INTERNATIONAL AQUATICS BODY AWARDS U. S. WORLD'S LARGEST COMPETITIVE MEET

For the second time in history, United States Masters Swimming, Inc., will organize and host the world's largest competitive aquatic meet. The organization was awarded the 2006 World Masters Swimming Championships by La Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA), the Lausanne, Switzerland-based international governing body for aquatic sports.

More than 6,000 world-class adult athletes – ranging in age from 25 to 100 – from nearly 50 countries will converge upon the San Francisco Bay Area in August, 2006, to compete in swimming, diving, water polo, and synchronized swimming. The two-week-long aquatic championships will take place at the Stanford University Avery Aquatic Center (Palo Alto) and nearby Lake Del Valle.

The World Masters Swimming Championships have been held in the United States only once before, in 1992. The last time the event took place in North America was when Montreal played host in 1994.

USMS will work with its regional arm, the Pacific Masters Swimming Club, and the event’s Bay Area organizing committee, to host the event.

"The World Championships provide USMS an incredible opportunity to showcase the sport of swimming and the amazing people who participate in it," says Jim Miller, M.D., president of USMS. "We're confident that the local organizing committee, Stanford University, Pacific Masters Swimming, and the Northern California community will work together to make this a memorable event."

"We are excited and thrilled that FINA has recognized the Stanford Avery Aquatic Center as an outstanding place to hold this prestigious event for the Bay Area," adds Richard Quick, head coach of Stanford University’s women’s swim team. "For the first time in the World Championships, the venue set-up will allow participants from each sport to see, cheer, and support athletes from the other disciplines." Quick, a five-time Olympic swimming coach who is also serving as a member of local organizing committee for the event, adds that Northern California is a choice destination for aquatic competitors from all over the world.

United States Masters Swimming, Inc. (www.usms.org), provides organized workouts, competitions, clinics and workshops for adults age 18 and over. Programs are open to all swimmers (fitness, triathlete, competitive, non-competitive) who are dedicated to improving their fitness through swimming. USMS comprises more than 1,100 workout groups and teams nationwide. Membership numbers more than 41,000, with individual members ranging in age from 18 to over 90.