The LA84 Foundation hosted its 8^th Annual Youth Sports Summit, September 10, 2019, at the InterContinental Hotel, in downtown Los Angeles. Titled Play Equity: Elevating the Game for Our Kids, the Summit focused on the critical, positive role that sports and organized physical activity play in youth development, the need for greater public understanding and support, and inequities that prevent all children from enjoying the benefits of sports.

The Summit, emceed by Fox Sports host and former NFL All-Pro Marcellus Wiley, featured individual presentations, panels and small-group discussions.  The speakers included star athletes like Olympians and social activists Mia Hamm, Donna de Varona and Sloane Stephens; Paralympian Rudy Garcia-Tolson; former Los Angeles Dodger and philanthropist Adrian Gonzalez, Special Olympian Lucy Meyer, several high school athletes, plus recently retired NCAA gymnastics championship coach Valorie Kondos Field of UCLA, scholars who study sport, representatives of professional teams and leagues, as well as people from outside the field of sports such as Dr. Robert K. Ross of the California Endowment and Scott Budnick, founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and executive producer of the popular film “The Hangover.”    

An audience of 500 people attended the Summit to learn from more than 40 speakers and experience a wide range of activations outside the conference hall sponsored by Angel City Games, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, and local professional teams including the Sparks, Rams, Chargers, Dodgers, LAFC and Ducks. 

LA84 Foundation President and CEO Renata Simril closed the Summit, emphasizing that “the power of sport can create the conditions in which our kids can thrive through affiliation, advocacy and agency.”  She went on to warn, however, “Today won’t mean anything if we don’t take action.”  “So, I simply ask each and every one of you in this room,” Simril continued, “What are you going to do” to improve kids’ lives and make sport more equitable?