Olympic Gold Medalist April Ross Joins Esteemed Roster of RSG! Mentors; Virtual Series and In-Classroom Curriculum Proven to Boost Participation, Improve Teamwork in Classrooms and Develop Tools to Reach Olympic / Paralympic Sized Dreams
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Ready, Set, Gold! (RSG!), a non-profit community program of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) that pairs Olympic and Paralympic athletes with schools, launches its 2022-2023 school year line-up designed to promote fitness and life-long healthy habits to students of all grade levels. The virtual series features eight 30-minute videos, each one covering a thematic topic focused on evidence-based physical activity, and social and emotional learning. The first video kicks off with Olympic Tennis Player Giuliana Olmos on "Endurance and Growth Mindset", followed by new lessons dropping on the first Sunday of every month through May 7, 2023. Three-time Olympic medalist April Ross (beach volleyball), Jonathan Jones (baseball) and Prince Mumba (track & field) have also been confirmed as part of the line-up. Registration is free at https://www.readysetgold.net/virtualseries.
As part of its in-person offering, Ready, Set, Gold! will visit 30 returning schools in Southern California, and for the first time ever, seven new schools from the Special Education Centers. Both virtual and in-person lessons include a fitness element that is measured on the California Fitness Gram, a required annual assessment for elementary and middle school students. The lessons also include growth mindset components to guide students in setting and achieving academic and fitness goals.
"Since we launched in 2006, Ready, Set, Gold! has fulfilled the vital need for social and emotional learning (SEL) and physical fitness for students across the country, and we are proud to continue bridging the gap by helping them develop tools to reach their Olympic and Paralympic sized dreams," said John Naber, chairman, Ready, Set, Gold! and four-time Olympic gold medalist (swimming). "In order to effectively teach these ideals and positively impact children, we focus on delivering exciting and rewarding content with high energy, delivered by some of the greatest sporting heroes."
In 2021-2022, RSG! boasted a record registration of 36,000 for its virtual series alone, a 112 percent increase from the previous year when the program was launched during the pandemic. In July 2022, Ready, Set, Gold! received the Rings of Gold award from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee for their dedication to positively impacting the youth in communities across the nation during the pandemic and beyond. A total of 91 percent of teachers reported that RSG! improved students' growth mindset, 89 schools and more than 4,000 students have participated in the in-person program and 82 percent of teachers reported improved teamwork in the classroom.
A sneak peek at the Ready, Set, Gold! schedule and thematic units is below:
- October 16 (live now) - Giuliana Olmos (Mexico), Olympic Tennis Player 2020 - Endurance and Growth Mindset. Olmos graduated from USC in 2016 and was recently ranked No. 8 in the world.
- November 6 - Jonathan Jones (Mexico), Olympic Baseball Player 2020 - Strength and Self Efficacy
- December 4 - Prince Mumba (Zambia), Olympic Track and Field 2004 + 2012 - Flexibility and Self-Management
- February 5 – April Ross (USA), Olympic Beach Volleyball, three-time medalist (one gold) - Growth Mindset and Strength, in celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 1st.
Past athlete mentors have included Tri Bourne (beach volleyball), Giddeon Massie (track cyclist), Natalia Mayara (Paralympic Tennis Wheelchair), David Garza (Paralympic Soccer), Linyao Guo (Artistic Gymnastics), Breanna Clark (Paralympic T20 400m), Samantha Bosco (Paralympic Cycling), Cody Michael Jones (Paralympic Javelin) and more. The Foundation for Global Sports Development (GSD) and Sidewinder Films serve as long-time champions of Ready, Set, Gold! and are a key supporter for this innovative project. With their support, every video in the athlete-led series features an activity portion highlighting the core fitness fundamentals of endurance, flexibility, balance and strength training as well as thematic units around topics including goal-setting, perseverance and leadership.
"The Foundation for Global Sports Development is thrilled to continue our partnership with Ready Set Gold!, offered by SCCOG. This necessary program provides equal access for all students to resources that support physical health and academic achievement," said David Ulich, GSD Executive Board Member.
Since 2006, Ready, Set, Gold!'s in-person program has served the Los Angeles Unified School District and ICEF, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Chula-Vista Elementary Unified School District and Claremont Unified School District.
To learn more about the 2022-2023 Series, information on the most updated schedule and more, visit https://www.readysetgold.net/virtualseries.
About Ready, Set, Gold!
Ready, Set, Gold! is a non-profit, community health and fitness program that is part of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) that promotes healthy and active lifestyles to children in Southern California schools. This one-of-a-kind program launched in 2006 with the mission to promote fitness and life-long healthy habits by pairing Olympians and Paralympians with schools throughout Southern California. Ready, Set, Gold! Olympians and Paralympians work with students to educate them on the importance of the growth mindset while teaching them how to adopt healthy habits into their daily lifestyle. Ready, Set, Gold! aims to help students of all backgrounds, encouraging them to achieve their dreams and live their best life. http://www.readysetgold.net
Media Contact
Crystal Yang Edwards, Ready, Set, Gold!, 1 13109402228, [email protected]
SOURCE Ready, Set, Gold!
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