Legislation from Congressman Bill Huizenga seeks to get more young people playing sports.
Huizenga tells us the Youth Sports Facilities Act amends Title II of the Public Works and Economic Development Act to add Youth Sports Facilities to the list of eligible uses of Economic Development Assistance grants. He says this will help more youth sports facilities get built around the country, and not just school sports facilities.
“We know that we have really an epidemic of obesity here in the United States, right? And one of the problems that we have is youth sports has been on the decline in many ways,” Huizenga said. “Not all the clubs, we see all the clubs and the travel teams and all that kind of stuff, but kids aren’t necessarily just going and playing pick-up games.”
Huizenga says for too long, an area code has determined whether students could have access to facilities or the resources needed to play. He says the new act will “open the doors for communities across Michigan and around the country to create new opportunities for children to develop critical skills, enhance local tourism, and foster small business growth.”
The legislation, which Huizenga introduced with Texas Democrat Marc Veasey, has the support of groups including the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, the YMCA, the National Federation of High Schools, the American College of Sports Medicine, U.S. Soccer, the NHL, the Pop Warner Little Scholars, and the Michigan Sports Commission.
