Challenger Sports and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) have announced a partnership involving the NAIA's Champions of Character programming in conjunction with the 1,300 British Soccer Camps that Challenger Sports operates in the United States.

"We are extremely excited at the prospect of integrating the NAIA Champions of Character program into the British Soccer Camp program." stated Challenger Vice President Peter Arch.

"We have always had an underlying theme of character development and sportsmanship built into our camps, however the NAIA Champions of Character initiative provides us with a structure of five clearly defined core values that everyone here at Challenger firmly believes in. We also believe that the elements that are championed in this initiative; respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship are things that are often lost in youth sports programs today."

The program will have camp coaches teaching character traits through the game of soccer. Each day, campers will be taught soccer skills as well as how a soccer player can choose to be an athlete of character. This will be done through daily themes being taught during the camp.

"The Champions of Character message is a process to intentionally teach character through sport. No matter how young the athletes are, we can use sport to teach more than physical skills." stated Rob Miller, NAIA Director of Champions of Character Initiatives.

The partnership will begin with training sessions for coaches during the winter and spring of 2004. Implementation of the program will take place at the camps this coming summer. Arch went on to say,

"Not only do we look forward to launching this to some 55,000 campers on our 1,300 soccer camps throughout the US this summer, but we also hope to encourage the soccer organizations holding Challenger Sports British Soccer Camps to adopt this initiative and build it in to their year round league and practice programs."

Champions of Character core values

NAIA article on THE TRUE ATHLETE

NAIA article on INTEGRITY

NAIA article on RESPECT

NAIA article on RESPECT (2)

NAIA article on SERVANT LEADERSHIP

NAIA article on INTEGRITY (2)

For more information on the Champions of Character initiative, contact the NAIA National Office at 913-791-0044 or www.championsofcharacter.org.