Five Hawaii Youth medal at Jr. Olympics Skill Competition

Article Submitted by:
Martha Christensen
mlclaie@hotmail.com

 
Twenty-Four
Champions Crowned at the National Finals of U.S. Jr. Olympic Skills Competition
in Chicago
McDonald’s
Names Five Participants as the McDonald’s Champion Kids, Sending Two to the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games and Three to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training
Center 

COLORADO SPRINGS,
Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) crowned 24 champions today at
the third annual National
Finals of the U.S. Jr. Olympic Skills competition, the
official youth skills competition of the USOC, held in the 2016 Olympic and
Paralympic Games Candidate City of Chicago. 

Gold,
silver and bronze medals were awarded to the athletes, ages 8-13, in a Medal
Ceremony similar to those conducted at an Olympic and Paralympic Games.
U.S. Olympic wrestler Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo.), a
bronze medalist from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, presented the medals to
athletes as they stood on a podium. 

A total
of 72 finalists representing 32 states competed for medals in basketball,
soccer, tennis and track & field skills competitions. In each of the three
age groups a male and female national champion was awarded before a crowd of
more than 150 spectators gathered at the University of Illinois – Chicago
campus.

The
competitions included:

• Basketball:
  score as many points as possible by making baskets from designated shooting
  areas
• Soccer:
  dribble and shoot accurately in the fastest time possible
• Tennis:
  serve a low-compression tennis ball and continue to hit the ball against a wall
  and above the net as many times as possible in a 30-second time period
  
• Track
  & Field: perform two fundamental events, the sprint (50-meter in the fastest
  time possible) and a standing long jump 

The
athletes competing in Chicago qualified by winning their age and gender category
at one of 150 regional events, stemming from 7,500 local qualifying events
across the country. They represent the event’s top 72 young athletes across the
country out of more than 1.7 million competitors.

Now in
its third year, the U.S. Jr. Olympic Skills competition, with the help of
sponsors Nike, AT&T,  World Sport Chicago, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes ®, the
United States Tennis Association (USTA) and McDonald’s, introduces America’s
youth to the excitement of a multi-sport competition, encouraging participation
in Olympic sport, emphasizing fair and friendly play, and promoting an active
lifestyle. Kamaile
Aluli was selected to be McDonald’s Champion Kids through their involvement in
the Junior Olympic Skills Competition and submission of a 150 word essay on what
makes someone a champion. Essays were reviewed by a judging panel of McDonald’s
executives and were judged based on creativity, composition and overall
theme.  Kamaile will travel to Beijing to experience the 2008 Olympic Games,
joining 200 other McDonald’s Champion Kids from around the
world.

Below are the results and highlighted in yellow
are the Hawaii champions.

2008 National Finals Medalists – Basketball
8-9 Year Old Division – Boys
Name		Hometown		Region		Place
Ben Pyle		McPherson,KS		Central		Gold
Hunter Whitaker		Rochester, NH		East		Silver
Juan Carlos Garate Jr.		Whittier, CA		West		Bronze
8-9 Year Old Division – Girls
Name		Hometown		Region		Place
Taylor Robertson		McPherson, KS		Central		Gold
Savanna Christensen		Laie, HI		West		Silver
Katherine Wolff		Bowie, MD		East		Bronze
10-11 Year Old Division – Boys
Name		Hometown		Region		Place
Tristan Baker		Springfield, MO		Central		Gold
Cameron Loftis		San Jose, CA		West		Silver
Patrick Kilmartin		Torrington, CT		East		Bronze
10-11 Year Old Division – Girls
Name		Hometown		Region		Place
Katie Nelson		San Diego, CA		West		Gold
Sydni Dykes		Arden Hills, MN		Central		Silver
Anne Rowe		Hyattsville, MD		East		Bronze
12-13 Year Old Division – Boys
Name		Hometown		Region		Place
Matt McClure		Bartlett, IL		Central		Gold
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