KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Submitted) -- Sacred Heart Cathedral School student, Austen Rhoades, has been accepted into the People to People Sports Ambassador Program.

This summer, the rising 6th grader will play basketball for Team USA in the 2008 World Sports Festival to be held in Vienna, Austria, June 29 through July 8. He is part of a delegation of athletes from all over the East Tennessee region participating in various sports such as tennis, volleyball, soccer, bowling, baseball, and swimming.

Over 3,000 athletes from 16 countries will be taking part in the World Sports Festival.

In preparation for the Olympic-style games, Austen has been training with coaches Trey Mack and Nate Hoffmeister at Performance Training, Inc. at Fort Sanders Health and Fitness Center.

In addition to building athletic skills, Rhoades will be taking part in a variety of
activities such as exploring Austrian cultural monuments including the Schonbrunn Palace, the Mauthausen concentration camp, and the Vienna Prater amusement park, as well as getting to know the people, culture and history of Vienna, Austria.

Acceptance into the Sports Ambassador Program is an honor. The international competition and education program was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. After being invited to apply, Rhoades submitted references and participated in a successful interview process with program coaches and leaders.

Before departing, he will attend orientation meetings with local coordinator, Gary Elrod, and other coaches to prepare for the journey.

President Eisenhower founded People To People during his presidency with citizen leaders including entertainer Bob Hope, Olympic champion Jesse Owens, Walt Disney, and Hallmark Cards founder Joyce Hall. Having served as a military commander, Eisenhower believed that ordinary citizens of different nations could make a difference where governments could not.

People to People Sports and Student Ambassador Programs are based in Spokane, Washington, and have been coordinating the educational travel programs for over 50 years.

For more information, please visit www.sportsambassadors.org and www.world-sports-festival.com/en/.

For more information on the Schonbrunn Palace, Mauthausen camp or the Prater, visit http://www.schoenbrunn.at/,
www.ushmm.org,and http://www.prater.wien.info.

Sacred Heart Cathedral School is a Diocesan, State and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accredited parochial Kindergarten through Eighth grade school in the Diocese of Knoxville, Tenn., committed to living and teaching Gospel values.

(Information submitted by Sacred Heart Catholic School.)