US Paralympic Committee to Host 14 Sanctioned Meets in 2015; More Than Double 2014

Yucaipa, California has just been announced as one of eleven American cities slated to host a United States Paralympic Committee (USPC)-sanctioned event in 2015.  The USPC and Yucaipa Swim Team coach, John Ogden, confirmed that the Crafton Hills College Aquatics Center will the location of the California Classic meet for the second year running.  The event is scheduled to take place on September 12-13th; last year’s attendance attracted approximately 250 spectators.

Yucaipa’s “News Mirror” reports that high performance director for U.S. Paralympic Swimming Sport Performance, Queenie Nichols, expects approximately 70 Paralympic-hopefuls to attend the California Classic meet, including U.S. National Teamers, Roy Perkins and Ian Silverman, both also London Paralympians.

Nichols further explained that the Yucaipa meet will provide “a good testing ground for those who live in California”, giving the athletes an opportunity to gauge their training.  The meet may also help some swimmers earn points sufficient enough to qualify for the national team.

The California Classic “will not be a Paralympic Trials meet, although it will be one in a series of 14 emerging-level events” planned to be held within Scotland, Canada, and the U.S, continued Nichols.  The official Paralympic Trials will take place in March in Toronto, followed by the World Championships in Glasgow in July.

The 2015 USA Para-swimming  events are as follows:

• February 28 – March 1- Central Oklahoma Para-Swimming Open, Edmond, OK
• March 20-22 – Can-Am Para-swimming Championships, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• April 23-25 – Texas Regional Games, San Antonio, TX
• May 9-10 – Cincinnati Disability Open, Cincinnati, OH
• May 15-16 – Gateway Games, St. Charles, MO
• May 15-17 – Desert Challenge, Mesa, AZ
• June 6-7 – Jimi Flowers Classic, Colorado Springs, CO
• June 6-8 – Great Lakes Games, Lake Forest, IL
• June 11-14 – Endeavor Games, Edmond, OK
• July 13-19 – IPC Swimming World Championships, Glasgow, United Kingdom
• August 7-15 – Parapan American Games, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• September 12-13 -California Classic, Yucaipa, CA
• October 24-25 – Fred Lamback Disability Meet, Augusta, GA
• December 10-12 – Can-Am Open, Bismarck, ND

The 14-stop schedule is a bump in number of events from the 2014 season, which only boasted six high-profile meets, including the 2014 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships, signaling the trend of an increased awareness and participation in Paralympic swimming as a whole. Disabled Sports USA’s stats show that at the London 2012 Paralympics, swimming was the second biggest sport in terms of participants with 148 medal event and 600 athletes, made up of 340 men and 260 women.

Pair that with the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships generating more broadcast and TV coverage than any other previous para-swimming event, and it can be understood why the Rio 2016 Paralympics will see an increase in the number and type of swimming events, including “four more for women, and seven more for athletes competing across the S1-S4 classes, as well as a new mixed relay race for lower-class athletes.” (IPC Annual Report, 2013)