15 July 2025 – With three years to go until the Opening Ceremony of the LA28 Olympic Games, the Organising Committee has offered a first look at the competition schedule. In parallel, a major legacy milestone was celebrated as the PlayLA youth sports programme surpassed one million enrolments, delivering long-term benefits to local communities well ahead of the Games.

To celebrate the milestone, LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover yesterday joined Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles’ Recreation and Parks in an event at the LA Memorial Coliseum, which brought together 700 children and young people taking part in the PlayLA programme for a day of free sports activities workshops and community engagement. Some of LA’s professional sports teams and local organisations, national sports federations, LA28 partners and a host of Olympians and Paralympians were also involved.

The IOC and LA28 have invested up to USD 160 million in PlayLA, a programme that provides access to quality, inclusive and affordable Olympic and Paralympic sports to children aged 3 to 17. Offerings span over 40 sports, including athletics, aquatics, boxing, flag football, judo, para surfing and adaptive swimming. With one million registrations, PlayLA is already serving as a lasting Olympic legacy by promoting healthy lifestyles, expanding access to sport, and inspiring future generations of athletes and citizens.

We couldn’t be more excited to mark this moment at exactly three years out from Los Angeles’ third Olympic Games in 2028. There is so much to celebrate today with one million programme enrolments in LA28’s pre-Games legacy through the PlayLA programme, plus the first look at the Olympic competition schedule that has been meticulously developed to ensure the world’s best athletes can compete in LA. We are energised by today’s milestones and remain focused on the work ahead as the Road to 2028 continues.

Reynold Hoover, LA28 Chief Executive Officer

“We are now three years away from the LA Memorial Coliseum hosting the opening of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and I’m proud that the first medal will be awarded at the iconic Venice Beach,” said Mayor Bass. “When the world comes here for these Games, we will highlight every neighbourhood as we host Games for all and work to ensure they leave a monumental legacy. We are already delivering that legacy as we announce there have been more than one million enrolments in PlayLA. I want to thank LA28 and the International Olympic Committee for making these programmes possible, and for their continued work to host the greatest Games yet.”

Competition schedule

The LA28 competition schedule, developed in close coordination with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and the International Federations (IFs) of each sport, and with the approval of the IOC Executive Board, features 18 days of competition and 844 ticketed events, carefully planned to enhance the experience for athletes, fans and global audiences alike.

The LA28 Olympic Games will open on 14 July 2028, with an Opening Ceremony held across two iconic venues: the LA Memorial Coliseum, which hosted events at the two previous Games editions in Los Angeles, in 1932 and 1984, and the state-of-the-art 2028 Stadium in Inglewood. The Closing Ceremony will take place on 30 July at the Coliseum, honouring Los Angeles’ rich Olympic heritage while looking firmly to the future.

Among several innovations, LA28 will reverse the traditional order of swimming and athletics, with athletics taking place in the first week and swimming concluding the programme in the second week. This is to allow time for the 2028 Stadium to be converted into the largest swimming venue in Olympic history, with a planned capacity of 38,000 seats.

The first Olympic medals of the Games will be awarded in triathlon, set against the backdrop of Venice Beach. Day 15 will deliver the single most action-packed day of the Games, including 16 team sport medal matches and 19 individual sport finals. More details on the competition schedule are available here. A more detailed schedule with medal events and gender order will be released later this year.

In addition to being the third time Los Angeles hosts the Olympic Games, 2028 will be the city’s first time hosting the Paralympic Games.

The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is pleased to announce that packages for the new USPHL+ streaming platform on Black Bear TV are now on sale. Back on May 15, Black Bear TV was named as the new and exclusive broadcast and streaming provider for the USPHL beginning with the 2025-26 season.

Black Bear TV will stream all NCDC, USPHL Premier, and USPHL Elite games and other exclusive content, which includes all pre-season, regular season, playoff, Showcase, All-Star, and special event games in all three leagues.

The USPHL+ streaming channel on Black Bear TV offers fans three different types of plans, each of which includes pricing for single game viewing, monthly plans, or yearly plans. To sign up and purchase a plan, fans first will register and create a free account at www.blackbearsports.tv. In the main navigation menu (top right), select ‘Register’ and complete the form. *Note: Single game purchases will become available once the 2025-26 USPHL schedule is released.

Some of the USPHL+ plans feature such benefits as live pause and rewind, 30-day on-demand access, clipping/sharing highlights, downloading games, and multiple-user logins. Users have one of five options to navigate to from the home page, which includes separate pages for login, schedule, packages/pricing, account information, and customer support. Fans will first have to purchase a Black Bear TV plan, followed by a prompt to add a USPHL+ package for an additional fee.

USPHL+ is designed and supported for viewing on PC, MAC, and tablet browsers through the Black Bear TV website, in addition to a Black Bear TV app for use with Android phones through the Google Play app and iPhones through the Apple App Store.

