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The 2028 Olympics is expanding access to LA youth sports. Here's how to join in
Alex, 10, catches a wave on the surfing simulator set up at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July, 14, 2025. He started participating in the city's adaptive surfing program three years ago.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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How to get involved
After Los Angeles agreed nearly a decade ago to host the 2028 Olympics, organizers committed $160 million to local youth sports. That investment has reduced the cost of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks programs and brought new sports, including table tennis, fencing, and archery, to kids throughout the city.
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The 2028 Olympics is expanding access to LA youth sports
“These are the future athletes,” said LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover. The organization has contributed $60 million to PlayLA since 2018.
The money helps subsidize programs for low-income families, and pays for staffing and equipment for sports the city couldn’t afford to offer before, like wetsuits and boards for surfing.
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“The kids can try however many sports they want to until they really find, you know, one that they love,” said Kelly Caldwell, principal recreation supervisor for the Play LA program.
Sign up for youth sports
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- Who’s eligible: Youth ages 5-17 regardless of physical ability, income or immigration status.
- Important dates: Summer programs started the first week of July and continue through the end of August and families can still sign up online and in person as long as there’s space.
- Plan ahead: Registration for fall leagues starts July 28.
- Cost: At 88 recreation centers and 36 pools, Los Angeles families can sign their kids up for $10 a season. At centers in wealthier neighborhoods, families can qualify for the lower cost by filling out a form to verify their income.
- Get updates: In addition to their website, the city posts updates to the PlayLA, adaptive youth sports and Rec and Parks Instagram accounts.
What are adaptive sports?
The funding has also helped expand the city’s programs for youth with disabilities. Adaptive youth sports include swimming, volleyball, skateboarding, blind soccer, track and field. There’s also wheelchair tennis and basketball.
Artemis D.'s 10-year-old son has autism. We agreed to use her last initial in place of her last name to protect her family's privacy.
She said his sensitivity to sound, different way of processing information and a lack of understanding from coaches made it difficult to participate in other sports, but he’s attended the city’s adaptive equestrian and surfing programs for the last three years.
“We finally found an activity he could do and not get kicked out of or yelled at, or feel different,” Artemis said.
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Everett, 11, practices dribbling, but said his main sport is basketball. "I'm excited to see the new faces of the NBA to play in the Olympics," he said.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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About 650 kids attending PlayLA summer programs throughout the city tried out different sports outside the Coliseum on Monday, July 14, 2025.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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What do the kids say?
Naiya, 11, has played basketball at Venice’s Penmar Recreation Center for several years now.
“All the coaches are really nice and they don't like, scream at you to do something,” she said. “When you get it wrong, they help you and teach you how to do it.”
This summer, she also decided to try something new: surfing.
“The first time was really scary, but now I'm used to it and it's really fun,” she said.
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She’s learned how to paddle, pop up on the board and persevere.
"It's really fun even if you don't catch a wave,” Naiya said. "'Cause when you fall you could just try again and you might get it again, again and again."
Updated September 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT
LAist updated this story to refer to the parent Artemis by her last initial instead of her last name at her request, after she expressed concerns that potential future employers might discriminate against her based on her son's disability.
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