The

SoCal Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ag ...

Olympians and Paralympians, is the largest and the oldest organization of the United States Olympic team in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, with a current membership of approximately 800 athletes. Since 1912, this chapter has continually supplied the largest percentage of athletes that comprise the

United States at the Olympics United States of America (USA) has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern era Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American athletes have won ...

. The organization dates back to 1919, and was formerly titled the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

Olympian chapter. The membership area includes areas in Southern California from

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, to the Southern California border with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, a distance of over 300 miles. The current chapter was founded on March 19, 1949, with its first president, Fred Kelly of

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

. Since that time the SoCal Olympians and Paralympians has sought to perpetuate Southern California's outstanding Olympic heritage which dates back to 1904. The SoCal Olympians & Paralympians help fund the dreams of future USA Olympians, Paralympians, coordinate member appearances at youth, community and corporate events, offer fellowship to members of past and current Olympic teams, and support the creation of an active, visible worldwide Olympian organization. More than 800 USA Olympians and Paralympians from past and present United States Olympic Teams who live and work in Southern California draw upon their athletic experiences to inspire and pass on the Olympic ideals of the

Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the 136th IOC Session, held by video conference. Adop ...

to its communities and to enrich the lives of the youth of Southern California. The organization stages a Welcome Home Dinner for Olympians after each summer

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, and provides sports motivational speakers to local community groups. They participate in celebrity

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournaments and provide grants to Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls through their 501C3 charity, the Koroibos Foundation. The SoCal Olympicians support the international Olympic Day by hosting sports clinics during the month of June. The current president is Tamara Christopherson, who represented Team USA in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
United States at the Olympics June events Southern California

See also

References

External links