COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The USA Swimming Foundation received the Paragon Water Safety Award during the International Hall of Fame’s (ISHOF) 52nd Annual Hall of Fame Weekend in Santa Clara, CA.
The Paragon Awards are presented to individuals or organizations for their exceptional contributions to aquatics.
“The USA Swimming Foundation is honored to be recognized by the International Swimming Hall of Fame for our work with the Make a Splash program,” said Debbie Hesse, Executive Director of the USA Swimming Foundation. “Our goal is to make sure that every child has an opportunity to learn to swim and it’s great to see our efforts recognized internationally as we look to serve more children than ever before.”
The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative provides the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim – regardless of race, gender or financial circumstances. It is the nation’s pre-eminent learn to swim initiative, with more than 800 local partners nationwide that provide swim lessons and educate children and their families on the importance of learning how to swim. Since 2007, over four million children have learned the critical life-saving skill of swim lessons from Make a Splash providers. Thus far, the USA Swimming Foundation has provided over $4 million in grants to local partners for free and low cost swimming lessons nationwide.
This year’s Paragon Award recipients and their categories are: Glenn Mills and Go Swim for Competitive Swimming; Dr. Barbara Kalbus for Water Polo; Coleen “Cokey” Huffman for Competitive Diving; The USA Swimming Foundation for Aquatic Safety; Ulla Soili Marjatta Lucenius (FIN) for Synchronized Swimming and Kate Rew (GBR) for Recreational Swimming.
“The annual Paragon Awards bring some of the most interesting and fascinating people each year to the Hall of Fame,” said ISHOF President/CEO Bruce Wigo. “These are the unsung heroes who make competitive and recreational aquatics possible, who save lives, who promote water safety and further aquatic education.”
The International Hall of Fame, founded in 1965, is a not-for-profit educational organization with the mission to preserve and celebrate swimming history as well as educate the public about the benefits and importance of swimming. For more information, visit: www.ishof.org.
About the USA Swimming Foundation
The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions— in the pool and in life. Whether we’re equipping our children with the life-saving skill of learn-to-swim through our Make a Splash initiative, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of swimming to kids at all levels across the country. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org.
Swimming news courtesy of USA Swimming.