Congratulations to Evan Prabhu (MSA) on being named to the USA Swimming National Diversity Select Camp. The camp will be held May 5-8 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The full list of athlete and coach participants may be found here. Forty-five different clubs from 24 states will be represented. Alumni of the program include Tokyo Olympians Simone Manuel and Torri Huske.
“The National Diversity Select Camp is an amazing opportunity for swimmers from diverse backgrounds to receive elite-level support, opportunity and exposure within the sport of swimming,” USA Swimming Diversity Equity and Inclusion Program Director Leland Brown III said. “For many who attend, this is the first time they have the opportunity to compete and connect with swimmers, coaches and USA Swimming staff who look like them, which is such an important experience and opportunity for these athletes.”
An athlete at last year’s camp noted, “NDSC helped me realize that the sport of swimming is diverse even if I may not see it. It helped me realize that I have a community here too.”
The purpose of the camp is to instill a vision of success and inspire athletes from ethnically under-represented populations to become leaders in the sport of swimming. Some of USA Swimming’s most diverse talent is brought to the camp for an extended weekend of pool training, leadership development, team-building activities and learning. Athletes’ personal coaches are encouraged to attend the camp as well.
The goal of USA Swimming’s National Diversity Select Camp is to:
• Demonstrate the viability of multicultural success in swimming
• Achieve performance excellence at every level of the sport
• Expound on the benefits and value of participating in the sport of swimming
• Be positive leaders and role models that others from multicultural backgrounds can emulate.
Originally created in the 1990s as an Outreach Camp, the National Diversity Select Camp was renamed in 2006. The camp hosts swimmers between the ages of 14 and 16 and selection is based on times swum at USA Swimming sanctioned events. Each athlete selected for the camp will receive complimentary room and board at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, ground transportation and full airfare to Colorado Springs.
For more information on National Diversity Select Camp please visit https://www.usaswimming.org/swimmers-parents/swimmers/swim-camps#national-diversity-select.
