About 1,300 boys and girls, ages 6 to 15, from 55 youth-serving agencies will vie for “gold,” “silver” and “bronze” medals during the Harris County Street Olympics Summer Games Final Event, which is presented by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Street Olympics Board of Directors and sponsors. Before the competition begins, Commissioner Ellis, board members and sponsors will lead the Parade of Champions that involves the athletes marching into NRG Arena for a brief ceremony before the games begin. The daylong competition includes foot races, chess, hopscotch, jump rope, Hula Hoop, poetry, spelling bee and other so-called street games. When not competing, children also will attend the Bright Futures Fair, which features interactive booths and hands-on activities that emphasize health, safety and environmental awareness. The youth also will be treated with visits from Houston Texans cheerleaders and TORO, the football team’s mascot.

WHO: 1,300 youth athletes

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Street Olympics board member

Street Olympics Board Chair J. Kent Friedman

BACKGROUND: The Harris County Street Olympics summer programming fulfils a critical need in Houston. Studies have shown that without access to affordable, high-quality summer programming, working families lack safe and enriching places for their children to attend while parents are at work. Children, especially those from underserved areas, have difficulty retaining what they learned in the previous school year. Approximately 3,000 Houston-area youth, ages 6 to 17, participated in the free Summer Games, Discovery Camp, 3-on-3 Basketball, and Learn-to-Swim sessions over an eight-week period – culminating in the Final Event/Bright Futures Fair and closing ceremonies that include a “Parade of Champions” on Aug. 4 at NRG Arena. The Street Olympics mission is to implement and sustain programs that provide youth with training, support and resources that lead to healthy and productive lives.

About 1,300 young athletes will be running, hopping, shooting hoops and contemplating chess moves on Friday, Aug. 4, after Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Harris County Street Olympics officials kick off the Summer Games Final Event at NRG Arena.

For the past eight weeks, the youth have competed against their peers at 55 youth-serving agencies for the opportunity to represent their centers at the Final Event to bring home the gold in so-called street games like foot races, chess, hopscotch, jump rope, Hula Hoop, poetry and spelling bee. The top-three competitors in each event based on age will stand on the podium to receive “gold, silver and bronze” medals.

“From about now until the end of August, you’ll see the words “back to school” almost everywhere you look,” Commissioner Ellis said. “The school was out for the summer, but ‘school-ing’ didn’t take a day off. Kids were getting schooled – not just on the basketball court – in every Street Olympics program.”

In 1986, Street Olympics started with street games competition. Over the years, it evolved to include education initiatives like spelling bee and knowledge bowl. Throughout the summer, youth also attended the Discovery Camp at Deussen Park, where they experience a day trip to teach them about nature and the environment. Also, the Final Event will host the Bright Futures Fair, which features interactive booths and hands-on activities that emphasize health, safety and environmental awareness.

In June, the Street Olympics added to its programming the CDF Freedom Schools, developed by the Children’s Defense Fund, at the Youth Education Town (YET) at Finnigan Park. This program provides summer and after-school enrichment for children. The research-based and multicultural program model supports K-12 scholars and their families through five essential components: high quality academic and character-building enrichment; parent and family involvement; civic engagement and social action; intergenerational servant leadership development; and nutrition, health and mental health.

In addition, the Summer Games included 3-on-3 Basketball, which culminated last month with a Championship Tournament at Fonde Recreation Center operated by the City of Houston’s Parks and Recreation Department.

On Friday, the Final Event, which includes lighting the Olympics Flame, will be the Summer Games last marquee program. The athletes were crowned the best at the 55 participating sites that take part in the Summer Games. The Final Event gives them an opportunity to compete and mingle with children from other communities. At the end of that event, they will extinguish the Olympic flame until next summer.

“Our Summer Games may look like basketball and other street games to the outside observer,” Commissioner Ellis said. “It’s much more than that. It’s about the game of life and playing it with purpose and personal responsibility. We are instilling not just the skills but the will to succeed.”