“We believe Black Bear TV will be the best viewing product in the market and we are excited to add the USPHL to the platform. In a very short period of time, Black Bear TV has raised the bar of streaming sports content and will provide unparalleled service and experience to our USPHL teams and customers. As with all our innovations, we believe we are introducing something that simply does not exist in the market anywhere and will become the market standard in the near term,” said Murry N. Gunty, CEO and Founder of Black Bear Sports Group and Black Bear TV.

Black Bear TV is the official streaming network of Black Bear Sports Group, Inc., the world’s largest owner and operator of youth hockey teams, facilities and events. Black Bear TV launched in the Fall of 2024 and is currently servicing 60+ venues across the United States with 100+ sheets of ice in both Black Bear and non-Black Bear facilities. To date, Black Bear TV has streamed over 28,000 youth and scholastic hockey games and events.

About Black Bear TV

Black Bear TV is the official streaming network of Black Bear Sports Group, Inc., a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. For more information, please visit www.blackbearsports.tv

From three years old, Dylan Davis had started his mountain biking passion by going on trails in his home of Ojai, California. His best friend, Alex Musco, spent every summer in his Montana hometown with his friends riding their bikes up the mountains. 

The pair of rising senior Cal Poly business students ended up bonding over their shared childhood passions for mountain biking. During their time at Cal Poly, they noticed there was no established program for the children in San Luis Obispo to safely learn how to mountain bike. So, together, the two created the SLO Riders Club. 

“Getting these kids to fall in love with the trails in their backyards is really rewarding,” Musco said. 

The initiative features a fall and spring weekly ride program split up by age group. Each group has a set day per week where they are able to train with the coaches and mountain bike within various areas in San Luis Obispo — from the youngest program, the Tiny Sprockets, who age between 4 and 6 years old, to the older kids in the Juniors Program 12 years or older. 

“My goal with the program is basically to provide riders with a safe and fun environment for them to develop their skills, but I feel like it also helps them create a sense of community, build friendships and then also build skills off the bike, like resiliency and courage,” Davis said. 

Davis and Musco aimed to replicate it based off of the clubs they grew up biking in within their hometowns. Musco, who grew up in Missoula, Montana, grew up riding with the Zootown Derailleurs and eventually becoming a coach. Similarly, Davis has been biking from a very young age, and he went into competitive mountain biking before coaching for  his local riding club, the Ojai riders from his junior year of high school. 

READ MORE: Riders Club of SLO weighs in on city’s next budget

With their passion and technical skills from being business students, as well as the help from their Program Director, Everest Mueller the club’s first season was able to take off in spring 2024. 

TRAINING BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN

Both Davis and Musco said group training for mountain biking helps kids get in touch with nature, socialize, stay active and find ways to have fun in a healthy way without the presence of electronics. 

“Getting a group of kids together fosters this ‘Hey, let’s work together and go conquer this trail or this feature that we’ve never done before,’” Musco said. “It kind of makes it into more of a team sport and all these kids make lifelong friends.” 

The students have witnessed the impact of the program on the kids and have been able to see a lot of growth in the children individually and within the program. 

“​​It was awesome seeing him really conquer his fears,” Musco said. 

Morgen Marshall, a mom and Cal Poly employee, is able to see the impact with her own son, 7-year-old Jayce. From starting during the spring 2025 session, she has been able to track growth noticeably within her son, and all thanks to joining SLO Riders.

“I just think the club is really helpful, especially for me,” Marshall said. “I’m a single mom, and I don’t really know how to mountain bike… so I just love that they’re making this easier for kids to be a part of that don’t already have access to that with their family.” 

“Since he’s been doing this, he’s gained more confidence, and gets his friends to go with him,” she said. “Isn’t that we want? We want these kids outside and not just playing Roblox.”

SLO RIDER’S SUPPORTS A LARGER MISSION

With Marshalls highlighting the interaction with nature that the program offers, it ties in with not just the origins of SLO Riders, but with the overall mission of the Central Coast Youth Cycling Association — which houses the Ojai Riders Club, SLO Riders Club and a new Ventura Riders Club.

Mueller, who founded the Ojai Riders club, helped out Davis and Musco when it came to starting up their club. SLO Riders had just begun with two riders within their first season but with marketing and the help of Mueller the club now contains 20 or more kids per season. 

While Mueller was brought in to help with the back-end protocol, liability waivers and overall club administration, he also worked to guide the true mission of the initiative. 

“A lot of that is the attitude that you embrace the whole mountain, because life is the whole mountain,” Mueller said. “No matter what, you know there’s going to be ups and downs, and there’s going to be challenges, and there’s going to be really exciting, fun times, and you got to be able to embrace all of it.”

With the involvement of hands-on coaching paired with a typically individual sport being taught in a group setting, both coaches and Mueller promote mountain biking as a program not solely for the SLO community but within towns that contain suitable terrain and children to participate.

“Outdoor recreation is great for people’s well being, and kind of creates environmental responsibility for the youth and a more connected, sustainable society,” Davis said.  

SLO Riders’ upcoming fall season will be one of the last ones that Davis and Musco are able to coach as they are graduating, and overall are excited to inspire SLO youth into developing their next passion. 

