OKC, Edmond officially named Olympics/Paralympics training sites...

[warreng88]

This was covered below, but thought it needed its own thread:

http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-are...r-tuesday.html


OKC, Edmond officially named Olympics/Paralympics training sites

BY MIKE BALDWIN, Staff Writer
Published: July 28, 2009

Oklahoma City and Edmond will be official training sites for some U.S. Olympic teams it was announced Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Oklahoma River.

United States Olympic Committee CEO Stephanie Streeter announced the Oklahoma River, south of downtown, will be the nation's official training site for rowing and canoe/kayak.

Streeter also announced the University of Central Oklahoma, already a paralympic training site, will also become the official training site for volleyball, archery and Paralympic sports.

"This is an exciting announcement for the USOC and for Oklahoma City and the University of Central Oklahoma," Streeter said. "The communities of Oklahoma City and Edmond have demonstrated a deep commitment to the Olympic movement."

The Oklahoma River includes a 2,000-meter race course and performance center, projects spearheaded by the OKC Boathouse Foundation, now a partner United States Olympic Committee.

"We are becoming an increasingly significant player in the national and international sports world because of the Oklahoma River and the support of community-minded corporations," said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.

"Today's announcement validates the public and private investments we have made in the Oklahoma River are returning great dividends to our community."

UCO's involvement in Paralympic sports began in 2000 when it hosted the first annual Endeavor Games for athletes with physical disabilities. The event continued to grow.

In 2005, UCO was announced as the official training site for the U.S. paralympic sitting volleyball team. The Edmond university also was recently named the official training site for the U.S. powerlifting team.

"UCO will expand upon years of dedication to Paralympic sport when Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls make their home in Edmond," Streeter said. "These new programs and facilities will provide a welcome home for current and future members of Team USA as they train."

http://newsok.com/okc-edmond-officia...adlines_widget

[jbrown84]

Great article from USA Today:

USOC honors 2 Oklahoma training sites - USATODAY.com

[dmoor82]

With the Devon tower and the NBA and the US olympic rowing training facilty,why would'nt people in OKC be jealous of the HR casino or the Dave and busters in Tulsa!j/k LOL this is gonna be great for the Oklahoma river along with the boathouse row development and C2S down the road and Humphrey's developments, I can see big things in the future for OKC!Tulsa and OKC have alot of thing's to be proud of!

[Doug Loudenback]

Thanks for that USAToday link, JBrown ... it's always great to read national press articles like that one.

[Karried]

That is awesome..... great article!

[metro]

Thanks for that USAToday link, JBrown ... it's always great to read national press articles like that one.

Well everyone needs to go back and hit the "Recommend Article" button at the top of the article. So far, I'm the only one that has clicked it as of now. Only 1 recommendation. Help more good news like this get to the top of webpages.

[dcsooner]

One Question: Is this designation PERMANENT (for all future Olympics)or just for the upcoming Olympics?

[jbrown84]

Pretty sure it's permanent. We already had the one-time status of hosting the trials last year.