COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 7. USA Swimming will honor the NCAA with the Impact Award at the fifth-annual USA Swimming Foundation Golden Goggle Awards, a black-tie event celebrating the accomplishments of top American swimmers in 2008. The awards show will take place Monday, November 17 at the New York Hilton. In addition to the Impact Award, the USA Swimming Foundation will present its Athlete Humanitarian Award. Both awards are presented only in Olympic years at the star-studded gala.
The Impact Award is given once every four years to a person or organization that demonstrates an overwhelming support for the sport of swimming throughout the Olympic quadrennial. The recipient of the first Impact Award, given in 2004, was Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. This year, the NCAA will receive the honor.
"With its consistent efforts to promote the highest level of competition in college sports, there is perhaps no organization that has a greater influence on elite swimming in the U.S. than the NCAA," said USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus. "The NCAA offers our athletes top-quality training, and the opportunity to better themselves through sport. In the wake of a highly-successful Olympic Games, we are proud to honor Dr. Myles Brand and the NCAA for their remarkable contributions to our sport."
Brand will be at the event to accept the award on behalf of the NCAA.
The Athlete Humanitarian Award is presented to a swimmer that has competed at a National Championships or higher lever, who has given back to his or her country, community, charity or cause. Gary Hall Jr. (Miami Beach, Fla.), took home the award in 2004 based on his work with diabetes research funding. This year's nominees include Megan Jendrick (Puyallup, Wash.), Cullen Jones (New Brunswick, N.J.), Lenny Krayzelburg (Irvine, Calif.) and Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.).
All four of the swimmers nominated for the Athlete Humanitarian Award have given back to their communities and/or causes in various ways. Jendrick is a spokesperson for the American Lung Association's Teens Against Tobacco Use program, Jones has worked to promote diversity in the sport of swimming by promoting water safety during visits to Boys' and Girls' Clubs and YMCAs across the nation. Krayzelburg started the LK Foundation to provide opportunities for at-risk and inner-city youth to learn about and participate in the sport of swimming. Peirsol is a national spokesperson for Oceana, which works to save the world's oceans and in particular, the aquatic wildlife.
The Golden Goggle Awards will feature members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swim Team, including gold medalists and award nominees Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.), Jason Lezak (Irvine, Calif.), Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.), and Dara Torres (Los Angeles). This year's event will be hosted by NBC sportscaster Bob Costas and will mix entertainment industry celebrities with the swimming stars of the 2008 Olympic Games.
The Golden Goggle Awards serve as a fundraiser for the USA Swimming Foundation, which strives to make communities better through the sport of swimming. Among its initiatives is Make a Splash, a national, child-focused water safety initiative that strives to provide swim lessons for children who otherwise could not afford them. In addition to the awards gala on Monday, November 17, the USA Swimming Foundation will program the weekend with swimming events in the New York City Area. Among the events are the Make a Splash Learn-to-Swim New York Day, presented by Heath Management Corporation, in Flushing, N.Y. on November 15 and a Masters Swim Clinic on Sunday, November 16. Both events will feature appearances by members of the 2008 Olympic Team.
Special thanks to USA Swimming for contributing this report.