BATON ROGUE — The LSU Athletics Department and the Muscular Dystrophy Association will host the second annual “Stride & Ride” event in the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on March 19 beginning at 9 a.m.
As part of the Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, coaches and members of the women’s volleyball, gymnastics, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will participate in the event. The Tiger student-athletes will set up booths around the track, hand out posters, sign autographs, hand out MDA bracelets and participate in face painting.
Teams of 10 members have raised $62 each, or $620 per team. The $62 will pay for one minute of research for muscular dystrophy. The teams will stride or ride around the track at the fieldhouse at their own pace to raise the money.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is the world’s leading voluntary health organization fighting more than 40 muscle-wasting diseases that affect hundreds of people of all ages in our community. Funds raised through MDA special events held provide expert medical care at MDA clinics, MDA summer camps for youngsters, repair and purchase wheelchairs and other equipment and many other services. MDA also funds hundreds of the top scientists worldwide seeking treatments and cures.
The MDA Program Coordinator for the “Stride & Ride” event is former LSU volleyball assistant coach Ainsley Grimes. The inaugural event had over 200 participants and raised over $12,000. For more information on the event, you can call (225) 761-7010.
The CHAMPS (Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success)/Life Skills Program was designed by the NCAA to help student-athletes realize higher academic achievement, increase likelihood of graduation and enter a chosen profession with a higher level of vision, knowledge, motivation, self-responsibility and greater overall success. In spring 2003, the CHAMPS/ Life Skills Program honored one of LSU’s most memorable graduates, Shaquille O’Neal, by naming the program after him.