archery
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) announced that the Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) will expand their program to add the sport of archery, bringing their total number of sport programs to five, more than any other CODP. The Springfield CODP, in partnership with numerous National Governing Bodies, currently supports 430 youth athletes in the sports of weightlifting, tennis, ice hockey, and volleyball, and the CODP has exposed more than 45,370 young people to these sports since 2004.
The mission of the Springfield-Greene Parks and Recreation CODP is to provide athletes in the region access to the best facilities, programs, coaches and competition in order to enhance their ability to compete in Olympic sports. The addition of archery will expand this already thriving CODP as well as add a new, state-of-the-art archery facility in the United States currently under construction.
Linda Dollar, Springfield-Greene Parks and Recreation Program Manager stated, "Archery becomes our fifth CODP sport and we are delighted to be able to offer opportunities to Springfield youth to experience this sport. With national-level coach Steve Cornell joining our staff, we could not be more excited for this program to get off the ground."
Springfield-Greene Parks and Recreation is home to tennis athlete Alex Belote, who was selected as a representative to participate in the inaugural Singapore 2010 Friendship Camp. For more information on the Springfield CODP visit www.parkboard.org/info/codp/index.html.
"The Springfield CODP has been an incredible partner of the USOC," said Alicia McConnell, USOC Director, Athlete Services and Programs. "We appreciate the community's commitment to not only create opportunities for youth to participate in sport, but also to provide the chance for them to excel in sport and life. Olympic and Paralympic dreams are alive and well in Springfield."
Springfield is one of seven current CODPs, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.), the Midwest Weightlifting Club (Lake County, Ind.), the Moorestown Weightlifting Club (Moorestown, N.J.), San Antonio Sports (San Antonio, Texas), Central Cross Country Ski Association (Verona, Wis.) and the Utah Athletic Foundation (Park City, Utah).
The Community Olympic Development Program, in collaboration with the National Governing Bodies, develops community sport programs and impacts developmental athlete performance by building partnerships, accessing community resources, and leveraging USOC resources to create, develop and enhance Olympic sport feeder systems.
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