Team USA Heads to the Special Olympics in Shanghai!

Nearly 400 athletes come together to train in gymnastics, swimming, basketball, cycling, power-lifting, sailing, soccer, tennis and other Olympic-type events; Donation from Bank of America Charitable Foundation assists with delegation’s preparation for World Games WASHINGTON, DC and NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, 12 July 2007 With less than 100 days to go before Opening Ceremonies, Special Olympics athletes from across America are set to gather in Nashville next week for the 2007 Special Olympics Team USA Training Camp as they get ready to compete in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China. Nearly 400 athletes and 150 coaches and managers will travel to Vanderbilt University to participate in sports training, team building activities and to learn about the Chinese culture in preparation for their 27 September departure to China for the World Games, which take place 2-11 October 2007 and will feature nearly 7,500 athletes from 165 countries. Country music superstar Jo Dee Messina and Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton are among the celebrities who will visit training camp to show their support of Team USA and participate in various events. These events include a presentation of Team USA’s official gear where athletes, coaches and celebrities will unveil the new 2007 World Games uniform, an acoustic concert performed by Messina, who along with her band will play in a Unified Sports softball game with Special Olympics athletes. Special Olympics Unified Sports combines approximately equal numbers of Special Olympics athletes and athletes without intellectual disabilities (called partners) on sports teams for training and competition. The 2007 Special Olympics Team USA Training Camp is a continuation of the hard work, dedication and commitment that have enabled our athletes to become the world’s most inspiring competitors,said Special Olympics North America Managing Director Bob Gobrecht. Training camp provides an invaluable opportunity for our athletes to gain important skills, receive training under the direction of their head coaches, meet their fellow teammates, learn to work together as a team and get an idea of what they can expect at the World Games in Shanghai. A long-standing supporter of Special Olympics, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation donated $500,000 to support the Team USA delegation as they prepare for the World Summer Games in Shanghai. Bank of America employees also will volunteer at various Team USA send-off events across the country. The 2007 Special Olympics Team USA Training Camp simply would not be possible without partners like Bank of America and we are extremely grateful for their support and continued commitment to the athletes and the Special Olympics movement Gobrecht said.The achievements of Team USA at the World Games will be a credit to the athletes, their coaches and our nation and we thank our wonderful sponsors and all our fans throughout the U.S. for helping us as we get ready to meet and compete in Shanghai.Bank of America is proud to provide Special Olympics Team USA athletes with the opportunity to demonstrate their outstanding accomplishments while learning from competitors from across the globe said Andrew Plepler, President, Bank of America Charitable Foundation. We are honored to partner with Special Olympics and support the athletes and coaches as they prepare for a memorable experience at the World Games in China. Other Team USA sponsors include American Federation of Teachers, Columbia Sportswear, FedEx and Midwest Trophy Manufacturing Company. The Special Olympics World Summer Games will be the largest international sporting event in 2007 and will showcase the Special Olympics movement, celebrating the abilities and accomplishments of people with intellectual disabilities. More about Scott Hamilton: Clearly known as the most popular and well-loved figure skating star in the world, Scott Hamilton is also known as an actor, a performer, a producer, a best-selling author, an Emmy Award nominee, a television network figure skating commentator and analyst, a role model, a humanitarian, and a cancer and brain tumor survivor. Scott made his feature motion picture debut in On Edge starring Jason Alexander, Kathy Griffin and Wendie Malick – a hilarious 2001 mocumentary of figure skating in which Scott portrayed Ricky Metford, a frenzied, offbeat former coach and judge. He has been a guest on various television series including Roseanne and the popular animated television series King of The Hill. He also appeared as a special guest star in the 2003 television pilot Hench at Home written and produced by popular actor Michael J. Fox. In March of 2007, Scott was given a featured role in the mega box office hit motion picture comedy Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. Year after year, Scott continues to appear regularly on various television talk shows, highly rated celebrity driven game shows, national news shows like the Today Show, and such entertainment news programs as Access Hollywood, Inside Edition, The Insider, Extra!, E! Entertainment, the TV Guide Channel, and Entertainment Tonight; and in various national news publications like People Magazine. As a role model, Scott contradicts the saying that “good guys finish last.” As a humanitarian, he avails himself to any plight that will improve mankind. But, more important, as a cancer and brain tumor survivor, he is a constant reminder that with fortitude and determination, anything is possible. Scott’s much publicized bout with testicular cancer in 1997, and his November, 2004 diagnosis of a benign, non-cancerous pituitary brain tumor (from which he is successfully recovering), was not the first time he had faced such adversity. Scott held onto his national and world titles in 1982 and 1983. As the winner of sixteen consecutive championships after the 1980 Winter Olympics, he was heavily favored to take the Gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo and that is precisely what he did, despite an uncharacteristically tentative free skating routine. A month later, he went on to score a stunning victory at the World Championships in Ottawa, Canada. Shortly thereafter, in April of 1984, Scott turned professional after being inundated with lucrative contracts from the major ice shows. The Ice Capades secured his superstar talents for two years. Scott lives in Nashville, Tennessee with is wife, Tracie and their son Aidan. More about the Special Olympics: Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition to 2.5 million adults and children with intellectual disabilities across 165 countries. The Special Olympics Movement offers one of the world’s greatest platforms for acceptance and inclusion for all people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or cultural differences. Find out how you can become involved at http://www.specialolympics.org. More about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy: Bank of America has embarked on an unprecedented 10-year goal to give $1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the quality and vitality of their neighborhoods. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation will give more than $200 million in 2007, making the bank one of the most generous corporate donors in the world. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called “neighborhood excellence” under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contribute more than 500,000 hours each year to improve the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information abou
t Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation”>www.bankofamerica.com/foundation .