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Taekwondo Thrills Thousands
What a great week this
has been for sports in San Antonio! Congratulations
to our NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. We’re so
proud of the team and the staff. You give every San
Antonian a reason to cheer.
While the Spurs were busy winning a championship, the
Sports Foundation was busy hosting the 25th U.S. Junior
Olympic Taekwondo Championships. The event was a great
success as we welcomed USA Taekwondo and thousands of
competitors and spectators to San Antonio and the Alamodome
for the exciting week of competition June 21-25.
We had more than 250 dedicated volunteers working the
900 plus shifts needed. The Sports Foundation would
like to extend a special thank you to Larry
Hernandez, Pam Fleming (see
story below), Sherry Houwerzy,
Kathy Colliander, Debbie Hall
and Judi Weers for the endless time
and effort they put into making this event such a success.
We couldn’t have done it without you. Thank You!
To our friends at USA Taekwondo – come back as
soon as you can! We can’t promise the San Antonio
Spurs will win an NBA Championship every time you do,
but we’ll always work to make your event fun and
successful.
Dr.
Susan Blackwood
Executive Director
Nominate a Sports Hero to
the S.A. Sports Hall of Fame
 The
deadline to nominate a candidate to the 2006 S.A. Sports
Hall of Fame is July 10. Only one nomination form is
needed for a nominee to receive consideration.
Eligible candidates for the Class of 2006 must have
either been born or raised in San Antonio, or have achieved
their primary athletic fame in the Alamo City. Those
still active in their field are not eligible for induction
into the Hall of Fame.
Honor your San Antonio sports hero today by submitting
a nomination form. Click
here for a nomination form.
DFY Receives Grants From
Local Foundations
The San Antonio Sports Foundation's
Dreams for Youth was recently awarded grants from three
San Antonio foundations. The Myra Stafford Pryor Charitable
Trust has awarded $10,000 to help pay for renovations
to the gym at 525 San Pedro and to buy new fencing equipment.
The Alfred S. Gage Foundation provided $3,000 to the
badminton program so that the team could travel to three
local tournaments. The Sequor Foundation awarded DFY
$12,500 to pay for transporting Southside ISD children
to and from the DFY programs that will be offered during
the summer of 2006.
Sports Foundation Presents
Inaugural Salute to Coaches Award To Community Coach
The San Antonio Sports Foundation
selected Eddie Meza as the recipient
of the 2005 Salute to Coaches Award for community organizations.
Meza has volunteered as a youth baseball and soccer
coach at Lackland Air Base Youth Center for the past
six years.
“There are good coaches out there that should
be recognized for their volunteer efforts and this is
a great way to do that,” Meza said. “It
was a total surprise for me to get the award. I’m
happy to have gotten it.” Congratulations Coach
Meza!
2008
Olympic Swim Trials
USA Swimming has named Omaha, Neb.
as the site for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for
Swimming. San Antonio and St. Paul, Minn. were also
finalists to host this prestigious event. We wish Omaha
the best and thank our staff and volunteers for all
their hard work in putting forth a very impressive bid.
Taekwondo Wrap-Up
 The
25th U.S. Junior Olympic Taekwondo Championships were
a great success. The Sports Foundation and USA Taekwondo
welcomed thousands of competitors and spectators to
San Antonio and the Alamodome for the exciting week
of competition June 21-25.
The Sports Foundation would like to thank all of the
volunteers who helped out during the competition. Our
volunteers served in the areas of awards, coaching preparation,
hospitality, referee seminar, registration, results,
scoring, ring runners, security, set-up & break
down and weigh-in. The volunteers made the championships
an enjoyable and memorable experience for all those
who attended. We could not have done it without you!
Just Say “YES”
to Volleyball
 Deb
Turner, Director of NCAA Youth Education through
Sports (YES) Programs was in San Antonio last week preparing
for December’s Volleyball YES Clinics held in
conjunction with the 2005 NCAA® Division I Women’s
Volleyball Championship.
The NCAA’s YES Clinics are a unique way to engage
youth of the local host community in an NCAA Championship.
This partnership will allow area boys and girls, ages
10-18, the opportunity to learn not only volleyball
fundamentals, but also conditioning, nutrition and life
skills from college student-athletes and coaches. In
addition, parents are invited to stay for a discussion
panel regarding issues such as college compliance, nutrition,
sportsmanship and injury prevention.
Trinity University will host this year’s Volleyball
YES Clinic Saturday, Dec. 17 from 8 a.m. – Noon.
All youth participating in the free clinic will be treated
to a day pass for the Championship Game that afternoon.
