Let The Aau Junior Olympic Games Begin!

CLEVELAND - As registration opened to the first of thousands ready to compete in the University Hospitals Health System 1999 AAU Junior Olympic Games, Cleveland began its stint as a mecca for amateur athletes from across the country.

From the time the first girls' basketball team steps on the court on July 28 until the last goal is made in the in-line hockey tournament on Aug. 7, an estimated 14,000 athletes, along with their families and coaches will have swept through town for the largest amateur multi-sport event in the nation.

This 33rd edition of the Games welcomes 26 sports to Cleveland - including baton twirling, soccer, boys' and girls' basketball and aerobic dance - that will be contested in 23 venues in and around downtown Cleveland.

After months of training and competing, the 14,000 athletes who will arrive in the coming days will soon realize their collective goal - to compete on a national level with some of the best athletes in their sports. These athletes, hailing from places such as Hawaii, Maine, Iowa and the Virgin Islands, will offer Cleveland a glimpse into the world of amateur sports with the help of the local organizing committee and the Amateur Athletic Union. Let the Games begin!

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