LA 84 CELEBRATES 30th YEAR WITH MORE THAN 1.68 MILLION IN GRANTS

LOS ANGELES (January 22, 2015) — The LA84 Foundation Board of Directors announced at their January Board meeting more than $1.68 million in grants to benefit 22 youth sports organizations in Southern California. Originally endowed with 40% of the surplus funds from the 1984 Olympic Games thirty years ago, LA84 is the region’s leading supporter of youth sports, and to date has invested over $220 million into thousands of community programs that have reached more than 3 million youth.

Particularly notable in this round of grants is a $250,000 award to the 2015 Special Olympics World Games taking place in Los Angeles this summer. With a cycle similar to the Olympic Games, the Special Olympics World Games is expected to draw 30,000 volunteers and 500,000 spectators, making it the largest sports or humanitarian event in the world in 2015 and the largest event hosted by the City of Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games. LA84’s grant will help cover athlete and equipment expenses as well as venue costs.

“Approximately 7,000 athletes from 170 countries will be traveling to Los Angeles this summer to compete, and LA84’s support will go a long way to help make our event a success,” said Patrick McClenahan, President and CEO of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, who also sits on the Board of Directors of the LA84 Foundation. “Thanks to this grant, many of the world’s most inspirational competitors will carry forth the positive legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games and motivate a whole new generation with their courage, determination and joy.”

Currently, there is no standardized system and structure to train and monitor officials that are officiating youth football games. Many youth football programs rely on a group of individual entrepreneurs that coordinate football officials that are usually experienced in high school football. These individuals are not always familiar with the nuances of youth football rules and regulations. Many have no experience at all officiating and are just beginning their officiating career with the younger age groups. These independent assigners function at their own discretion and with no accountability to the leagues. Many see this as a moneymaking venture and rely on a core group of officials to work an excessive number of games that lead to fatigue and lack of attentiveness to player safety.

To address this issue, SCMAF is proposing the development of an officials group that has been trained through a curriculum and training program that places an emphasis on the safety of young football players. This curriculum will be offered to all SCMAF member agencies and youth football programs that have been forced to rely on assignors that are only concerned with receiving a fee for their service. SCMAF will work with a well-respected organization that has experience with developing curriculums for youth based programs. The curriculum and training program will increase the number of youth football coaches available for assignment.

SCMAF believes that the current youth football officiating structure is inconsistent with its vision and belief that youth sports offered in a public facilities ought to be safe and with the best interest of participants. The new officiating program will be managed by SCMAF and will be specifically designed to enhance the tackle and flag football experience while emphasizing player safety. Changing the landscape of football officiating will take time.  However, given the national attention to player safety, there is a willingness on the part of coaches and parents to try something new. This youth football officiating program, with an emphasis on player safety is a first step in that.