USA Swimming, in collaboration with the United States Olympic Committee, will announce the host city for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming via an exclusive, live webcast Saturday, April 27 at 4 p.m. MDT via usaswimming.org/trials.
Three cities remain in contention as the potential site for the biggest swimming event in the country that will select the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swim Team:
• Omaha, Neb.
• San Antonio, Texas
• St. Louis, Mo.
Originating live from USA Swimming’s Board of Directors meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday’s webcast is the only place to learn the host city selection as it is announced for the first time. The webcast, which follows the board meeting, will open at 4 p.m. MDT and will last approximately 20 minutes.
U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, USA Swimming President Bruce Stratton, USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus and USA Swimming Assistant Executive Director Mike Unger will appear on the webcast, which will be hosted by legendary Olympian Janet Evans.
USA Swimming is coming off a year in which it saw its most successful Trials event in history. The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, held in Omaha, Neb., saw over 164,000 fans in attendance and the eight days of competition were broadcast LIVE on NBC television every night.
The 2016 bid city evaluation period opened in January 2013 and included site visits to select finalist locations. An internal evaluation team from USA Swimming, along with a member of the USA Swimming board, visited each location and selected finalists from the group.
In addition to reviewing the bids and making site visits, this team asked follow-up questions of each city and evaluated all information and responses before ultimately making a recommendation to Wielgus, the USA Swimming Board of Directors and the USOC.
Since 2004, USA Swimming has consistently expanded the reach of the Olympic Trials. Attendance numbers have soared and the Aqua Zone, a fan and sponsor experience area, has grown to bring swimming to a wider audience.
The 2004 Olympic Trials in Long Beach, Calif., marked the first time the Olympic Trials were held in an outdoor venue with temporary pools built by Myrtha Pools. In 2008 and 2012, the Trials moved to Omaha, Neb., where two temporary pools were built inside the CenturyLink Center Omaha.
The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming was also nominated in the category of “Sports Event of the Year” for the illustrious Sports Business Awards. Olympic Trials is in the company of three other major sporting events, including the Ryder Cup, the Stanley Cup Finals and the United States Grand Prix. The winner will be announced next month.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 300,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
This is an unedited press release.
Is it honestly too much to ask that they move this around the country? It will have been 12 years since the Olympic Trials were on the west coast and even longer since they were on the east. Lots of fans don’t want to have to fly thousands of miles to watch these amazing events.