UUC Santa Barbara will host ParalympicsGB forward of the LA 2028 Paralympic Games. The workforce’s Preparation Camp at UCSB is predicted to be certainly one of its largest ever. A contract signing was held on campus Friday, Nov. 21.
“This partnership is a profound opportunity,” mentioned UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Dennis Assanis. “It permits us to open our doorways and our amenities to a number of the planet’s most inspiring athletes.
“It is an opportunity for our college students, our workers and our neighborhood to witness their preparation firsthand. It is a second for us to champion inclusion, entry and the excessive efficiency that defines the Paralympic motion.
“As we look ahead to the summer of 2028, we are immensely excited to be the host campus, the training and preparation ground, for ParalympicsGB on their journey to the LA 2028 Paralympic Games,” Assanis mentioned.
“We pledge to provide an environment that is supportive, stimulating and absolutely world-class, ensuring that when the team departs for Los Angeles, they are primed for success,” he mentioned.
ParalympicsGB CEO David Clarke and Penny Briscoe, chief of mission for LA 2028, joined Assanis to formally signal the settlement permitting ParalympicsGB to make use of the college’s world-class amenities within the buildup to the LA 2028 Paralympic Games, scheduled for Aug. 15-27 of that yr.
“I am absolutely delighted to be able to call UC Santa Barbara home for the British team as our all-important Preparation Camp in the build-up to the LA 2028 Paralympic Games,” mentioned Clarke.
“Of course, accessibility is key to so much of what we do, and I am particularly pleased that this is also at the heart of UC Santa Barbara’s culture, with its Disabled Students Program, local disability sports groups, partnerships, accessible changing rooms, dining and accommodations all readily available,” he mentioned.
ParalympicsGB was represented in 19 of the 22 sports activities on the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, with paraclimbing added to this system for LA 2028.
Most of the sports activities chosen to characterize the British workforce are anticipated to coach at UCSB earlier than competing on the Games. Several efficiency leads have already made visits to the campus and surrounding space.
At UCSB ParalympicsGB can have entry to 4 sports activities halls, 4 weight rooms, 12 tennis courts, two swimming swimming pools, a number of studios and assembly areas, and the Pauley athletics monitor amongst UCSB Recreation’s state-of-the-art sports activities amenities, in addition to Campus Point seaside, on-site accessible housing, lounges and eating amenities — all of which require no modifications for disabled entry.
“We first visited the UC Santa Barbara campus over two years ago and were immediately struck not only by the incredible facilities, but by the friendly, welcoming environment not just at the university but in the wider community, too,” Clarke mentioned.
“I believe ParalympicsGB’s athletes and staff will thrive here and I look forward to further developing our relationship with the university in the coming months and years,” he mentioned.
UCSB’s campus, which spans 1,055 acres, is residence to some 24,600 college students. The college’s school consists of Nobel laureates, winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and recipients of Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships.
Academy Award-winning actor and producer Michael Douglas, musician Jack Johnson, NBA champions Ajay Mitchell and Brian Shaw, and Olympic gold medal swimmer Jason Lezak are amongst UCSB’s outstanding alumni.