Faith and Sports Conference at LMU to Focus on Impacts

UNIVERSITY NEWS | Sports have the power to change the world.

That’s the underlying theme as Loyola Marymount University hosts the second regional Sport at the Service of Humanity conference, bringing the university’s sense of global imagination and its impact into sharper focus.

The conference, set for June 20-21 in the Life Sciences Building, will bring together scholars, athletes, clergy, and other guests with an interest in how sports can unite people and effect positive change. Participation is limited, but an invitation can be requested here.

President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., will open the conference. He spoke to the goal of the event and the greater vision of the SSH initiative, which is to inspire organizations and individuals who participate in sports to embrace the initiative’s six principles: Joy, Respect, Love, Compassion, Enlightenment, and Balance. “We are eager to fortify Pope Francis’ vision of how sports and faith coalesce their influence to serve society,” he said.

The annual conference grew out of an initiative launched by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture, which held the first global conference in 2016. This year’s conference, co-sponsored by the West Coast Conference and LA84 Foundation, will expand from last year’s focus on collegiate sports into the realm of youth sports.

Millions of Americans have played high school sports, ranging from afterschool fun to under-the-microscope national championship contenders. Additionally, nearly 40 percent of U.S. children ages 6-12 regularly play an organized team sport of some kind, according to a report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

Speakers at this year’s conference include: Renata Simril ’93, president and CEO of LA84 Foundation; Anita L. DeFrantz, vice president of the International Olympic Committee; Candace Cable, a nine-time Paralympian; Gene Sykes, CEO of the L.A. 2028 Organizing Committee; Sherrie Deans, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association Foundation; Christine Simmons, president and COO of the L.A. Sparks; Val Ackerman, commissioner of the Big East Conference; and Gregory Boyle, S.J., founder of Homeboy Industries;.

The panels will explore themes about the potential of sport to advance positive social change from an array of perspectives, such as an athlete’s career arc from schoolyard basketball to Rhodes Scholar; preparing athletes to be life ready; creating supportive environments for LGBT athletes; women in athletics; and more.

The capacity of sport to have a positive effect on society in general has been recognized for a long time, but the movement to harness that momentum has been growing. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”

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