Photos courtesy LA84 Foundation
Last week, the LA84 Foundation hosted a Breakfast of Champions to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The LA84 Foundation is a nonprofit institution created by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee to manage Southern California’s endowment from the 1984 Olympic Games. The LA84 Foundation’s mission is to promote and expand youth sports opportunities in Southern California, and increase knowledge of sport and its impact on people’s lives.
Stuart Krohn and Lisa Finegan of ICEF Rugby took 11 seniors to attend the event, sharing the room with Olympic and Paralympic communities, as well as a star-studded panel lineup including Tai Babilonia, Candace Cable, Connie Paraskevin, speed skating Olympic medalist Rusty Smith, and moderator Audrey Cleo for a morning of inspiration and learning aimed at closing the gender gap in sports.Recently, View Park freshman Kimaya Lampkin was selected as the very first rugby player to represent as a SAMbassador on the LA84 Foundation Student Advisory Board. The Student Athletes in Motion (SAMbassadors) are a group of active, civically engaged young athletes and who serve on an advisory board for the foundation, offering guidance about grants, programs and activities. Lampkin will represent ICEF Public Schools, ICEF Rugby and View Park High School for the next four years.
“My experience at the first LA84 SAMbassador meeting was fantastic,” Lampkin said. “It was a great opportunity meeting other kids from around Los Angeles and getting to hear [LA Sparks President] Christine Simmons talk about her life. She talked about how she had multiple opportunities and she took them, but also left doors open to go back to them if she needed to. Also, it was great to finally meet [LA84 Foundation President] Renata Simril, too. I’m already looking forward to the next one!”