Please call Anna Gomez-Vasquez at (210) 820-2102 to
request a registration form. Visit www.saloc.org
for up-coming information on a location for a possible
second clinic!
Birdies for Charity®
to Support DFY Program
The San Antonio Sports Foundation is
excited to be a part of Birdies for Charity®, which
is run in conjunction with the Valero Texas Open. Birdies
for Charity allows individuals to pledge money for every
birdie made at the Valero Texas Open from September
21-25. The Sports Foundation will use 100 percent of
the proceeds earned to help support our Dreams For Youth
program.
Individuals are asked to pledge between one and five
cents for every birdie made. Last year, 2,723 birdies
were made during the tournament.
Click
here for a donation form.
Mail or fax completed forms to the Sports Foundation
office, care of Gretchen Garceau-Kragh. If you have
any questions, contact Gretchen at (210) 820-2109 or
gkragh@sanantoniosports.org.
Can You Dig It
 This
summer, 450 teenage girls gather two nights a week to
play volleyball and to talk about lifestyle issues in
the “Can You Dig It” summer league. It is
sponsored by the San Antonio Sports Foundation’s
Dreams for Youth, the Women’s Sports Foundation
and Harlandale ISD. Each Monday evening throughout the
six-week session, mentors give the girls information
on issues affecting teens such as self-esteem and peer
pressure.
The goal of the league is to help get the girls ready
for next season and ready for adulthood. “It gives
them good information that they need, it keeps them
active and off the streets,” says Sylvia
Cardenas, summer volleyball league coordinator.
Sixth and seventh grade girls practicing at Kingsborough
Middle School recently discussed “the skinny struggle”
and “fueling up.” Anna Gomez-Vazquez, program
manager at the Sports Foundation, said the session was
designed show the girls that everyone is different in
her own way. “We explained that you don’t
have to look like the models and actresses on TV and
in magazines to be beautiful. Every girl is unique and
there is something beautiful about each one of us.”
Anna also discussed exercise and keeping their bodies
healthy by playing volleyball, reminding them to follow
the food pyramid, read labels on foods and keep junk
food intake to a minimum.
Birdies Fly at Southwest
ISD
A new sport has been introduced at
the San Antonio Sports Foundation’s Dreams for
Youth summer program at Southside ISD. Badminton!
 Coach
Suzanna Rodriguez (pictured right)
says the program is catching on and she can already
see the benefits in her students. “Badminton is
a great sport to get you in shape because there is a
lot of running involved. But it’s also good for
the mind … you have to guess where the birdie
is going and which grip to use.” Many of the children
are overweight, but they are not complaining because
they are having fun as Suzanna makes games out of running
drills.
Suzanna was introduced to badminton
by her cousin, Community Olympic Development Program
athlete Veronika Gutierrez. Veronika
learned to play at Collins Gardens Elementary School
and convinced her cousin to practice with her at home.
Last summer Suzanna went to her first U.S. Badminton
Jr. National Championship competition in Boston and
came in 5th with a partner with whom she had never played
(Christina Leonardson from Massachusetts). This spring,
she tried her hand at coaching, teaching 2-5th graders
the sport in the After School All Stars program at Edgewood
ISD.
“People who don’t know
badminton don’t know how much fun it is,”
says Suzanna. Her enthusiasm is catching. Her boyfriend,
Enrique Chapa, was a former football
player and is now hooked on badminton. She credits head
CODP coach Kampol Surapiboonchai for
her success. “He never let’s you down. He
always tells me, ‘You can do it!’”
Suzanna has adopted this philosophy herself, convincing
her charges that they can do well. And Coach Kampol
appreciates her influence. “Suzanna is a truly
good person,” he says. “She gives back to
the community with no selfishness or any hidden agendas.
She is a role model I hope all the athletes will follow.”
In July, Suzanna will head to this
year’s Jr. National Championships in Spokane as
both a coach and player. She’ll play women’s
doubles with Veronika, mixed doubles with her boyfriend,
and help coach. In the fall, she’ll return to
Palo Alto College as a sophomore. Whether coaching or
playing, her positive attitude will serve her well.
Pam
Fleming - A True Sports Fan!
San Antonio Sports Foundation volunteer
Pam Fleming (left) works happily alongside USA Taekwondo’s
Michelle George. |
San Antonio Sports Foundation volunteer
Pam Fleming didn’t let the Spurs
play-off excitement keep her from volunteering at the
U.S. Junior Olympic Taekwondo Championships. Fleming
volunteered her time from June 21- 25 at the Alamodome
selling tickets and working at the registration tables.
