PARK CITY, Utah — With the Winter Olympics now underway, Park City is once again sending a significant number of athletes to compete on the world stage. And officials say it all starts small with support for youth.
11-year-old Lily Stephenson has been skiing for about three years. But not long ago, winter sports were completely new to her. "Honestly, I barely knew the word ski," Stephenson remembered.
Lily found her way onto the mountain through the Youth Sports Alliances Get Out and Play program, an after-school program that introduces kids to winter sports by providing transportation, gear, and scholarships.
"It's just amazing that I can do it where I am right now," Stephenson stated. "What I learned most is perseverance."
That perseverance is part of something much bigger in the Wasatch Back. Dozens of athletes with ties to Park City are competing in the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina starting this week.
And some Olympians started in the very same after-school program Lily Stephenson is in currently.
“This Olympics is really special for us," explained Emily Fisher, the Executive Director of the Youth Sports Alliance. "There are five athletes that started in our after-shool program that are now competing at the Olympic Games. We remember their first ski jumps, their first leag runs."
People can watch the Winter Games together at Miner’s Park on Main Street where a community viewing party will take place from February 6 through the 22nd.
The same mountain that's shaping Olympians today is helping discover what Lily is capable of. "To see these athletes make it all the way to the world stage and just to provide opportunities to kids, this is what it's all about," Fisher said.
