USA Swimming Announces 2020 National Diversity Select Camp Roster

USA Swimming has announced the list of 48 junior athletes who will participate in the 2020 National Diversity Select Camp.

The selected athletes, who represent 42 clubs from 22 states, will receive airfare, room, and board to attend the National Diversity Select Camp from May 7th-10th at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Personal coaches of selected athletes have also been invited to attend the camp and will educational opportunities of their own. Coaches are provided room and board at the OTC, plus a $200 reimbursement to offset airfare expense.

According to USA Swimming:

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. The National Diversity Select Camp brings together some of USA Swimming’s most diverse talent 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 the benefits and value of participating in the sport of swimming
• Assist in recruiting more swimmers and coaches from diverse ethnicities to the sport of swimming
• Be positive leaders and role models that others from multicultural backgrounds can emulate.

Among the program’s alumni include 4-time Olympic medalist Simone Manuel and 2019 U.S. National Team members Jack Levant and Daniel Roy.

2004 Olympic silver medalist Maritza McClendon (Correia), who was the first black American to set an American and World Record in swimming, will attend the camp as well as a mentor for the young athletes.

She is one of 8 staff members representing clubs across the country that will lead the camp.

“It is powerful for these athletes to connect with other swimmers that are navigating our sport in a way they can relate to,” said Mariejo Truex, Senior Director of Education & Programs for USA Swimming. “For some, it is the first time they are able to see and interact with other swimmers that look like them or can identify with their experiences. This camp helps build leadership skills and drive performance knowing that these athletes aren’t the only ones and knowing that they have the necessary support from not only other athletes, but from coaches, officials, parents, volunteers and USA Swimming staff.”

Athletes must have applied to the program, and must have achieved the National Diversity Select Camp qualifying times (which are equivalent to AAAA times for 13-14 year olds).

Among applications received, the swimmers with the fastest times in each of the 13 individual Olympic events (long course times only) were automatically selected. 3 more athletes of each sex were chosen based on IMX scores, 3 more of each sex will be selected based on ‘outstanding performance in one or more events,’ and 5 athletes of each sex will be chosen from USA Swimming’s ‘Outreach membership’ pool of athletes that receive reduced-fee USA Swimming memberships based on their family’s financial situation.

There are 6 teams represented by multiple athletes on the roster. The multi-site mega-club NCAP in the Washington D.C. are will send Jennifer Luong and Josh Wolfson to the camp. Another national powerhouse club SwimMAC Carolina will send Hanani Dona and Troy Keen.

The Southwest Stars in Winter Garden, Florida are sending Nicholas Cecchi and Brennan Muramatsu. The Austin Swim Club are sending two male swimmers, Daniel Li and Andrew Zhou, to the camp, as is the Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta with Idris Muhammad and Thomas Xiao.

Finally, the Alamo Area Aquatic Association in San Antonio will also send a pair: Isaiah Salinas and Monty Yetter.

Clubs with multiple athletes were able to send multiple coaches to the camp.

2020 Diversity Select Camp Staff Roster: