KITCHENER - Sixteen athletes, three coaches, a chaperone and a head of delegation will be leaving Kitchener tomorrow to travel to the 42^{nd International Children's Games in San Francisco. The games run from July 9-17.}

A send-off by Mayor Carl Zehr and Kevin Harrington of the KW Sports Council will be held at 8:30 am on Wednesday morning in the Rotunda at city hall.

The International Children's Games (ICG) is the world's largest international multi-sport youth games, the ICG has allowed 30,000 children from more than 70 countries to compete internationally, experience new cultures and form lifelong friendships with fellow athletes.

"This is a great opportunity for a meeting of cultures for our athletes, as well as a chance to showcase their individual achievements in their sports," said Mayor Carl Zehr. "It's good experience for future competitions. The stage is set for each athlete to meet the challenge for their personal athletic performance, and to form lifelong friendships."

About 100 teams will participate from around the world, including Mongolia, Australia and Ghana for the first time. About 1,300 children (ages 12-15) will participate in athletics (track and field), basketball, football (soccer), golf, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and volleyball. All events take place at sport facilities located at the University of San Francisco.

The Kitchener team's participation at the games is part of a long-term strategy to support local athlete development, to sustain the games' ideals, and to promote peace through sport. This year's team includes:

Basketball (boys) - Kitchener Waterloo Youth Basketball Association (Vipers): Paul Anderson, Ron Bougram, Stefan Cucak, Patrick Connors, Alexander Galea, Bradley Kibbe, Andrew Mwangi, Michael Quigley (coach).

Soccer (girls) - Kitchener Soccer (Spirit): Nicole Barnard, Megan Burns, Alysha Crawford, Alexandra Harrison, Melanie Mitchell, Kiara Reyes, Rebecca Stephens, George Senfner (coach).

Swimming (girls) -- Monique Begy, Margot Cunningham, Matthew Pedersen (coach)

Chaperone -- Tracy Senfner; head of delegation -- John Cooper

WHEN: Wednesday, July 9

WHERE: City Hall Rotunda

DETAILS: Athlete team photo 8 a.m.

Speeches at 8:30 a.m.

Athletes leave Kitchener City Hall at 8:45 a.m.

The KW Sports Council is a partner with the city and the sport clubs. Sports council volunteers interviewed and selected the athletes. The Kitchener ICG Trust was created by the council this year to help raise, manage and dispense funds for the team. Other volunteers manage the Kitchener team website, ^{www.kitchenericg.com, which will be updated with the activities and results of our athletes.}