In a Celebration of Local Olympians, two outstanding local athletes will share stories of their Olympic experience at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro as well as their journey to athletic and personal excellence.
Team USA water polo member Sami Hill and heptathlete Barbara Nwaba of the Team USA Track & Field team will participate in a panel discussion, moderated by Catherine Remak of K-LITE, at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Women & Girls in Sports Luncheon on Monday, Feb. 6, at Warren Hall at 11:30 a.m.
Hill was a goalie on the women’s water polo team that took the gold medal. She notched six saves for the United States in this year’s games. Hill also tallied 14 saves in the 2016 FINA World League Super Final and made 18 saves, helping Team USA qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Attending UCLA, Hill helped the Bruins to the NCAA Championship match and runner-up finish in 2014 and 2015 as well as a third place finish in 2013.
A 2010 Dos Pueblos High School graduate, Hill was a four- year member of the varsity water polo team that won three CIF Championships and went 31-0 in her senior season.
Nwaba is the two-time defending U.S. Champion in the heptathlon as well as this year’s U.S Indoor Pentathlon champion. In 2015, Nwaba set the sixth best U.S. all-time heptathlon score at the USA Outdoor Championships with 6,500 points en route to winning the gold medal and setting a personal record.
A 2012 graduate of UCSB, Nwaba is a four-time NCAA All-American, an eight-time All-Big West honoree and six-time Big West Champion. A Los Angeles native, Nwaba is also a coach and mentor to aspiring youth track & field athletes with the Santa Barbara Track Club. Her work on and off the track was recently featured on NBC’s 2016 Olympic Zone broadcast.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table hosts more than 450 local female high school and college athletes and their coaches at this luncheon that celebrates National Women and Girls in Sports Day, the enduring impact of Title IX legislation, the importance of sports and fitness participation for all girls and women and the outstanding female athletes in the Santa Barbara community.
The SBART Women & Girls in Sports Luncheon is open to the public. Tickets are $30/adults and $15/child. Please RSVP by Thursday, Feb. 2, at www.SBART.org or by e-mailing the event chairs.
The mission of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table is to recognize and support athletic participation as an important means of fostering discipline, teamwork, self-respect, personal responsibility, and camaraderie. The Athletic Round Table provides a public forum for area athletic coaches and athletes; grants financial support to organizations, teams, and individuals to further their participation in sports; and publicly honors athletic performance, scholastic achievement and exemplary ethical behavior.
First conceived in 1968 by Jerry Harwin, Caesar Uyesaka and Bill Bertka, the Athletic Round Table today gives more than 1,000 student-athletes and coaches a well-deserved pat on the back each year by publicly recognizing and honoring achievement in athletics and scholarship through Monday Press Luncheons, Hall of Fame, Evening with the Athletes and monthly awards for Scholar Athletes, Phil Womble Ethics in Sports and Special Olympics Athlete of the Month. The SBART has also partnered with the Positive Coaching Alliance to bring seminars free-of-charge to local youth sports organizations and high school athletic departments.
For sponsorship or membership opportunities with the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table, please contact SBART Board President, Cara Gamberdella, at cara@villagesite.com or visit www.SBART.com.