National Diversity Camp
By Kaz Takabayashi

A state of the art facility at high altitude, lots of fun and excitement, and new friends reminds me of an amazing weekend. I went to the National Diversity Camp in May of 2011 and the experiences I’ve had with many new friends from across the country are still fresh in my mind.

The USA Swimming National Diversity Camp is a 3-day swimming training program taking place at the Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs. An ethnically underrepresented population African American, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, or Native American athlete who meets the time standards for the camp is eligible to apply. Annually scheduled camp information can be found on USA Swimming website.  Selected swimmer can also be accompanied by home team coach.  Once there, swimmers will have a schedule of practices, learning sessions, yet ample time to get to know fellow swimmers gathered from other parts of the U.S.

Personally, the camp may have been one of the most motivational trips of my swimming career. Camp mates were all competitive swimmers so even at the toughest practices everyone worked their hardest. Don’t worry, not all the practices were difficult. Some practices involved watching each other’s strokes and learn techniques. There was even an all around video camera system (front, back, top, side, bottom view all at the same time) to help us. In the learning sessions camp coaches and instructors there taught us that we were the leaders of both our individual ethnicities and also of our teams. Although there would be responsibilities that would come from it, we should always strive to go further.

But by far, the most enjoyable part of the camp was just getting to know all of the other swimmers who had the same mindset. We ate (the ice cream machine at dining hall was amazing), played in the game rooms, wandered around campus (we were allowed to enter the other sport facilities of the training center), and had team building exercises such as a dance off. Even with only 3 days there, I was able to remember everyone’s name. We also took a field trip to a mountain landscape where we took a hike. Of course we all trained, and learned all as one group. Now we congratulate and cheer each other on as close friends. I keep in touch with friends from National Diversity Camp, and had chance to see them again at Junior National Championships.

Diversity Camp 2011 Video