Angel City Sports’ Post

Attention world!!! The Paralympic Games are coming 8/28-9/8 to Paris, France! You won't want to miss a minute of action. In the US, it's all on Peacock. So please watch!!! Fall in love. Become a fan. Go down the rat hole. Follow our athletes. We need you. Better yet. Tell everyone in your community, church, workplace, neighborhood, social following, etc. to watch the Paralympics too! Yell to the rooftops! We have some amazing athletes (like of course, my son Ezra Frech), incredible stories, crazy cool sports (like blind soccer, blade running, etc). Just for the record. The Paralympics are not the Olympics. They are not the Para-Olympics. They are not a "sub-set" of the Olympics. And they are definitely not the Special Olympics (an amazing inclusion program for 2% of the population with a cognitive disability like Downs Syndrome). They are a totally separate event for elite athletes, who had to qualify, who have physical disabilities or visual impairments (15% of the worlds population). Remember, this is elite. The origin of the word “Paralympics” is that they are to be run parallel to the olympics. This word has nothing to do with paraplegia or paralysis. The Paralympics were started after WWII in England and have a different international committee that oversees the Games (International Olympic Committee vs International Paralympic Committee). Since 1988 they joined forces with the Olympic Movement to select a host city. Prior to that the Paralymlics were in different cities altogether. Different athletes. Some different sports (Goalball, Boccia). However, most of our 22 summer Paralympic sports are the same but have been adapted for people with physical disabilities (i.e. wheelchair tennis, blind soccer, blade running). The Olympics and Paralympics DO share host cities (Paris) and DO share organizing committees (Paris 2024, LA 2028, and so on). And they DO share the village (Olympic Village turns into Paralympic Village), and venues (Bercy Arena where Team USA won our bball medals, will be the site of our wheelchair Bbal teams winning gold medals!). So that's it. We need you. We need fans. We can change how the world sees disability in one fell swoop - The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games!!! And if we don’t quite get our goal this year, we have Milan 2026 and LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games ! Lastly, the language and use of the correct term is important. If you say Olympian or Olympics when referencing a Paralymlian or the Paralympics, it is not a compliment. It’s not “just as good”. It’s simply incorrect. If we use the correct Language, we can make it easier for the next little Ezra to find his path. That's all I have right now. Go get your popcorn! Clayton United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee International Paralympic Committee Angel City Sports NBCUniversal NBC Sports NBC Olympics LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026

A special day at Los Angeles Rams Training Camp on Tuesday as we announced our partnership expansion with The Hartford, with our two organizations coming together to continue our support of the Los Angeles Rams Wheelchair Football Team. Working in collaboration with Move United, and Angel City Sports, our teams built upon our commitment in the adaptive sports movement by donating new custom Rams jerseys, helmets, and custom fit wheelchairs as the team prepares for the 2025 Season. Molly Higgins: "Through The Hartford's leadership and advocacy for disabilities and the adaptive sports movement, we have an opportunity not only to support the USAWFL and its incredible athletes but also to further our goal of making sports accessible for all." Awesome to work with such inspiring leaders, athletes and changemakers. Thanks to Ryan Fontaine, AnnMarie LaBreck, Clayton Frech, Michael Garafola, Arianna Zenon, Monique S. Biggs, Alexis Madrid, Claire Burns, Kimberly Low, M.A., Michael O'Keefe, Bianca Graves, MPS, Jenee Galindo, Jennifer Prince, Molly Higgins, Mara P., David Weingarten, Zach Kinkeade and many more!

What a day! Yesterday AT&T & Human-I-T provided 150 refurbished laptops and backpacks stuffed with school supplies to Angel City Sports and Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children to distribute to families in need. This distribution was part of a broader AT&T employee effort to help bridge the digital divide and equip 20,000 students across the country with laptops and backpacks before they head back to school. The backpacks included supplies like notebooks, pencils, chargers, and headphones, as well as cards of encouragement written by AT&T employees. 💻 Angel City Sports Alexis C. Madrid was founded to address challenges that exist in the adaptive sports community from the lack of events, programs, training, and coaches to transportation, access, and the high cost of equipment. They offer a year-round schedule of adaptive sport clinics and events, giving kids, adults and veterans with physical disabilities and visual impairments the opportunity to participate, learn and train in a variety of sports including adaptive golf, fitness, archery, swimming, track & field, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair football, and wheelchair tennis. Angel City Sports is addressing a societal problem that there is a large population of individuals living with physical challenges in Southern California, yet participation rates in adaptive sports programs are extremely low as a percentage of the disabled population. ⚽️🎾🏀🏈⛳️ Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children in partnership with UCLA Health is the largest pediatric orthopaedic facility on the West Coast focused solely on musculoskeletal conditions in children, with 85% of their patients underinsured, and some traveling 4+ hours to receive a device yesterday. This event reinforced the importance of bridging accessibility gaps for underserved communities, and addressing barriers whether it’s to digital resources or access to sports. We celebrated connectivity and empowerment while enjoying music, lunch, treats, and activities like wheelchair basketball and Human-I-T’s interactive AI experience. Thanks to Human IT for the amazing party planning as always. We also had a surprise visit from UCLA Women's Basketball Team who helped hand out laptops! 🏀 Thank you to Dawn Comer and Kristen Abraham from Mayor Bass’ office for joining the festivities. Huge thanks to my AT&T colleagues for supporting the event- Noel P., Valeria Alvarez, MSML, and Crystal Segura! #Lifeatatt

🌟 Exciting news! Registration is now OPEN for Angel City Games 2024! 🎉 Join us at Cerritos College from June 28-30 for an unforgettable experience celebrating athleticism and inclusion. Don't miss out – secure your spot today! www.angelcitygames.org