Olympic Athletes to Speak at Benefit Dinner, Guest Coach Softball Clinic at Roger Williams University

BRISTOL, RI (12/29/2010)(readMedia)-- Olympic medalists Natasha Watley and Vicky Galindo will visit the Roger Williams University campus Saturday, Jan. 8 and Sunday, Jan. 9 to share their personal experiences as members of the United States Olympic Softball Team. Saturday evening, fans have the opportunity to meet the Olympians at a benefit event for the RWU Hawks Softball team. The evening will include an autograph and photo session, dinner, and keynote speeches from each athlete. Sunday morning, Ms. Watley and Ms. Galindo will conduct a youth players' clinic alongside RWU head coach Joyce Maudie and the RWU Hawks Softball team.

Natasha Watley is a four-time World Cup Champion, two-time Pan American Gold Medalist, three-time World Champion, 2004 Olympic Gold medalist and 2008 Olympic Silver medalist. She earned the 2003 Honda Broderick Cup as the nation's top collegiate female athlete and also earned Pac-10 Player of the Year after a stellar career at UCLA. She currently plays in the Japan League for Team Toyota.

Vicky Galindo earned an Olympic Silver medal as a member of the 2008 U.S. National Team. She is a three-time World Cup Champion and two-time World Champion, while also earning the gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2007. While competing at Cal-Berkeley she was twice named a First Team All American and is a three-time All-Pac-10 recipient. She currently serves as head softball coach at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif. and has been an active member of the NPF Chicago Bandits since 2006.

The two athletes will join RWU head softball coach Joyce Maudie in coaching the players' clinic on Sunday. Coach Maudie recently joined RWU after receiving Coach of the Year awards in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, East Coast Athletic Conference, Carolina Intercollegiate Athletics Conference and Ohio Valley Conference.

Saturday's dinner, held in RWU's Global Heritage Hall at One Old Ferry Road, is limited to the first 100 registered and paid guests. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. for an autograph and photo session, along with a silent auction featuring various sports memorabilia. At 5:00 p.m. Ms. Galindo will deliver her speech entitled, "Journey to the Olympics," followed by dinner and Ms. Watley's closing speech, "Living the Dream." Afterward, fans have the opportunity to join in a question and answer session with both Olympians. Reservations are required by Friday, Jan. 7. All proceeds will benefit the RWU Softball team.

Sunday's softball clinic, open to girls grades 5-12, will feature two back-to-back training sessions. Registration for the first session will open at 8:30 a.m. and the training will conclude at 12:00 p.m. The Olympians and Coach Maudie will be assisted by the RWU Hawks Softball team in running various skills sessions concluding with an autograph session from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. The second session begins with registration at 1:30 p.m. and runs through 5:00 p.m., with the autograph session from 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Fans can purchase access to both the clinic and dinner for a discounted rate of $175.00. These events are separately priced at $125.00 for the dinner and $60.00 for one clinic session if purchased in advance. Walk-in clinic session participants may attend at a cost of $75.00. Registration forms and additional information can be found by visiting the softball team page on www.rwuhawks.com and clicking on "The Olympian Occasion" listed on the right side of the page.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 41 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. In the last decade, the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes and continues to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top ten educational institutions in its class.