December 28, 29 & 30 at McCormick Place

The Mayor's Office of Special Events presents Mayor Daley's Holiday Sports Festival. It's free and begins Wednesday, December 28 through Friday, December 30 at McCormick Place in Halls A & B (2301 S. Martin Luther King Drive).

Admission and interactive zones to the biggest indoor gym are free of charge and there is discounted parking in Lot A ($8). Activities take place daily, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Please note: tournament hours may be earlier/later depending on the sport. Interactive zones include Golf, Climbing Walls, Football, Skills Area, Obstacle Course, Tot's Zone, Bowling, Martial Arts, Table Tennis, Inflatable Tumbling, Tennis, Badminton, Boxing, Fishing Ponds, Footbag, Giant Slide, 50-Yard Dash, Skateboarding/Blading area, cheerleading clinics, double dutch jump rope and 2-ball. See below for a list of interactive zones.

Fitness Area

Visit the expanded Fitness Area presented by the Mayor's Fitness Council. Certified fitness instructors will lead classes in cardio kickboxing, salsa aerobics, pilates, yoga and more! There will be fitness demos, lectures on nutrition, bike safety, and family fitness. For those inclined, you can participate in a 20-minute fitness walk complete with pedometer reading. Essential health screenings will also be available, including body fat composition measurements. Personal trainers can guide you through a personalized fitness regime. The complete schedule of activities will be available on the web in December.

Tournaments

Tournaments include Volleyball, Soccer, Floor Hockey, Badminton and Table Tennis. Sanctioned tournaments require pre-registration and there is a fee for Soccer and Volleyball. Visit the Chicago Public Schools area as they host the action-packed Holiday Hoops Basketball boys & girls sophomore tournament as well as tennis clinics. The basketball tournament will feature sixteen teams and the tennis zone will offer mini interactive tennis clinics for kids of all ages. Pre-registration may be required.

Golf Instruction

New this year is golf instruction by PGA Professionals at numerous hitting and putting stations. So strike a pose and let the experts critique your golf stance and swing (all-ages).

Walk Across Illinois

There will be a 30-minute indoor fitness walk held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily. Walks will be organized by Lt. Governor Pat Quinn's Walk Across Illinois program: a year long health initiative designed to encourage Illinois residents to walk at least 167 miles, the equivalent of walking across Illinois from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, by August 2006! Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is scheduled to lead one of the walks. For more information check out the Web: www.walkacrossillinois.org.

Table Tennis

Table Tennis is considered one of the world's most popular sports and world-class athletes will be on-site demonstrating their skills, courtesy of Killerspin. Meet former Olympians Johnyy Huang, Aleksandar Karakasevic, Ilija Lupulesku (5 time Olympian), and Mark Hazinski. The activities include 32 tables for organized play and 8 tables for open play. Wednesday, December 28 is youth day with a morning clinic for kids with the Killerspin Champions and Wednesday afternoon age/gender group championships including an Illinois State High School Championship event. On Thursday, there will be a large recreational championship for non-tournament players. On Friday, there will be a USA Table Tennis sanctioned event for tournament players including the elite. Throughout all 3 days, there will skill challenge tables for anyone to test their table tennis acumen by hitting targets, playing against a robot, and serving long distances. Visit the Web for more info on Killerspin Table Tennis: www.killerspin.com.

For more information, call the Mayor's Office of Special Events, 312-744- 3315, the hotline, 312-744-3370 or click on the Web: cityofchicago.org/ specialevents.