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Emily
Cook
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Determination
is an aerialist,
current U.S. champion and exgymnast
Emily Cook, who
grew up in suburban Boston
and never let go of a dream to compete
in the Olympics. Sidelined by injury
after making the 2002 Olympic Team,
Cook missed three World Cup seasons
while rehabilitating her badly injured
feet but returned to compete in the
winter of 2005 (making the World
Championships Team), and reached
her Olympics in '06 in Italy. And,
Cook says, she's not done yet. |
Cook, has added
difficulty to her
repertoire since the last Olympics,
which has given her the edge she
needed to make it to the top. She won
her first World Cup in front of over
30,000 spectators in downtown
Moscow this 2008 season. The
confidence from her victory has left
her amped about continuing to tighten
her triple-twisting jumps, adding
another next
season, so she
can have them
mastered for
the Vancouver
Olympics."Motivation is
not an issue for
me as we move
toward 2010,”
she said. “I’m
just so excited!”
Emily is known
for overcoming obstacles, motivating
others, and elevating her games to a
new level.
Even though Emily’s main focus is
the
Olympics, she also has a passion to
give back to children and young
aerialists. During her injury, Emily
created “Visa Champions Creating
Champions” a mentoring program
during which Olympians from a variety
of winter sports worked with
youngsters in the community.
Emily is also an athlete ambassador for
Right to Play and an active supporter
of The National Ability Center , The
Youth Winter Sports Alliance.
When Emily is not training for the
Olympics and giving back to the
community, she enjoys learning to surf,
fishing with her dad, traveling, yoga
and enjoying the outdoors.
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Results In Skiing
2006 US Olympian
First World Cup Win in 2008
3 Time US National Champion
2 Time Olympic Trial Winner
4 Time World Champs Team Member
Why I Chose Right to
Play For My Charity
I chose the organization Right to Play in order
to give kids around the world the chance to
be Kids! As an athlete, I am truly thankful
for the opportunities that I have had in life
and recognize what sport has done for me -
it's taught me confidence, respect, discipline,
fair play and teamwork. As an Athlete Ambassador
for Right To Play, I am working to give every
child a right to play, take part in sports
and learn valuable health and life lessons.
Right To Play uses sport and play to promote
opportunities for development, health and peace.
Everyday Right to Play’s programs demonstrate
the positive impact sport has on refugee children,
former child combatants, and young people at
risk or orphaned by HIV/AIDS. In refugee camps,
sport and play programs are encouraging healthy
child development and teaching important life
skills like teamwork, communication, fair play
and self-esteem. In the Middle East, sport and
play programs are being used to build bridges
between all children and youth and their communities
in the region.
In Africa, sport and play are being used to reach
youth with life-saving HIV awareness and prevention
education.
Right To Play’s sport and play programs
focus on a number of key impacts:
1. Healthier, educated children: Sport and play
are essential developmental building blocks,
helping to foster healthy physical, social and
emotional development in children. Sport and
play also teach critical life skills and values
and spread joy and fun.
2. Empowered individuals and communities: By
training local youths to be coaches, leaders
and role models, Right To Play empowers and activates
communities to look after themselves. Right To
Play also helps set up community networks, councils
and infrastructure to enable communities to develop
regular and sustainable sport and play programs.
3. Safer, more peaceful communities:
Through our programs, Right To Play teaches conflict
prevention and resolution, respect and fair
play. Sport and play are effective tools for
the social re-integration, rehabilitation and
normalization of former child soldiers. And,
in areas of conflict, like the Middle East,
the universality and non-political nature of
sport makes it an innovative tool for building
bridges and opening up communication and understanding
between communities.
4. Improved health and healthier lifestyle behaviors:
Sport festivals and sports heroes are also effective
tools for attracting attention and mobilizing
communities behind important health campaigns
like national immunization drives - In addition,
games that teach health education, like HIV/AIDS
awareness and prevention, are resonating with
hard to reach and vulnerable groups including
youths.
To Find Out Even More:
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