Partnership includes $100,000 in donations to support local park and recreation agencies through the MLS GO PLAY FUND, impacting thousands of kids nationwide

Sayre Park has been home to Hoop D’Ville through rain, sleet, snow and shine for a quarter-century. This Saturday, the long-running Glenwood Springs tournament will celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Open to all seven-person teams, the tournament kicks off at 8 a.m. Saturday at Sayre Park and runs until a champion is crowned. The all-inclusive registration fee covers food and drinks for every player, with the winning team taking home a $500 prize.

Four games will run simultaneously throughout the day, helping to fuel Glenwood Springs’ pickup basketball scene.

The tournament, conceptualized by basketball junkie Mike Picore during the turn of the century, has evolved from a way to bond with the local basketball community to a long-running annual event looked forward to by many. 

“It started as a hobby and has turned into an obsession. When I first started this 25 years ago, I was just trying to raise enough money for a night at Tequilas,” Picore laughed. “Now I look up and I see beautiful brand-new courts at Sayre. 25 years ago that was like a pipe dream.”

Picore mentioned how unique the situation was and how even he can’t believe that the tournament is now able to rent a car. 

“It seems kind of silly,” he admitted. “People will come up to me and be like ‘You’ve been running a basketball tournament for 25 years?’ And I’ll answer, ‘I know, right?!’ It seems insane to me too, but at the same time, we were able to get the courts redone, we added an extra court, and the end-result means more kids can get to use it.”

In recent years, Picore has expanded the tournament’s reach with youth-oriented programming to complement the growing adult competition.

The main bracket is open to high school-aged players and older, but younger kids are still welcome. Events such as youth scrimmages and a dedicated girls tournament have been added to the weekend schedule. Roaring Fork High School girls basketball coach Mike Vidokavich helped launch the girls bracket, which will return in 2025.

“There is a youth boys team aged fourth through sixth grade that will get the chance to scrimmage the high school girls team,” Picore explained. “This is the second year we will be running the youth and girls programs. Then the men’s tournament is open, so we can have incoming freshmen playing against guys like me.”

Picore wasn’t joking when he said that he could face off against younger competition, but has never been fearful of the incoming generation. Rather, he thinks that experience usually wins out over the energy-full youth. 

“We won the tournament last year, and I’ve got one of the older teams,” Picore said. “Last year, we faced off against another team full of guys that have been coming for the past 25 years. It was literally the two teams that battled for the first 10 years playing in the championship round. That was pretty cool, and I think we’ve got another good shot this year.”

Any funds not used for prize money go directly into the Hoop D’Ville fund, which supports Glenwood Springs youth sports and recreation. Most notably, the Hoop D’Ville fund helped contribute to the Sayre Park basketball court reconstruction and repainting the Glenwood Springs High School sheds. Picore said future projects include contributing to a new welcome sign at Stubler Memorial Field.

One must have a team of seven to register for the 2025 Hoop D’Ville. For more information about registering for the tournament, call Mike Picore at (970) 309-2911, or visit Sayre Park on Saturday morning.

WESTFIELD — Grand Park, Westfield’s nationally known youth sports campus, is shifting into high gear with a major expansion. A local racing star is helping lead the way.

Ed Carpenter, CEO of Ed Carpenter Racing and an Indianapolis native, announced Tuesday that his INDYCAR team will relocate its headquarters from Georgetown Road in Indianapolis to the heart of Grand Park.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on this campus with my boys,” Carpenter said. “So it’s pretty cool that we’re going to be having our race shop up here.”

The move marks the first step in what city leaders say is a broader development plan that will bring new life to the area surrounding the 400-acre sports complex.

“This is exactly what we were thinking when we created the new district here at Grand Park,” Westfield Mayor Scott Willis said.

“It fits perfectly into what we’re trying to do here: people living, working and playing here around the world of sports.”

Grand Park attracts millions of visitors each year for youth baseball, soccer and other tournaments. The influx of families and teams has already fueled interest in further growth, and city officials say they are just getting started.

“We’re already starting to plan not only for Ed Carpenter Racing, but a mixed-use development that Keystone is going to be building,” Willis said.

“And then also a big-name hotel that’s going to be just to the south of the existing event center.”

Visitors to Grand Park say the facility has left a strong impression.

“We kind of toured it a little bit yesterday. It’s nice, a lot of fields,” said Chelsea, who was visiting from Sacramento, California. “I’m very excited.”

“I mean, everything here has been almost immaculate,” another parent from Pennsylvania added.

Carpenter said the decision to relocate to Grand Park was partly driven by the opportunity to engage with the park’s vast number of out-of-town visitors.

“It’s not just residents who use this facility,” Carpenter said. “People are coming from out of town all the time to experience Grand Park. So to be able to connect with those potential fans is something we’re hugely excited about.”

As Grand Park accelerates into its next phase, Willis said the vision is clear.

“When it’s all said and done, you’re going to come to Grand Park any day of the week, it’s going to be crowded,” Willis said. “And there are going to be people here living, working and playing.”