MEDIA ALERT
July 18, 2018

Little Tokyo Service Center
231 E Third Street, G106
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Contact: Mark Robbins, mrobbins@LTSC.orgcreate new email

Terasaki Budokan and Olympic Athletes to Host Youth Sports Event in Little Tokyo to Commemorate 2-Year Countdown to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Game

UConn basketball star Katie Lou Samuelson, 9-time Olympic track and field medalist Allyson Felix, and 7-time Olympic swimming medalist Dana Vollmer among participating athletes

USA Olympic athletes and hopefuls will join 100 local youth in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, on Tuesday, July 24 at a youth sports clinic to commemorate the two-year countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Terasaki Budokan and Team USA will host the outdoor event, which will take place from 3-5 p.m. at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) Plaza, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo.

Currently under construction, Terasaki Budokan will serve as a multipurpose sports facility and community center in downtown LA’s Little Tokyo. The campaign to build Budokan is a decades-old, community-driven project of Little Tokyo Service Center, a social service and community development organization. Budokan will be a facility for people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy sports, community events and the opportunity to connect with Little Tokyo and Japanese American culture. The projected completion date for Budokan is 2020.

Little Tokyo organizations Kizuna and JACCC and basketball training group SoCal Supreme are co-sponsors of the event, which will include a mini-clinic conducted by coaches from SoCal Supreme.

Team USA athletes participating in the clinic, leading exercises, giving motivational speeches and interacting with the kids are:

• Katie Lou Samuelson, basketball, Youth Olympic Games gold medalist
• Carlin Isles, rugby, 2016 Olympian
• Dana Vollmer, swimming, 7-time Olympic medalist
• Kendall Ellis, track and field, world champion
• Allyson Felix, track and field, 9-time Olympic medalist
• Alex Bowen, water polo, 2016 Olympian
• Ashleigh Johnson, water polo, Olympic champion
• Jesse Smith, water polo, Olympic silver medalist
• Maggie Steffens, water polo, 2-time Olympic champion

Media interested in attending the event can register by emailing Mark Robbins at mrobbins@LTSC.orgcreate new email or Lindsay Hogan at Lindsay.Hogan@usoc.orgcreate new email.

Please contact Mark Robbins for general event information or Lindsay Hogan to arrange interviews with athletes or youth.

WHAT            Youth Basketball Clinic Commemorating 2-Year Countdown to Tokyo 2020 Olympics

WHO              9 Team USA athletes and 100 local youth

WHEN            Tuesday, July 24, 3-5 p.m.

WHERE         Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) Plaza, 244 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

INFO              Mark Robbins, mrobbins@LTSC.orgcreate new email

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