For the fifth straight year, USA Paratriathlon, a program of USA Triathlon, has been awarded funding through the US Department of Veterans Affairs Adaptive Sports Grant, under the Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans and Disabled Members of the Armed Forces Program.
USA Paratriathlon has received a total of US$68,000 in grant funding to help further establish programs and educational opportunities for veteran athletes. USA Paratriathlon programming made possible through the grant award focuses specifically on the USA Paratriathlon Military Program and follows four fundamental pillars:
- Expose athletes to the sport through camps focusing on introductory concepts and skill development;
- Evoke confidence in injured veterans to feel comfortable with triathlon training and racing equipment;
- Educate existing adaptive sport clubs and veteran organizations about the sport through hands-on support; and
- Enable pursuit of excellence through high performance support of those who show Paralympic potential.
USA Paratriathlon will partner with VA hospitals, Paralympic sport clubs, veteran adaptive sport clubs and major existing veteran games to increase exposure of the sport to veterans. Additionally, this grant complements another partnership program between USA Paratriathlon and VA — the Paralympic training allowance — which provides assistance for disabled veterans in their triathlon training.
More information about the VA Adaptive Sports Program is available at va.gov.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs enables USA Paratriathlon to create and sustain opportunities for veteran athletes through camps, equipment and travel support,” said Amanda Duke Boulet, USA Paratriathlon Program Manager. “For five years now, we have been able to provide an unprecedented level of support to both new and continuing paratriathletes with ties to our nation’s military, and we are grateful that we can help develop skills and confidence through this grant funding.”
USA Paratriathlon’s military program has received more than US$300,000 to date from the annual VA grant, and the program aims to provide appropriate opportunities for all, whether it be to simply learn the requisite skills to swim, bike and run safely for recreation or to train and compete at an elite level with an objective to represent the U.S. at the Paralympic Games.
www.usatriathlon.org/paratriathlon
