Courtesy: International School Federation (ISF)
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Aug. 17, 2023) – The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is sending 64 athletes to Rio De Janeiro to represent the U.S. on an international stage.
The 2nd ISF U15 Gymnasiade 2023 is taking place from August 19-27 and brings together 2,118 athletes from 48 countries to compete in 18 sports.
AAU athletes will be competing in the sports of fencing (6 athletes), karate (8 athletes), swimming (23 athletes), and wrestling (27 athletes).
Swimming is the second largest sport of the Gymnasiade with 212 athletes set to compete from around the world.
“These young athletes have demonstrated remarkable talent, dedication, and sportsmanship to earn their place to compete against the world’s best in this prestigious international event,” said Lewis Fellinger, AAU National Aquatics Chair. “We wish them the best in their pursuit of victory.”
In addition to displays of athleticism, the event will provide opportunities for educational programs and cultural exchanges.
The Opening Ceremony of the event is Monday, August 20, with competitions starting up on August 21. The Closing Ceremony takes place on Saturday, August 26.
Details:
ISF, based in Belgium, is an international non-profit sport organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to organize world school championships for youth ages 6 to 18 years old. The U15 Gymnasiade is for athletes ages 13-15.
Congratulations to all swimmers.
Wish you all the very best at the games.
Maybe this is a dumb question but is AAU swimming a separate organization from USA Swimming? It seems to me that when I was an age group swimmer in the 70s, AAU swimming was the governing body. If that is the case what is the evolution from AAU to USA Swimming and why does AAU swimming still exist? It appears that they still hold a national championship meet.
Everything you said is true.
The Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act of 1978 pushed for the creation of entities like USA Swimming to act as national governing bodies.
AAU is big in diving. They haven’t given up on fighting back some market share in swimming. Many (most? all?) AAU meets are dual sanctioned. Now the AAU is offering a different model in the wake of USA Swimming’s membership changes and the disgruntled coaches that has created.
You can read more about that here: https://swimswam.com/shifting-tides-swim-teams-weight-splitting-membership-between-usa-swimming-aau/
I’m old enough to understand your question. I swam AAU in the 1970s too. AAU is a separate national gov body from USA Swimming. Back in 1979 the current org most people know – USA Swimming – was launched. AAU does run meets and they do register and insure swimmers/teams/coaches. The break back in 1979 was due to swimming coaches thinking that a dedicated swimming org would better serve the sport — since AAU governs many sports. In sum, both orgs service the sport of swimming with different price points for registering swimmers and sanctioning swim meets. A big difference between the two is that USA Swimming is charged with developing and fielding a National Team for the Olympic Games.… Read more »
Mel- just curious, what YMCA team did you swim for back in the day?
Ok, since AAU is cheaper they are trying to expand there members. Now, they are involved with a youth or teen international swim meet and getting more serious. I looked up their websit and I believe Josh Davis holds an age group record for them.Texas must have had AAU teams in the 1980’s for Josh Davisc to have swam in a meet with them.