ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
Virginia Amateur Sports, the organizing group for the Commonwealth Games, has lined up appearances by two United States women's Olympic squads. The women's volleyball team will play Russia in an exhibition on April 19 at the Roanoke Civic Center and part of the women's fencing team will spend a week in Roanoke.
The six-person women's foil team will train at Hollins College June 23-29. The U.S. squad, which won the 1996 World Cup in January in Havana, Cuba, is the top-ranked women's foil team in the world according to international fencing organization Federation International d'Escrime.
``We're real excited about having them train here,'' said Pete Lampman, VAS president. ``With both this team and the U.S. women's volleyball team, we've fulfilled our mission to have a connection with the Olympics.''
VAS had made efforts to attract other Olympic teams, including some foreign track and field squads, to train in the Roanoke Valley prior to the Summer Games in Atlanta, but most teams are training in Georgia.
``You name the sport, they're [training] down that way,'' said Lampman. ``I think just about everything is in in Georgia, [or] maybe a few in Alabama, a few in North Carolina, [and] South Carolina. Everybody wants to cut down on travel time and stay close to the [Atlanta] area.''
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