The Go Miners Athletic Foundation is a new organization dedicated to furthering athletic opportunities and bettering sports facilities within the Park City School District, and its President Jess McCurdy said the project has been years in the making. “My husband and I both grew up playing spor ts, and my husband has actually coached high school football for 32 years now,” McCurdy said. “The benefits that sports bring to the classroom, like being organized, driven and being at school and being present so you can be part of a team, are vital. It’s taught my family and my kids a work ethic that I think is really, really important.” McCurdy, a 12-year resident of Park City, has four sons who have all been involved in the district’s athletics programs. She and her husband also created the Park City Passing League, a flag football organization for elementary- and middle school-aged children. “It’s a nonprofit, and our high school football kids coach and referee,” McCurdy said. “We’re going into our seventh season, and it has been so successful for many reasons. That’s what gave us the idea that if we could do this for one sport, why couldn’t we duplicate it for many?” McCurdy met Sarah Elder, who now serves as the vice president of the Go Miners Athletic Foundation, a few years ago when both women were volunteering for the Park City Miners Baseball Foundation to support their children. That connection spurred efforts to find other passionate parents to make McCurdy’s idea of an overarching athletic foundation a reality. Now, the Go Miners Athletic Foundation has a full governing board of parents, community members and professionals, and the Park City school board last week voted to formalize a partnership between the district and the organization, similar to its agreement with the Park City Education Foundation. “Athletics changed the trajectory of my life, and I’m a firm believer that every student deserves the chance to pursue their athletic passions,” Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman said in a statement on the agreement. “I’m thrilled to support the Go Miners Athletic Foundation and the role they’ll play in providing coordinated support for our athletic programs and facilities at Park City High School.” McCurdy said the nonprofit has three overarching objectives, the first of which is to gather capital funds to build indoor facilities and support the ongoing expansion of Dozier Field and the construction of the Treasure Mountain Sports Complex. “I don’t want to say teams are competing for indoor space necessarily, but that’s what ends up happening,” McCurdy said. “We’ve had a light winter. However, everyone is trying to get inside to practice for their season, and we just don’t have enough field space for everybody. When the high school comes to practice at Basin Rec, for example, it also affects our youth kids that play sports on those fields, so there is a dire need for indoor space in Park City.” The Go Miners Athletic Foundation plans to approach nonprofits and other potential investors about contributing to its programming, as well as organizing community fundraisers throughout the year. “We’re looking at naming rights for our athletic facilities, so that would definitely bring in bigger businesses and donors,” McCurdy added. The foundation’s other objectives include raising funds to offset the cost of participating in sports programs for families who may need financial assistance. It also aims to increase the visibility of Park City sports altogether by providing a centralized location to find information on practice schedules, games and other key details. “We want to bring the athletic community together through a Go Miners website, social media and making sure spectators know what’s going on in the community when it comes to athletics,” McCurdy said. McCurdy thanked the school board, Huntsman and Park City High School Principal Caleb Fine for their support, and she encouraged anyone interested in getting involved with the athletic foundation to visit gominerspc.org. The post Go Miners Athletic Foundation hopes to increase opportunities, visibility of Park City sports appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less