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The Fourth of July festivities may be over, but celebrations for the country's 250th anniversary are ongoing. Next up, an athletic competition for high schoolers.
The Patriot Games concept has drawn comparisons from critics to "The Hunger Games." A boy and a girl representing their state or territory will compete in a days-long event for the chance to win scholarship money.
The games are put on by Freedom 250, the organization started by President Donald Trump to bring his vision for the country's anniversary to life. Freedom 250 was also behind the Great American State Fair, the UFC fight at the White House and the upcoming IndyCar Grand Prix through the streets of Washington, D.C.
Watch the Patriot Games on ESPN+
The games are two weeks away, and here is what we know about them so far:
More: Trump to host racers ahead of F250 Grand Prix. When is DC street race?
The Patriot Games will be "a national athletic competition celebrating the character, determination, and excellence that define the American spirit," according to Freedom 250.
Trump announced the games in a video in December, calling it an "unprecendented four-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes, one young man and one young woman from each state and territory."
He also added there would be no men playing in women's sports, a tagline of his campaign promise to restrict transgender people from playing sports.
The competition of both individuals and teams will test excellence in skills of American sports like football, basketball, soccer and track, Freedom 250 announced on July 10. The athletes will also go through the Presidential Fitness Test, a military-style boot camp circuit and an obstacle course. The winners will share a $250,000 scholarship prize pool.
"The event will feature a series of athletic challenges designed to test strength, endurance, agility, teamwork, and perseverance while highlighting the values that have helped shape generations of Americans," the Freedom 250 website states.
A representative from Freedom 250 did not provide more specifics about the competitions.
The competition will take place Aug. 9-11, with live streams available on the ESPN app. There will also be a one-hour ESPN special on ABC, Thursday, Aug. 13, showing highlights of the competitions, features of the athletes and the moment the winners accept their awards. It is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. ET.
The competition will take place at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio.
The games are put on by Freedom 250, which was also behind the contested “Great American State Fair” on the National Mall featuring the “National Prayer Event” and the UFC fight at the White House.
The Freedom 250 events are separate from those being hosted by America 250, the bipartisan organization established by Congress in 2016 to lead planning of the country’s milestone birthday.
Trump launched Freedom 250 in December as a subsidiary of the National Park Foundation to fund his vision for the country’s milestone birthday, outside of efforts being planned by America250. The organization describes itself as nonpartisan. Congressional Democrats and watchdog groups have raised concerns that the group lacks transparency, skirts federal rules and allows companies and wealthy individuals to buy access to the president’s office.
When Trump announced the games in December, Democrats mocked Trump on social media, comparing the athletic event to "The Hunger Games," a dystopian book and movie series where two children from every district must fight to the death in a competition held by their government.
Some on social media defended the games, arguing that they promoted youth athleticism and compared the event to the Olympics.
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Patriot Games 2 weeks out. Here is what we know about the events
Continue reading...
The Patriot Games concept has drawn comparisons from critics to "The Hunger Games." A boy and a girl representing their state or territory will compete in a days-long event for the chance to win scholarship money.
The games are put on by Freedom 250, the organization started by President Donald Trump to bring his vision for the country's anniversary to life. Freedom 250 was also behind the Great American State Fair, the UFC fight at the White House and the upcoming IndyCar Grand Prix through the streets of Washington, D.C.
Watch the Patriot Games on ESPN+
The games are two weeks away, and here is what we know about them so far:
More: Trump to host racers ahead of F250 Grand Prix. When is DC street race?
What are the Patriot Games by Trump?
The Patriot Games will be "a national athletic competition celebrating the character, determination, and excellence that define the American spirit," according to Freedom 250.
Trump announced the games in a video in December, calling it an "unprecendented four-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes, one young man and one young woman from each state and territory."
He also added there would be no men playing in women's sports, a tagline of his campaign promise to restrict transgender people from playing sports.
The competition of both individuals and teams will test excellence in skills of American sports like football, basketball, soccer and track, Freedom 250 announced on July 10. The athletes will also go through the Presidential Fitness Test, a military-style boot camp circuit and an obstacle course. The winners will share a $250,000 scholarship prize pool.
"The event will feature a series of athletic challenges designed to test strength, endurance, agility, teamwork, and perseverance while highlighting the values that have helped shape generations of Americans," the Freedom 250 website states.
A representative from Freedom 250 did not provide more specifics about the competitions.
When are the Patriot Games?
The competition will take place Aug. 9-11, with live streams available on the ESPN app. There will also be a one-hour ESPN special on ABC, Thursday, Aug. 13, showing highlights of the competitions, features of the athletes and the moment the winners accept their awards. It is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. ET.
Where will the competition be taking place?
The competition will take place at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio.
Who is putting on the Patriot Games?
The games are put on by Freedom 250, which was also behind the contested “Great American State Fair” on the National Mall featuring the “National Prayer Event” and the UFC fight at the White House.
The Freedom 250 events are separate from those being hosted by America 250, the bipartisan organization established by Congress in 2016 to lead planning of the country’s milestone birthday.
Trump launched Freedom 250 in December as a subsidiary of the National Park Foundation to fund his vision for the country’s milestone birthday, outside of efforts being planned by America250. The organization describes itself as nonpartisan. Congressional Democrats and watchdog groups have raised concerns that the group lacks transparency, skirts federal rules and allows companies and wealthy individuals to buy access to the president’s office.
Patriot Games criticized for similarity to 'The Hunger Games'
When Trump announced the games in December, Democrats mocked Trump on social media, comparing the athletic event to "The Hunger Games," a dystopian book and movie series where two children from every district must fight to the death in a competition held by their government.
Some on social media defended the games, arguing that they promoted youth athleticism and compared the event to the Olympics.
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Patriot Games 2 weeks out. Here is what we know about the events
Continue reading...
