Olympian Gives Back
Aug 8, 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Olympian gives back
Kristi Richards supports local athletes with Supporting the Dream Legacy Fund
SUMMERLAND, B.C. -- For the third straight year, local Okanagan athletes will benefit from a grant from the Supporting the Dream Legacy Fund. The fund was established in 2007 by two-time Olympic Freestyle Mogul skier and Summerland native, Kristi Richards.
Richards was inspired by the community support that she received as a young athlete aiming for the Olympics, and wanted to find away to keep that legacy of sport support going in the Okanagan.
This year three local athletes will benefit from her dream. Athletes from all sports are eligible for the grants and this year’s recipients come from gymnastics, cross-country skiing and equestrian.
Gymnast Kelsey Anderson from Kelowna is one of the worthy athletes who was selected this year. The 17 year old is showing impressive sport results already, with gold medals at the BC Provincial Championships in hoop and ball events. She has traveled as far as Bucharest, Romania for the Irina Deleanu Cup, where she finished in 16th in the all around category. Anderson shows great commitment to her sport, her schoolwork and her community. She manages to maintain her position on the principals list every year while also volunteering at her former daycare, peer tutoring at school and participating in many local parades, festivals and plays. She has also fundraised for an orphanage in El Salvador.
Adriene Underhill is an 18 year-old Nordic skier from Vernon who has just been selected to train at the Callaghan Valley Training Centre in Whistler alongside some of the resident national ski team members. She trains approximately 20 hours a week, aiming to qualify for the 2011 Canada Winter Games and the National Ski Team. She is inspired by the drive, power and prodigious beauty that the cross-country skiers in the last Olympics displayed, and loves the feeling of reaching her goals. She also finds the time to volunteer at the local SPCA and the Hillside Village Care Facility. She is a natural leader and a teacher’s assistant for the Physical Outdoor Leadership Education program at her school. Underhill is planning to put her grant monies towards the cost of training at the CVTC in Whistler.
Promising equestrian rider Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch, from Richards’ hometown of Summerland, also received a grant. Rhodes-Bosch is currently training for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, and is considered a hopeful for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Rhodes-Bosch is a very dedicated and determined athlete and is committed to making the sacrifices necessary to achieve her goals.
Richards said she created the Supporting the Dream Legacy Fund in 2007 after she won the World Championships in Italy. “Sport can inspire others to dream big and go after their goals. It can unite nations as we saw it do at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. Sport is very powerful and very special, and I want to see more Okanagan athletes have some of the same opportunities and experiences that I did,” said Richards.
If you are interested in helping local Okanagan athletes reach their potential, you can donate to the fund anytime by sending your tax-deductible donation to:: Supporting the Dream Legacy Fund, PO Box 24081, Penticton, BC, V2A8L9. Make sure to check out the website at: www.supportingthedreamfund.com
Media: for further information, or to arrange an interview with Richards, please contact Canadian Freestyle Ski Association Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com