Community Walk Marks Kickoff of International Walking Festival Locals are Invited to Experience Fun, Fitness and Friendship on Sunday, Feb. 19
(San Antonio, Feb. 6, 2023) San Antonio area residents are invited to join walkers from more than 40 states and 26 countries in a Community Walk on Sunday morning, Feb. 19 to mark the kickoff of the IVV Olympiad and IML Texas Trail Roundup, two international walking festivals taking place in San Antonio, Feb. 19 – 26.
Hosted by AVA: America’s Walking Club, a national nonprofit organization headquartered in San Antonio, the Community Walk is designed to give locals an opportunity to walk through the beautiful historic King William district with people from across the USA and around the world.
Community Walk Kickoff for IVV Olympiad Walking Festival
Sunday, Feb. 19 9:00 a.m. Registration at King William Park, 131 King William (map)
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. 5K and 10K walks begin at King William Park
Non-competitive. Walkers may begin anytime from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
$3 fee includes a t-shirt for registered participants. Proceeds support the nonprofit AVA: America’s Walking Club.
“It’s diplomacy on foot,” said Henry Rosales, the president and CEO of AVA: America’s Walking Club. “We’re proud to bring the world to San Antonio for this international walking festival, and we invite our local citizens to join in the movement characterized by fun, fitness and friendship. We hope they’ll enjoy Sunday’s event so much they’ll join more walks throughout the week.”
The Community Walk will be followed by IVV Olympiad Opening Ceremony festivities including a Parade of Flags at 1 p.m. representing all the IVV member countries from King William Park to the Arneson River Theater for the Opening Ceremony at 2 p.m.
This is the first time the IVV Olympiad, one of the world’s premier walking festivals, will take place in North America. It will be followed by the IML Texas Trail Roundup, which is hosted in San Antonio every two years. Each day offers a different schedule of walks, swimming and biking events. Walking distances range from 5km (3.1 miles) to 42km (26 miles) and take place on trails, parkways, and urban routes to the north, south, east and west of downtown San Antonio. Participants will walk along San Antonio’s world-famous River Walk and visit the historic Spanish missions, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Swimming events will take place at the Northside ISD Aquatic Center. The full event schedule may be found at https://ivvolympiad2023.org/schedule/.
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ABOUT AMERICA’S WALKING CLUB:
America’s Walking Club is the largest walking organization in the United States. A national nonprofit corporation founded in 1976, America’s Walking Club is dedicated to promoting personal physical fitness and good health by providing fun-filled, safe exercise in a stress-free environment through non-competitive walks and hikes, bike rides, swims, and in some regions cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Its nationwide, grassroots network of more than 180 active clubs host more than 2,500 events annually across the country. The club, based in San Antonio, Texas, is a member of the International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV) and the International Marching League (IML). For more information visit http://www.ava.org.
ABOUT SAN ANTONIO:
San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the USA and one of the fastest growing. It is host to more than 39 million visitors a year, including 31.1 million overnight guests. San Antonio has the largest concentration of Spanish colonial architecture in North America and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes five 18th-century missions. The city also has the oldest active cathedral sanctuary in the U.S. It was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in November 2017, only the second city in the U.S. to receive the designation. For more information: https://www.visitsanantonio.com/mediakit/san-antonio-overview/