“There’s nothing like some friendly competition to build positive relationships,” said Mary Rose Wilcox, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, District 5. That’s the idea behind the International Hispanic Games festival held at both Scottsdale and Tucson venues. Participants of all ages and abilities from Arizona and Sonora, Mexico competed in various games scheduled for June 14-17. Sponsored by the Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) in cooperation with the Grand Canyon Games, the festival consists of 14 different sports including basketball, baseball, BMX bike racing, boxing, cycling, golf, dodgeball, football, handball, youth soccer, adult soccer, swimming, tennis & weightlifting.
The sports festival officially opened when Sonoran Governor Eduardo Bours returned the International Game Trophy Cup to Governor Napolitano and Supervisor Wilcox. Athletes, fans and media attended the opening ceremony which will start at 7 p.m. at the Westin LaPaloma Resort, 3800 East Sunrise Drive in Tucson.
As Co-Chair of the Sports Ad Hoc Committee and Maricopa County’s key representative on the AMC, Wilcox works to foster the cultural, physical, and personal growth among children and teenagers through sports exchange between Arizona and Mexico. This is the second year in a row these international games have been held. “More than 200 athletes from Arizona and Sonora competed last year,” said Wilcox, “With Governor Napolitano’s support, we can expect this event to grow in participants and importance, noted Wilcox. “This is largely about the kids,” she continues.“We’re helping build positive relationships that, in time, will help our communities interact better in the future.”
The Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) is Arizona’s premiere cross-border nonprofit organization. Its mission is to improve the well-being and quality of life for residents of Arizona by promoting a strong, cooperative relationship with Mexico and Latin America through advocacy, trade, networking and information. The AMC has 13 bi-national committees that act as industry and community advocates in partnership with the Comisión Sonora-Arizona (from Sonora, Mexico) to facilitate cross-border trade, business and community networking and bi-national information sharing.
For more information about the Arizona-Mexico Commission or a link to event information, visit www.azmc.org