On game nights, she brought her Spurs gear to change
into before the game.
Fleming has the honor of being a San
Antonio Spurs Baseline Bum. The Bums are a group of
140 serious Spurs fans who are committed to supporting
their team! Becoming a Bum involves an application and
interview process where applicants must demonstrate
their enthusiasm and Spurs pride. The Bums receive a
discount on their season tickets in return for wearing
a Baseline Bums basketball jersey to every game, promising
not to give their tickets to any non-Spurs fans and
doing 20 hours of volunteer work for the team each season.
Fleming began volunteering with the
Sports Foundation when the Sports Foundation helped
the Spurs with the Fan Fiestas. The Bums volunteer at
golf tournaments, hand out spirit items at games and
do charity drives for the community. She enjoys being
a Bum and volunteering throughout the community. “I
enjoy getting out and meeting people,” Fleming
said. “It’s fulfilling.”
Champions
Club
Individual
Members at $1,000+
Gary & Shelia Arthur; Sam Barshop;
Susan Blackwood; June Bratcher; Tim Brierty; Howard
Burris; Jim Callaway; Cassandra Carr; James Doyle; Jim
Dublin; Charlie Ebrom; Dr. Frank Fichtel; Larry Franklin;
Pat & Kelley Frost; Dr. Jamie Garza; Claud Gilmer;
William Greehey; Joe Guinn; Bill & Marcia Hanson;
Scott Hefner; Scott Helbing; Peter Holt; Stacey Johnson;
Michael Jourdan; Greg & Leigh Ann King; Michael
Lynd; Lowry Mays; Red McCombs; James Mickey; Tom Reardon;
Marty Roos; Dr. David Schmidt; Dr. Earl Smith; Steve
Souter; Neill Walsdorf, Jr.; Carri Wells; Jeff Wentworth;
Paul Young
Corporate
Champions
Presenting
Champions
City of San Antonio; SBC Communications
Inc.
$50,000
Creative Link; IKON Office Solutions;
San Antonio Express-News; Valero Energy Corporation
$20,000
Advantage Rent-A-Car; Pepsi Bottling
Group; San Antonio Coca-Cola Bottling Co; San Antonio
Spurs; Whataburger, Inc.
$10,000
Budget Car & Truck Rental; Cingular
Wireless; Langley & Banack; Maverick Video Production;
NuMedia: Oak Farms Dairy; Paladin IT Services; Methodist
Children's Hospital; Spectrum Health Clubs; Sports
Medicine Associates of San Antonio, The Dominion Country
Club
$5,000
George Becknell; Bender & Associates;
BudCo., Inc.; The CE Group - Communication & Events;
ChapmanSchewe Benefits Consulting; Comet Neon Advertising;
Frost Bank; H-E-B Grocery Company; Hertz Corporation;
Humana; JP Morgan Chase; KPMG; Merrill Lynch; Methodist
Healthcare System; Michael Imbimbo, Inc.; Miner Corporation;
PacifiCare; The Plaza Club; Nathaniel Sanderson, M.D.;
Security Service Federal Credit Union; Soccer Sports
Complex; Sterling Bank; Sterling Foods, Inc.; Jon
Turner; Wells Fargo Bank; Zachry Hospitality, Inc.
$2,500
Allegra Print & Imaging; Bank
of America; Broadway Bank; Carneiro, Chummney &
Co.; C.C. Creations; Catering by Don Strange; Colonial
Supplemental Insurance; Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated;
Ear Medical Group; Ernst & Young; FIRSTMARK Credit
Union; Fintan Technologies; Flowers Bakeries; Fulbright
& Jaworski; GLI Distributing; Halo Distributing;
Host/Chelsea Joint Venture of San Antonio; Initial
Security; Dr. Susan Marenda-King; Marriott Plaza San
Antonio; Marriott Rivercenter/Riverwalk; Mission Pharmacal;
Pape-Dawson Consulting Engineers, Inc.; SpawGlass
Contractors, Inc.; Tesoro Petroleum Companies; Walton
Signage; Yantis Company
Grants/Foundations
Bexar County Health & Human Services
CDBG; Bexar County Women's Bar Foundation; Brown Foundation;
Charity Ball Foundation; Coleman Foundation; Criminal
Justice Division JJDP Grant; Criminal Justice Division
Safe and Drug Free Schools Grant; Light Foundation;
David & Betty Sachs Foundation; Smith Barney;
Women’s Sports Foundation
Founding
Sponsors
City of San Antonio; H-E-B; USAA
Foundation, A Charitable Trust; Valero Energy Corporation
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