Ice Hockey Named New CODP Sport
September 12, 2006

The Greater Springfield Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) held a news conference today to announce details of the addition of ice hockey to the program.

In a teleconference call with United States Olympic Committee official Alicia McConnell and USA Hockey Senior Director of Operations Jim Johannson, Springfield joins Minneapolis, Minn., as one of two cities to offer ice hockey sanctioned under the CODP.

The instructional site for boys and girls hockey will be the Jordan Valley Ice Park, under the Springfield-Greene County Park Board network of facilities. The Ice Park's Ice Hockey Coordinator Al Valdivia will be the program's venue manager. A search is underway for a head coach for the program.

Springfield is one of 10 cities across the United States chosen as a CODP site. The foundation of the program is to provide year-round, sports-specific training programs, and high-quality coaches. The City also participates in three other USOC-sanctioned sports ñ volleyball, tennis and weightlifting for both boys and girls.

Since its inception in 1997, the CODP has developed athletes from 15 different sports who have competed at several levels of play, including more than 140 at the Junior National Team level; more than 85 at the Senior National Team level; and 13 at the Olympic level. The program is represented by 38 National team athletes, and has collectively hosted 64 competitions with 189 top-three finishes.

Other participating cities include: Atlanta, Ga.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Lake County, Ind.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Moorestown, N.J.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; Harlingen, Texas; Gainesville, Ga.; and San Antonio, Texas.

For more information, contact: Linda Dollar, CODP Program Manager, 874-2174 or 766-4472.