The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CHILDREN COMPETE City’s Junior Olympics event brings community together
As children are preparing for their return to school, residents and former residents of Leavitt Homes took an opportunity to show them a good time Aug. 19 with the Lorain Junior Olympics.
The event, which is held annually, gives children in the area the chance to compete for first, second and third place trophies in the 50-meter dash, 100-meter dash, long jump, obstacle courses, basketball and dancing, but the event was about much more according to Stacey Charlton.
Charlton, who said he lived in the development for 15 years,
“It’s not about the game, it’s about the community.”
— Stacey Charlton, inventer of 2ONEHOOP
said the event had its genesis with a number of men who have lived there and wanted to do something for the children before they went back to school and to build a community in the area.
He was manning a tent in the middle of the action with his invention 2ONEHOOPs set up for the children to play with. He said the philosophy is the same for the Junior Olympics as it is for his invention, a miniature basketball hoop with videogame capable screens in the backboard.
“It’s not about the game, it’s about the community,” he said over the near constant roar of children playing.
Charlton said he was hoping to get the local middle schools’ sports teams together for tournaments on the invention to build relationships between children that might not interact off of the court.
A man who would not give his name but said he’d been a friend of Charlton’s for 25 years highlighted how happy the participants in the event were and how it was just people from the neighborhood who made them feel that way.
“Get pictures of these folks and these kids with smiles on their face,
playing all together on a Saturday,” he said. “(It) didn’t take a grant, didn’t take the city council, the school didn’t do it; it’s these guys because they all lived here and it means something to them.”
Cris Soto, 45, who lives nearby said the event was all about the community.
“With everything going on it just shows that blacks, whites, Puerto Ricans (and) any type of religions is out here and there’s nothing (bad) going on,” she said.
She said she supports this event because it gives the children a chance to get out of the house and have a good time under the protective eye of the adults in the neighborhood.
Jamiyus Daimes, 8, received a medal for his performance on the obstacle course. He will be entering fourth grade this school year and that his favorite part of the day was hanging out with his family.
Jazmere Cash, 11, received a trophy for her performance in the dance contest. She’ll be entering fifth grade this school year and was looking forward to the return to school to see her friends and her teacher.
Both were asked why events like this were important to children, but neither got the chance to answer as they were called to take part in another race.