USA Swimming’s annual National Diversity Select Camp kicked off on Thursday with 52 athletes from around the country descending upon U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
The camp’s stated purpose is to “instill a vision of success and inspire athletes from ethnically under-represented populations to become leaders in the sport of swimming.” Some past participants include 2020 Tokyo Olympians Torri Huske, Simone Manuel, Jay Litherland, and Natalie Hinds.
A total of seven teams are set to have more than one swimmer at the camp. Leading the way with the most swimmers is King Aquatic Club (WA) with five representatives followed by Lakeside Aquatic Club (TX) with four.
The group will train together for four days under head coach Emily Melina, who is the head coach at Lake Oswego Swim Club in Oregon. Melina serves on the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) National Council for USA Swimming as well as the Club Development Committee.
2023 National Diversity Select Camp Roster
- Alzate, Santiago – SwimMac Carolina
- Arnold, Zachary – Badger Swim Club
- Bak, Renee – Jersey Wahoos
- Bell, Kotaro – Beach Cities Swimming
- Bozkurt, Sena – Stamford Sailfish Aquatic Club
- Bradley, Kathryn – Marietta Marlins Inc.
- Budnik, Isabella – Condors Swim Club
- Callender, Julian – Madison Aquatic Club
- Campos, Gabriel – Lakeside Aquatic Club
- Carter, Jadeon – Lincoln Select Swimming
- Castro, Victoria – Greater Somerset County YMCA
- Chau, Ethan – Waterloo Swimming
- Chen, Elayne – King Aquatic Club
- Clise, Cota – King Aquatic Club
- Coombs, Andrew – King Aquatic Club
- Foster, Mia – Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club
- Francis, Isaih – Condors Swim Club
- Funaro, Kair – Nitro Swimming
- Gonzalez, Daniel – Dynamo Swim Club
- Grabowski, Michelle – Sandpipers of Nevada
- Guo, Ethan – Greenwood Swimming
- Gutierrez, Lucianna – Westchester Aquatic Club
- Heikkila, Dylan – King Aquatic Club
- Heron, Nina – North Baltimore Aquatic Club
- Holler, Jillian – Badger Aquatics Club
- Hook, Sophia – Dynamo Swim Club
- Itrube Cosano, Ricardo – Greater Somerset County YMCA
- Jaya, Aubrey – Lakeside Aquatic Club
- Jerome, Christian – Uncle Sam Swim Team
- Kuo, Peyton – Beach Cities Swimming
- La, Yvy – King Aquatic Club
- Labonte, Bryce – FAST Falcons
- Liu, Winnie – First Colony Swim Team
- Luong, Keira – Lakeside Aquatic Club
- Luong, Kate – Lakeside Aquatic Club
- Mills, Riley – University of Denver Hilltoppers
- Qian, Brian – Carmel Swim Club
- Selts, Peyton – Eagle Aquatics
- Skow, Savannah – Las Cruces Aquatic Team
- Sorensen, Grace – Bellingham Bay Swim Team
- Spicer, Ace – Spartan Aquatic Club
- Sun, Theodore – Amherst Tritons Swim Team
- Tang, Eddie – Team Santa Monica Aquatics
- Teixidor-Salerno, Alegra – Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics
- Tjahaya, Nikko – Queens Aquatic Club
- Tu, Ethan – Mason Manta Rays
- Villacis, Samantha – Peddie Aquatic Association
- Wang, Ethan – Metroplex Aquatics
- Wu, Heidi – Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics
- Wu, Alex – Dublin Community Swim Team
- Zardavets, Luke – Planet Swim Aquatics
- Zuo, Bonita – Unattached
2023 National Diversity Select Camp Staff Roster
- Head Coach Emily Melina – Lake Oswego Swim Club
- Assistant Coach Adrian Damasco – Austin Swim Club Assistant
- Coach Christina Kwon – SlipStream Aquatics
- Assistant Coach Clifton Gordon – Nation’s Capital Swim Club Assistant Coach
- Jordan Morillo – Rose Bowl Aquatics
- Head Manager Jamie Bloom – YMCA of the Triangle Area
- Assistant Manger Norman Abril – Gulliver Swim Club
USA Swimming says the goal of the 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
- Be positive leaders and role models that others from multicultural backgrounds can emulate.
All athletes are between the ages of 14 through 16 and selection is based on times performed at USA Swimming sanctioned meets. Selected athletes receive complimentary room and board at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. They also will have airfare provided to Colorado Springs as well as ground transportation from the airport.
