USA Para-Triathlon awarded $50,000 grant

“This generous grant will play a key role in helping USA Para-Triathlon provide a healthy, competitive outlet for our nation’s wounded veterans and potentially identify Paralympic hopeful athletes for 2016 and beyond.”

USA Para-Triathlon have been awarded a $50,000 grant from US Paralympics through their veteran affairs department and integrated adaptive sports programme to help fuel para-triathlon growth among American military veterans.

With para-triathlon set to make its Paralympic Games debut in Rio in 2016, interest in the sport is at an all-time high.

A leader on the international para-triathlon scene, USA recently won the medal count at the 2012 ITU Para-Triathlon World Championships in October with 13 medals.

USA Para-Triathlon’s primary goal for the programme is to develop and host five geographically dispersed, three-day skills camps in the spring and summer of 2013 designed to bring together newly identified veteran para-triathlon recruits, experienced athletes and mentors such as three-time world champion Melissa Stockwell.

Through the camps, USA Para-Triathlon aims to expose a minimum of 20 disabled veterans to multi-sport for the first time, while reinforcing participation among experienced athletes. Outreach activities will be planned in each of USA Triathlon’s 10 regions to recruit at least two athletes per region to attend one of the five camps.

“USA Para-Triathlon is thrilled and honoured to receive this grant from US Paralympics and Veterans Affairs,” USA Para-Triathlon High Performance General Manager Andy Schmitz said in a press release.

“This generous grant will play a key role in helping USA Para-Triathlon provide a healthy, competitive outlet for our nation’s wounded veterans and potentially identify Paralympic hopeful athletes for 2016 and beyond.”

The grant monies also will be used to pursue excellence through high performance support of disabled veterans who demonstrate Paralympic potential. Travel support for a number of top para-triathletes will be provided to various races and high performance camps in 2013.