Contact: Andrew Brown
Phone: 336-373-7456

Greensboro to Host 2012 US Masters Swimming Spring National Championships

GREENSBORO, NC -- (September 20, 2010) -- Greensboro's Aquatic Center (GAC) has been chosen as the site for the 2012 US Masters Swimming Spring National Championships by US Masters Swimming, the national governing body for adult competitive and fitness swimming.

The event, slated for April 26-29, 2012, will be hosted by the Greensboro Sports Commission in cooperation with North Carolina Masters Swimming, the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Nearly 2,000 adult swimmers are expected to participate in the four days of swimming competition, including many Olympians.

The championship event is the first swim meet booked in the Greensboro Aquatic Center, which is scheduled to open in July 2011. The 74,000-square-foot indoor aquatic center will be a state-of-the-art facility featuring leading edge concepts in aquatic design.

“For the Greensboro Aquatic Center to be awarded an event like the USMS Spring National Championships prior to completion of construction is an incredible achievement,” says Greensboro Coliseum Complex managing director Matt Brown. “This is an outstanding indicator of how the facility’s state-of-the-art design and versatility will be highly sought after by top level national swimming and diving meets.”

“While North Carolina has a long tradition of supporting Masters swimming, Greensboro is a new destination for our Nationals,” says US Masters Swimming Executive Director Rob Butcher. “The renderings for the new Greensboro Aquatic Center are spectacular. We know that Masters swimmers will enjoy racing in the new venue.”

The Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau projects an estimated economic impact of more than $5.8 million for the four-day meet.

“Landing this prestigious event was a true team effort by North Carolina Masters Swimming, the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Greensboro Sports Commission, and the Greensboro Coliseum Complex,” says Don Gilchrist, who will serve as the meet’s co-director along with Hill Carrow. “We look forward to this being the beginning of numerous national meets coming to Greensboro on an annual basis.”
 
“Bringing this event to Greensboro only enhances our city’s ‘Tournament Town,’ reputation," says Greensboro Sports Commission president Kim Strable. "Having the US Masters Spring Nationals already on our calendar will allow us to attract even more meets in the future.”

"We are looking forward to bringing a true sense of ‘southern hospitality’ to this event and making the thousands of competitors, their families and spectators feel like they will want to return to Greensboro as soon as possible,” says Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau president Henri Fourrier.

Coverage for the 2012 Spring Nationals will be made available at www.usms.org.

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