Attention, young athletes looking for a challenge.
The Patriot Games, President Trump’s televised athletic competition for teenagers set to take place next month in Ohio, will include a “military-inspired boot camp circuit,” according to nationwide recruitment emails reviewed by The Post.
The Aug. 9-11 event, planned as part of celebrations marking the nation’s 250th anniversary, will also incorporate elements of traditional American sports including football, basketball, soccer and track — each with TV-friendly twists. Competitors will vie for a share of $250,000 in college scholarship money.
“The competition will include rounds that test excellence in skillsets of beloved American sports,” one recruitment email states.
High school students ages 14 to 17 from across the country will be chosen to participate in both individual and team events designed to measure strength, stamina, agility and strategy, according to the emails.
Actor Dean Cain, best known for playing Superman in the 1990s series “Lois & Clark” and a former contestant on “American Gladiators,” compared the event to another obstacle-driven competition.
“It’s kind of like the ‘Ninja Warrior’ games,” Cain said. “It’s just a great opportunity for young people,” added the actor, who has been helping promote the event online.
“It encourages patriotism. I think encourages fitness and competition. Those are all wonderful things,” Cain told The Post.
The culmination of the competition will reflect the influence of both those TV competition shows. Finalists will compete in an obstacle course designed to test strategy and skill.
President Trump announced the games in 2025, long before he hosted a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House. The sports fan-in-chief — who visited the Super Bowl and the NBA finals during his current term — is set to be there.
“It was really the president’s idea,” said America250 spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez. “He wanted to highlight what does the next generation bring to the table.”
High school students are being invited to apply and submit video statements, and the administration will select the winners — drawing some needling online from critics who compare the event to “The Hunger Games” movies.
But Cain, a former safety for the Princeton Tigers football team, smacked down such criticisms.
“Oh gosh! Well let me see. We’re not going to kill anybody. People are actually asking to be there. We don’t ask for tribute,” he quipped. “We’re encouraging people to be healthy, to be fit, to compete, and to represent your state and your country well.”
The two male and female champs will split $250,000 in scholarship funds.
But don’t expect tennis ball-shooting guns and giant foam props that contestants used to battle each other on “American Gladiator.” Organizers say there are no plans to use them.
Planners hired a consultant who works on the “American Ninja Warrior” show, said Cain. The event will be held at the Spire Academy, a boarding school in Geneva, Ohio — a battleground state that Trump carried.
It won’t feature full football games, but instead shorter bursts of competition testing meant to winnow those who can compete strategically, according to the emails.
“We are focused on highlighted well-rounded student athletes. Some of the events will test strength and speed, while others will focus on skill and strategy,” said Alvarez.
Because the students are applying online and submitting video statements about themselves, it is expected that ESPN will use the material to build reality show-style profiles of the competitors.
“You want to see character. You want to see commitment, strategy. You want to see and really hear an original and compelling story,” said Alvarez.
