News article
LA28 youth programme reaches 500,000 children
The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games youth programme PlayLA has now supported more than 500,000 children in participating in sport across the city since 2018.
The initiative is funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Los Angeles 2028, and aims to offer affordable and accessible sport to young people of all abilities.
Enrolment nearly doubled for the 2022-2023 programme compared to the previous year’s edition.
“Organising the Olympic Games goes hand-in-hand with the responsibility to deliver long-term benefits for people and cities, and is part of our commitment to building a better world through sport,” said the IOC’s Head of Olympic Games Impact and Legacy Tania Braga.
PlayLA costs as little as $10 per participant and offers grants to qualifying families.
It focuses on teaching children sports that feature in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with signature programmes for judo, skateboarding, surfing, Para surfing, and blind football.
Run by the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Recreation and Parks, PlayLA was brought to life by an agreement between the IOC and LA28.
“It’s been inspiring to see the continued success and growth of the PlayLA programme, especially as the world readies for the Paris Games this summer."
The two organising bodies committed to investments of up to $160m in the lead-up to the Games, which will be held in Los Angeles for the third time following the 1932 and 1984 events.
The majority of this funding is intended to fund quality sports programming for young people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
During the last school year, PlayLA saw the addition of 18 new programmes with half of those being for adaptive sport. It hosted more than 3,000 clinics at 154 parks and recreation centres and aquatic centres.
“It’s been inspiring to see the continued success and growth of the PlayLA programme, especially as the world readies for the Paris Games this summer,” said LA28 Vice-President of Impact, Erikk Aldridge.
“PlayLA presents the opportunity for young athletes to feel the excitement of the Games returning to their hometown while introducing them to a wide variety of Olympic and Paralympic sports.”
The LA28 Organising Committee has projected that PlayLA will impact around one million participants before the Games begin.
Image: LA28