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| Level Field Fund Gains Support From World Class AthletesGrindTV Newswire, Via The Ross Powers Foundation: Portland, ME (Wednesday, June 16, 2010) - The Ross Powers Foundation today announced the establishment of the Level Field Fund, a grant-giving program that strives to bridge gaps in funding for uniquely talented athletes whose opportunity to pursue excellence in sport would otherwise be limited by their financial situation. Gold medalists from summer and winter sports including Michael Phelps, Daron Rahlves, Seth Wescott and Lenny Krayzelburg have pledged their support to the Level Field Fund, and founding partner, OrthoLite will donate $1 to the Level Field Fund for every pair of OrthoLite insoles sold through retail outlets. While an athlete's success is clearly driven by their ability to perform at the highest level, it is also dependent upon financial support. Many athletes with the potential to compete at world-class levels have had to face the challenges of securing funding to cover expenses essential to their continued development. Far too often, resource gaps have proven to be impassible barriers for promising, yet financially challenged athletes. "Talent, drive and determination are simply not enough for many young athletes; financial support at key stages of development is critical," said Ross Powers, president of the Ross Powers Foundation and founder of Level Field Fund. "OrthoLite's commitment to the Level Field Fund combined with the support of Michael (Phelps), Daron (Rahlves), Seth (Wescott) and Lenny (Krayzelburg) is a major step forward in our efforts to help reduce the financial pressures facing far too many talented athletes." Individual commitment and costs during entry level stages of participation in a sport are relatively minimal. However, as athletes progress and their potential rises, so too do the related development demands and associated costs for training and competing - including more specialized instruction, equipment, event entry fees and travel. The Level Field Fund is designed to provide qualified funding to uniquely talented athletes at critical stages of their development. "By combining our efforts with Level Field Fund we can help talented athletes across the country reach their performance potential," said Pamela Gelsomini, president of OrthoLite. "We are excited that our partnership will benefit so many promising individuals." Since its formation in 2001, the Ross Powers Foundation has been providing critical funding to dozens of deserving athletes from across the United States competing in sports ranging from snowboarding to skateboarding, skiing to kayaking, and skeleton to taekwondo. Foundation grant recipients have further advanced their athletic pursuits and achieved success that otherwise would not have been possible in national and international competitions, including representing Team USA in the Olympic Games. "Determined athletes committed to performing their best shouldn't be held back due to a financial short coming", said Rahlves, a three-time Olympian and World Champion. "I've seen lots of talent go undeveloped and that's where Level Field Fund can step in and help. I'm excited to be a part of the Level Field Fund and look forward to helping those in need get to the next level and enjoy success in competition." "As competitive athletes, we all share the desire to compete against the best and to think that we are losing talented athletes because of a lack of financial resources is troubling," added Phelps, a 14-time Olympic gold medalist. "I am a big believer in following your dreams and it is an honor to be a part of the Level Field Fund, a group of athletes helping other athletes pursue their own dreams." The need for athlete funding has been well documented and the story of Faye Gulini, the youngest member of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team, is just one example. "In order to chase my dream of representing my country at the Olympics, I had to transfer all of my focus, hard work, and money into my sport," recalled Gulini. Channels: Snow Marginal conditions reign at Olympic venueOlympic snowboarders finally began practicing at the much-maligned Cypress venue Sunday, and many fears were realized. Conditions on the low-altitude mountain are far less than ideal. "It's really pretty embarrassing," said 2002 Olympic gold medalist Ross Powers, who's acting as an analyst this year. Powers weighed in on the conditions after watching the snowboardcross and halfpipe practices. "I've seen worse, but it's certainly not what you'd expect for this level of competition." U.S. halfpipe rider Scotty Lago expressed his thoughts on his Twitter account. "It was kinda beat but it will work."  Mountains in the Vancouver region have been suffering from wet and warm weather due to this year's strong El Nino pattern, which has sent this winter's storm track on a big vacation south. As a result, huge amounts of snow are being dumped on the lower 48 while starving the Canada's Pacific Northwest of its usual snowfall. At Cypress this problem is compounded by its low altitude, of 2,900 feet. On Sunday the freezing level in the Vancouver region was at 5,900 feet. And Monday night it's expected to climb even higher with more rain in the forecast. As a result, many of the snowboarding events slated for Cypress this week are literally on thin ice. On Sunday night, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) announced the cancellation of 4,000 general admission tickets for the snowboardcross events being held on Monday and Tuesday. They described the standing- room area at the Cypress snowboard stadium "unsafe for spectators." From their statement:  "There is insufficient snow to move and build the standing- room area back up at the Cypress snowboard stadium. VANOC has protected sufficient contingency snow for field of play at Cypress Mountain..." Even the outside threat of losing the popular snowbaording events is a nightmare scenario for VANOC, the IOC and Canada. Snowboarding has become one of the most popular Winter Olympic sports since its 1998 debut at the Nagano Games. Vancouver's halfpipe and snowboardcross features are still in marginal condition despite heroic efforts being put in by local officials to keep them in Olympic shape. Despite the challenges, the majority of snowboarders are still are ready to roll. Nate Holland, who just won his fifth straight gold medal in snowboardcross at the X Games, wasn't letting the Slurpee-like conditions bother him. "Training went great today," he posted on his Twitter page Sunday night. "The course is a little slushy but we had sunshine, pretty fun. Getting ready for the BIG SHOW." It's taken a massive effort to keep the Cypress Mountain's Olympic arenas in functional condition this year due to a severe lack of snow. While most of the mountain is void of the white stuff (top) VANOC is making unprecedented efforts to keep courses like the halfpipe intact. Photos: Getty Images Channels: Snow |
