This event is one of many world-wide events celebrating the birth of the modern Olympic Games
PALO ALTO – The spirit of the Olympic Movement will roll into Mitchell Park, Palo Alto as the Northern California Olympic Alumni and the Palo Alto Pickleball Club host a clinic and round robin tournament in celebration of Olympic Day.
This clinic and tournament will take place at Mitchell Park Pickleball Courts in Palo Alto, featuring a “learn to play Pickleball clinic” and a friendly round robin Tournament. The goal of Olympic Day is to promote the Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect and to create opportunities for people to participate in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability. Olympic Day is centered around three pillars: Move, Learn and Discover.
Olympic Alumni taking part include athletes from Olympic sports – Alpine Skiing, Rowing, Fencing, Swimming, Track & Field and Triathlon.
The motto of The Palo Alto Pickleball Club, “arrive as a stranger and leave as a friend” is consistent with Olympic values of friendship. “We are excited to take part in Olympic Day and inspire all in our community,” said Monica Williams, co-founder and past president of The Palo Alto Pickleball Club. “Our club is proud to support the Olympic Movement and encourage everyone to lead healthy, active lives. While Pickleball is not yet an Olympic Sport, but because of Pickleball’s growing world -wide popularity, we look forward to the day when Pickleball will be added to the Olympic program.”
The Clinic and Tournament are part of many events taking place nationwide between June 14 and 30. The events, designed to engage both youth and adults, promote the ideals of the Olympic movement, family-friendly activities and interactive learning experiences.
Around the world, more than 160 countries take part in the annual celebration. Olympic Day (officially on June 23) was created in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games. Olympic Day focuses on the Olympic values and ideals – fair play, perseverance, respect and sportsmanship. In the U.S., Olympic Day events range from small gatherings to large, city-wide events.
For more information, please contact Anne Warner Cribbs, 415.264.2067 or Barbra I. Higgins at 510 482.8263.
IOC President Thomas Bach said, “On Olympic Day, we celebrate the Olympic Movement’s mission to make the world a better place through sport. When we do sport, it keeps our mind and body strong and healthy. When we do sport, it inspires us to always give it our best and it makes us dream, it spreads joy and it brings us together. This year, together with the WHO, we are highlighting the positive impacts sport has on both physical and mental health. We want to inspire the world to move more every day. Sport and physical activity are the low-cost, high-impact tool for healthy bodies and healthy minds and resilient communities.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today announced a new global initiative to inspire and enable the world to move more every day. Led by Olympians and created in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Let’s Move will begin on Olympic Day, 23 June, with an invitation to make time every day for movement for better health.