Sacramento, CA, Oct. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CIF Sports Properties and Valley Children’s Healthcare have announced a four-year partnership, running through 2029, naming Valley Children’s as the exclusive healthcare partner of the CIF Central Section. The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to supporting the health, safety, and wellness of student-athletes, their families, and school communities across Central California.
“Valley Children’s Healthcare is an incredible organization, and we are proud to have them as a partner,” said Ian Frost, Interim General Manager of CIF Sports Properties. “The health and wellness of California’s student-athletes is of the utmost importance, and Valley Children’s dedication to pediatric care and community outreach perfectly aligns with the CIF’s mission to promote athletic excellence, leadership, and resilience.”
“At Valley Children’s, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed — in the classroom, on the field, and in life,” said Dr. Carmela Sosa, director of Valley Children’s Guilds Center for Community Health and complex care pediatrician. “This partnership underscores our commitment to supporting safe, healthy sports participation and promoting lifelong wellness for student-athletes throughout the Central Valley.”
Through this agreement, Valley Children’s and CIF Central Section will collaborate on health initiatives, wellness education, and community outreach efforts designed to benefit thousands of student-athletes and their families.
About Valley Children’s Healthcare
Valley Children’s Healthcare provides Central California’s only high-quality, comprehensive care exclusively for children, from before birth to young adulthood. Our network offers highly specialized medical and surgical services to care for children with conditions ranging from common to the highly complex at its 358-bed standalone children’s hospital that includes 28 NICU beds at partner hospitals. In addition, the Valley Children’s Healthcare network includes specialty care centers, pediatric primary care practices and women’s health services. Our family-centered, pediatric services extend from a leading pediatric cancer and blood diseases center on the West Coast, and a pediatric heart center known for its expertise and pioneering treatments, to an 88-bed Regional Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the highest-level referral center between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Valley Children’s was the first children’s hospital west of the Rockies to receive Magnet Nursing designation, the highest nursing benchmark in the world. In 2024, U.S. News and World Report again named Valley Children’s one of the best children’s hospitals in the country in three pediatric specialties. With more than 670 physicians and 3,500 staff, Valley Children’s delivers high-quality, comprehensive care to more than 1.3 million children from Kern County to the state capital and from the Central Coast to the Sierra. For more information, please visit http://www.valleychildrens.org.
About the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)
Created in 1914, the CIF is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. The federation is uniquely positioned to foster student growth in values and ethics providing students the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based athletics. The CIF strives to promote equity, quality, character, and academic development. A nonprofit federation, the state office, located in Sacramento, Calif., represents the interests of its member Sections. The 10 Sections represent geographic regions within the state: Central, Central Coast, Los Angeles City, North Coast, Northern, Oakland, Sac-Joaquin, San Diego, San Francisco, and Southern. CIF represents 1,628 public and private member schools and more than 800,000 student-athletes.
About Playfly Sports
Playfly Sports, the sports industry’s leading revenue maximization company, drives growth for its partners across the sports ecosystem – including 2,000+ brands, 100+ professional teams, 65+ college athletic departments, all U.S. local sports networks and associated streaming platforms, and other marquee properties. Its fan engagement platform allows its partners to reach and engage over 85% of all U.S sports fans. Playfly builds and implements custom strategies across media, sponsorship, premium experiences, ticketing and fan engagement offerings through proprietary data, innovative technology and compelling storytelling. Playfly operates an expansive portfolio of services with a data-driven and fan-focused approach to maximize revenue yield in key growth areas, such as media, sponsorship, ticketing, premium experiences and fan engagement offerings. Founded in September of 2020, Playfly Sports is now home to approximately 1,000 team members located across 43 U.S. states and internationally dedicated to maximizing the impact of highly passionate local sports fans. The company has been named a Best Place to Work in Sports by Sports Business Journal, Front Office Sports, and Newsweek. To learn more, follow Playfly Sports on social media platforms or visit http://www.Playfly.com.
