Leaders from 23 sports organizations based in Colorado Springs, Colo., have requested that the federal government select Colorado Springs as a host city for one of the Town Hall meetings of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics.    (Note: Initially, 20 organizations had signed on, but by June 18, three more groups agreed to lend their name to the effort).    A letter, along with support materials from the organizations, was submitted to U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and the staff at the Department of Education on Tuesday, July 16.    The group of leaders who support this request represented 22 National Governing Bodies of Olympic and Pan American sport, along with the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation. USA Wrestling spearheaded the effort to contact the local sports organizations and gain the support of their leaders in order to make the formal request in time to be considered.    There are 45 national or international sports organizations headquartered in Colorado Springs, working on every level, from grassroots to college to national and international sports activities.    "This issue is very important to everyone in the Olympic family, and we believe that our community should be selected to participate in the process," said Rich Bender, Executive Director of USA Wrestling.    Colorado Springs is the home of the U.S. Olympic Committee, as well as many of its National Governing Bodies. In addition, hundreds of elite athletes live and train in Colorado Springs full-time.     One of the reasons that the leaders support Colorado Springs is its large and diverse sports community. Local youth sports programs and the high school programs are active and strong. There are a number of colleges on different levels in the city, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado College and Pikes Peak Community College. Two of the major NCAA Conferences are located here, the Mountain West Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The major junior college organization, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), also has its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo.    "We anticipate that even more sports organizations in Colorado Springs will lend support to this effort in the upcoming days," said Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling's Director of Special Projects. "Our city has so much sports activity and heritage, and we believe that there are many individuals here in Colorado Springs who could provide valuable testimony on the subject for the commission."    On June 27, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced a blue-ribbon panel of sports professionals and educators to examine enforcement and expanding opportunities to ensure fairness for all college athletes. The new Commission on Opportunity in Athletics  will be co-chaired by former WNBA star Cynthia Cooper and Ted Leland, director of athletics at Stanford University. The Commission will hold public hearings, gather information and prepare recommendations that will be submitted to Paige by January 31, 2003.     According to its charter, the purpose and function of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics is as follows: "The purpose of the Commission is to collect information, analyze issues, and obtain broad public input directed at improving the application of current Federal standards for measuring equal opportunity for men and women and boys and girls to participate in athletics under Title IX. The Commission will recommend to the Secretary, in a written report, whether those standards should be revised, and if so, how the standards should be revised. The Commission will also recommend other steps that might be taken to improve the effectiveness of Title IX and to maintain and build upon the extraordinary progress that has resulted from its passage 30 years ago. The Commission will collect and analyze information related to the issues described below, including information and comment from members of the public. To this end, the Commission will conduct at least 3 town-hall meetings in different parts of the country to obtain a public discussion of the issues."    The timeline for announcement of the cities selected for these Town Hall meetings has not yet been announced.    ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR EXECUTIVES REQUESTING THAT COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. IS NAMED AS A HOST CITY FOR A TOWN HALL MEETING OF THE COMMISSION ON OPPORTUNITY IN ATHLETICS    Colorado Springs Sports Corp. - Darryl Seibel, Chief Operating Officer  National Archery Association - Brad Camp, Executive Director  Native American Sports Council - Gene A. Keluche, Chairman  USA Badminton - Dan Cloppas, Executive Director  USA Basketball - Jim Tooley, Executive Director  U.S. Association of Blind Athletes - Mark Lucas, Executive Director  USA Bowling - Diane Norwood-Steven, Associate Executive Director  USA Boxing - Eric Parthen, Executive Director  U.S. Fencing Association - Michael Massik, Executive Director  U.S. Field Hockey Association - Amy Frankenstein, Executive Director  U.S. Figure Skating Association - John F. LeFevre, Executive Director  USA Hockey - Doug Palazzari, Executive Director  USA Judo - Bill Rosenberg, Executive Director  USA Rugby - Kathy Schneider, Director of Finance and Personnel  USA Shooting - Bob Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer  USA Swimming - Chuck Wielgus, Executive Director  USA Table Tennis - Margaret Smith, Director of Operations  USA Team Handball - Michael D. Cavanaugh, Executive Director  USA Triathlon - Steve Locke, Executive Director  USA Volleyball - Kerry Klostermann, Executive Director  USA Weightlifting - Wes Barnett, Executive Director  USA Wrestling - Rich Bender, Executive Director  Wheelchair Sports, USA - Patricia Shepherd, Executive Director    as of 7/16/02