- Salt Lake City’s Backman Elementary hosts the “opening ceremony” launch of the educational program Champion Schools 34.
- The program champions literacy, school attendance and instilling Olympic values.
- The Champion Schools 34 launch included discussions with Olympic athletes about friendship and reading.
Time will tell if any kids from Salt Lake City’s Backman Elementary will represent Team USA in the 2034 Utah Olympic or Paralympic Games — but they’ve got the opening ceremony part down pat.
The Backman Lions — grades K-6 — marched into the school lunch/assembly hall Tuesday in Olympic ceremony-like fashion to kick off the opening ceremony of the Utah Champion Schools 34 launch. They were saluted by several Utah civic and education leaders — and a trio of veteran Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Sponsored by Ken Garff for Good, the education program is rolling out this fall in more than 70 elementary schools across Utah. Champion 34’s mission: Instill Olympic/Paralympic values in Utah kids — and allow them to feel a part of the 2034 Games.
“Champion Schools is about reading,” said Backman Principal Matthew Teitter. “It’s about learning. It’s about being a good friend. It’s about showing up. It’s about trying your best. It’s about finding out what it means to be a champion.”
The inaugural Champion Schools 34 pilot is anchored in boosting literacy and student engagement — while inspiring long-term academic participation and success.
“Champion Schools is going to bring sports and the Olympic values and Olympism into each of your classrooms,” Utah 2034 CEO Brad Wilson told the Backman kids. “It’s going to make our communities better through education and provide all of the communities across the state of Utah an opportunity to become a part of Utah 2034.”
Olympic and Paralympic athletes work hard, respect others and earn the trust of their teammates. “And they learned that sometimes you make mistakes — and sometimes the things you try to accomplish, you don’t succeed at,” Wilson told the Backman students.
“But what they do is they try over and over and over again, and eventually they become amazing champions.”
That same skill set can help Utah kids succeed. “And maybe — just maybe — some of you can become Olympic athletes,” encouraged Wilson.
Olympic-sized reading goals
Donning the track suit she wore for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games torch relay, Amy Garff told her young audience Tuesday that she remembers waving to Italian children as she carried the Olympic flame.
The young Italian students, said Garff, “were going to school, just like you — and learning to read, just like you.”
Champion Schools 34 focuses on early literacy.
“Reading is so important, and it’s a big part of this program that we’re starting with the Olympics,” said Garff, the Utah 2034 Education Committee Chair. “As we work on our reading and as we come to school every single day, we are going to be learning about the Olympics and Olympians and Paralympians, and we’re going to learn a lot about what they can teach us.”
Pep talks from veteran Olympians
During Tuesday’s festivities, Olympic bobsledders Kaysha Love and Hunter Powell joined Paralympic snowboarder Joe Pleban for a panel discussion about friendship, reading and what it takes to become a champion.
“Being a good friend to others means that you’re always showing up … when they need help,” said Powell, who competed in the bobsled for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games.
Have fun with your friends, Powell added, “but also try to help them be better. Whatever it is that you’re trying to work towards, be there for them.”
Love recalled a time when Powell — who is her fellow Olympian, friend and fiancé — helped her through a difficult time while she was preparing for a world competition. “Hunter was definitely my biggest supporter, helping me through those really challenging times,” said Love, who was an elite track athlete at Utah’s Herriman High School.
“So always find a good friend and a good teammate. They will help you reach your goals.”
Pleban challenged the Backman students to love reading.
“Reading is important because it teaches you things you wouldn’t have known before,” said the veteran snowboarder. “Even if it’s not a homework book or a school book, even if it’s just a story, you learn new concepts and you learn new words.”
Utah kids getting a head-start on 2034
Similar ceremonies will be held in elementary schools across Utah in the coming days. Seven districts are participating this fall — Salt Lake City, Cache County, Granite, Iron County, North Sanpete, Duchesne County and Uintah County.
The Champion Schools 34 digital platform is being developed by Ken Garff for Good, a family foundation that has spent more than 20 years partnering with schools, educators, businesses and community leaders to help assist Utah kids. The Robert H. and Katharine B. Garff Foundation is a founding captain in Utah 2034’s innovative Podium34 program.
Following the opening ceremony, Wilson told the Deseret News that Utah 2034 is intentionally launching Champion Schools 34 several years ahead of the 2034 Winter Games.
“We’ve got this amazing runway and opportunity to infuse these Olympic values — and the program of literacy and attendance tied to it — and really make a meaningful difference in the lives of these kids,” he said.
Besides engaging in the education program, Wilson said he hopes every Utah child enjoys opportunities to meet Olympic and Paralympic athletes, try Olympic sports, cheer at competitions, and volunteer with their families during the 2034 Games in Utah.
Amy Garff said the Champion Schools 34 program blends her family’s love for the Olympics and advocating for early literacy.
“It’s going to help Utah students achieve greater things,” she added. “It’s going to help them achieve their potential and to dream big. And when we can combine that with also teaching Olympic and Paralympic values, we are raising a completely educated student body.”