Aurora students can show athletic prowess at sports fest
For two days this weekend, Aurora seventh- and eighth-graders will be encouraged to put down the joystick and pick up the golf club, tennis racket or any other sports equipment that gets them moving.
The 14th annual Aurora Sports Festival is set for Friday and Saturday in and around Phillips Park on the city's east side.
Coordinator and former athletic director Al Miller said he helped design the festival, in the mold of the Prairie State Games to promote May as National Health and Physical Fitness month.
In order to compete, athletes must meet their schools' eligibility standards and maintain an A or B in physical education. The two-day event is a program of the Mayor's Youth and Sports Activities Division, in cooperation with Aurora's physical education teachers.
"Schools have always had incentive field trips for academics and varying classes, and that's fine," Miller said. "But this is an incentive field trip day for P.E. students, a combination of brains and brawn."
This year, more than 1,100 students from 16 Aurora schools will compete in events, including bowling, in-line skating, checkers, sand volleyball, chess, soccer, softball, swimming, golf, tennis, horseshoes, basketball, table tennis, track, tug-o-war, written essays and fitness tests.
"By learning to value fitness today, children and young adults can reap great benefits throughout their lifetime," Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said.
"The annual Sports Festival is one way we reward students for being physically fit and getting good grades. Students get to try events they may have never been exposed to, like horseshoes or sand volleyball."
The students will be competing for trophies and pride, Miller said, but the weekend is about more than discovering the city's best athlete.
"They're competitive but we also want them to be good sports," Miller said. "We hear it all the time, but you can't really ever hear it enough."
The public is encouraged to attend the festival, which begins with an opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Friday in the winter recreation area near the Phillips Park Aquatic Center.
The events will be ongoing throughout the day at Phillips Park, East Aurora High School, Aurora Skate Center and Parkside Lanes.
Events will continue at 9 a.m. Saturday at East Aurora High School. The closing ceremony will be at noon at the school. For details, call (630) 264-INFO.
If you go
What: Two-day sports competition for Aurora seventh- and eighth-graders
When: 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Where: Friday events will be ongoing throughout the day at Phillips Park, East Aurora High School, Aurora Skate Center and Parkside Lanes. Saturday events will be held at East Aurora High School.
Cost: Free to watch
Info: http://www.aurora-il.org/youth/sportsfestival.php