LOS ANGELES – This weekend LA 2024’s proposed Olympic and Paralympic Village at UCLA will demonstrate its readiness to host world-class adapted sport athletes as the 2017 US Paralympics Track & Field National Championships brings 190 elite competitors, including 63 Paralympians, to Drake Stadium.
Athletes competing in this weekend’s championships will receive a taste of the world-class experience Olympians and Paralympians can expect in 2024, staying on UCLA’s picturesque campus, a short distance from the campus’ restaurants, which serve an average of 30,000 meals per day and prepare a variety of fresh, healthy and delicious meals in comfortable dining rooms for all residents.
Paralympian and LA 2024 Vice Chair and Director of Paralympic and Disability Engagement Candace Cable said: “On behalf of LA 2024, I’d like to thank US Paralympics and UCLA for hosting three electrifying days of sport in the City of Angels. It will be a thrill to watch the country’s top Paralympic athletes competing in the heart of our proposed LA 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village. We know that UCLA’s state-of-the-art facilities are ready to deliver the ideal athlete experience in 2024 because these facilities already provide the ideal athlete experience today, including fully accessible housing. Our existing, operational Olympic and Paralympic Village at UCLA is one of the key reasons we believe LA 2024 is the lowest-risk partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Movements at this important time, to deliver Games that enhance the Movement’s credibility and inspire future bidding cities.”
In addition to crowning national champions, the weekend’s competition will determine who will represent Team USA in the London 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in July, as well as in the World Para Athletics Junior Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland later this summer. Of the 190 athletes competing at UCLA this weekend, 63 have previously competed at the Paralympic Games, including LA 2024 Athletes’ Advisory Commission Members Lex Gillette and Jarryd Wallace. Follow the results of the 2017 US Paralympics Track & Field National Championships here: https://registration.
The championships will also feature athletes who attended UCLA as students and benefitted from the university’s world-class sports infrastructure and commitment to athletic excellence, such as 2016 Paralympian Scout Bassett. Bassett said: “UCLA is where my Paralympic journey and dreams were born, but more importantly, it’s where I found my passion to serve and empower others through sport. I couldn’t be more thrilled or proud to be competing at my alma mater for a spot on this year’s world championship team. I got recruited to Paralympic track and field during my sophomore year at UCLA, and it completely transformed my life, setting me on a path that I could’ve never dreamed of.”
Centrally located between LA 2024’s four primary Sports Parks, UCLA’s campus offers a residential village with fully accessible, modern housing, complete with beautiful reception and hosting centers; world-class medical facilities and expansive athletic facilities; and a professional staff, security and operational structure that serves thousands of guests every year. UCLA refurbishes its housing facilities every seven to eight years, meaning that all will have undergone at least one round of renovations by the time athletes move in in 2024. At 60 hectares, LA 2024’s proposed Village would be the second most compact in the last six summer Games. All residents will be less than 50 meters from internal Village shuttle stops, and less than 300 meters from all essential dining, fitness, recreation and entertainment services.
LA 2024’s Olympic and Paralympic Village will incorporate an on-site Main Athlete Training Center, providing extensive integrated training facilities within the same secure perimeter as the accommodation complex. 51% of Olympians (13 sports) and 62% Paralympians (nine sports) will be able to train at the Village, with all others training at their competition venue. The LA 2024 Main Athlete Training Center will offer convenient access to a host of elite training, recovery, medical, wellness and nutrition facilities. LA 2024 will supplement existing state-of-the-art facilities that already serve elite student athletes, professionals and aspiring Olympians and Paralympians every day with further temporary facilities.
