Girl Scouts Fun & Fitness Day at the U.S. Olympic Training Center

Colorado Springs, Colorado , September 16, 2001

By Debbie Doney (from Nov/Dec 2001 USATT Magazine)

The Girl Scouts annual Fun & Fitness Day was held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for girls from six to eighteen. The Olympic Training Center provided an opportunity for 600 girls to experience many different Olympic sports, including table tennis, volleyball, field hockey, gymnastics, synchronized swimming and team handball.

There were concerns from parents that the Girl Scouts would postpone the Fun & Fitness Day because of the current terrorist and security issues, but those concerns were soon laid to rest when the Olympic Training Center continued with “business as usual” along with heightened security.

The OTC gym was filled with smiling parents as they watched their children laughing and having a the time of their lives trying sports they might never have had the opportunity to try before. Every now and then parents were seen alongside their child trying their hand at the sport.

Table Tennis was no exception, as parents jumped right in to pick up balls, or to help the girls hit forehands. A parent observing the Girl Scout table tennis group she had brought over stated, “The kids love this sport! They sign up for it every year.”

Local table tennis athletes and coaches also volunteered their coaching skills and performed a short exhibition for each group. Overall, 215 girls learned table tennis basics and got a chance to hit with a real “pro.” Table tennis relay races were also incorporated into each group session to add skill variety.

A special thank you goes to Bob Tretheway, Larry Rose, Kevin Young, and Rosie Kilpatrick for volunteering their time to help promote table tennis in the local community!