About 1,900 students from 155 countries gather for the World Scholar-Athlete Games at the Kingston campus.

01:00 AM EDT on Monday, June 26, 2006

BY ANDREA L. STAPE
Journal Staff Writer

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Tamara Plecevic, of Serbia, and Erica Wiley, of South Carolina, sat together pulling on their kneepads and chatting yesterday as if they had played on the same volleyball team for years.

The two teenagers met this weekend.

The World Scholar-Athlete Games, taking place this week at the University of Rhode Island, brought the volleyball players together. They are among about 1,900 students from 155 countries participating in the games and interacting during events ranging from field hockey to choir, volleyball to culinary arts.

"You can meet people from all over the world and learn something new," said Plecevic, 17, who found out about the games while doing research on the Internet.

Wiley, 18, agreed with her new friend and ticked off the list of nationals they'd already met: "Belgium, New Zealand, Taiwan, England, Bolivia."

"I love going places and meeting new people," added Wiley. "And I love volleyball."

The two pulled up their socks and headed to the middle of the Mackal Field House to start drills with a crowd of other teen athletes trapped inside for warm-ups because of yesterday's nonstop rain.

This is the fourth time URI's Institute for International Sport has sponsored the World Scholar-Athlete Games. Students ages 15 to 19 from throughout the world have been encouraged to apply to participate in the week-long games, which emphasize team building and cultural acceptance and put equal emphasis on sports and intellectual endeavors.

The participation fee is $750, not including transportation, but many students yesterday said their schools helped defray the cost.

Sonji Isaac's school paid half the cost and her parents picked up the other half of the fee, she said, to send the 16-year-old soccer midfielder from St. Kitts, in the West Indies, to Rhode Island for the week. Isaac said she saw the games advertised at school and figured they would afford a good chance to improve her soccer skills.

Her parents also saw the value of the games, according to Isaac, who in little more than a day here had gained a Japanese roommate and met a tennis player from Panama.

Student athletes in each sport were assigned to teams that will compete in a championship tournament. The goal for each team is diversity. For example, Team Germany, one of the girls soccer teams, comprises Irish, Cambodian and American students and is coached by Rudi Klobach, a high school German teacher from West Tepford, N.J.

"To me it's a challenge putting a team together when half of them don't speak English and have different styles," said Klobach, who coaches soccer at Delran High School. Klobach said he served as a coach at the World Scholar-Athlete Games in 2001.

The student artists and photographers will exhibit their work about the games. The international choir and international symphonies will make recordings and perform at the closing ceremony. The dance and theater troupes will also perform at the closing ceremony. And the student writers and poets will participate in roundtable discussions with published authors, according to the institute.

In addition to the athletic competitions and arts performances, some days will focus on a theme such as ethics and sportsmanship, the global environment, world health and world peace.

Former President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker tonight. World-class skier Bode Miller and former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland will also speak during the week. Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly spoke last night.

This year's games will mark the 20th anniversary of the Institute for International Sport.

The variety of events and the number of students from around the world were the draw for many participants.

Deirdre Grant, 18, of Donegal, Ireland, heard about the games from a teacher who had attended in previous years. This is the first time Grant has been to the United States to play soccer, and she said she's interested in seeing how other countries play and "improving in football."

For Steve Johnson, the trek from Stratford, Conn., wasn't as long as Grant's, but equally important.

"We have a diverse area in the Northeast, but you don't always see it," said Johnson, 16, a runner. "To learn about other people, that's really why I came."

astape@projo.com/ (401) 277-7269