LA launches program to expand access to youth sports

The city of Los Angeles launched a program on Saturday to make exercise more accessible to children.

The PlayLA program ensures that all residents ages 5 to 17 can participate in low-cost or free sports by subsidizing the fees for leagues, courses and clinics for activities such as tennis, golf, basketball, soccer, judo and swimming, Mayor Eric Garcetti said that the office said in a press release.

“Every young Angeleno deserves the opportunity to exercise, regardless of their family income or physical ability,” Garcetti said in the statement.

The initiative will also offer programs for children with physical disabilities, a first for the city’s youth sports repertoire, which could include sitting volleyball, adaptive swimming, goalball, para-equestrian, para-surfing, wheelchair basketball, adaptive athletics, wheelchair tennis, and para-canoeing, said City officials.

The LA Parks and Recreation Department’s program is funded by a $ 9.6 million grant from the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which the city said has given a total of $ 160 million to the initiative.

“The launch of PlayLA is a great achievement for LA Parks and for the many young people in town joining the best all-inclusive multisport program to equip them for a life of activity, connection and positive experiences,” said Mike Shull, General manager of the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department said in a statement.

Registration for the winter season of the program opened on Saturday and costs $ 10 per person, the city said.

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