Diversity Spectrum One on One: Chuck Wielgus, Executive Director, USA Swimming
Managing Editor Brian Heiss, a competitive swimmer since the age of five, rarely competed against a person of color at swim meets. 2006 statistics show minorities make up less than 10% of USA Swimming. Chuck Wielgus recently shared with Brian what they are doing to increase diversity in the sport.
The sport is beginning to make waves in minority communities with both a solid commitment to diversity and superb plan to make the vision of a diverse sport a reality. It is the leadership of Executive Director Chuck Wielgus that is driving the commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout USA Swimming. He is aided by the recent emergence of Cullen Jones, a USA Swimming superstar who is African-American, whose success is starting to fuel interest in the sport among minorities.
The age-old stereotype that minority groups cannot swim is something that USA Swimming is working hard to erase. In tackling this issue, the organization is providing opportunities for under-represented segments of the population to learn to swim and to participate in the sport. Additionally, USA Swimming is helping to build pools in inner-cities as well as provide and train coaches.
There is also a public safety reason for USA Swimming's commitment to minority community outreach: drownings. As a small percentage of minority children participate in swim lessons, minorities make up a disproportionate number of drowning incidents in the United States. In 2002 alone, nearly 650 children between the ages of 5 and 19 drowned, and more than 40 percent of these came from minorities.
Since joining USA Swimming in 1997, Chuck has provided extraordinary vision and leadership to the organization, making USA Swimming an exemplary National Governing Body among the nation’s Olympic sports.
During the course of his tenure, Chuck introduced a fresh approach to marketing the sport of swimming with the launch of Splash Magazine, creation of the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool and the development of strong corporate and television partnerships to leverage support and raise visibility of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Leading the effort to strengthen USA Swimming financially, Chuck restructured membership programs and spearheaded the creation of the USA Swimming Foundation and its signature event, the Golden Goggle Awards.
Prior to his work at USA Swimming, Chuck was the Executive Director of the Senior PGA TOUR Tournament Association, and Executive Director of the U.S. Canoe and Kayak Team.
Chuck received a Master’s in education from SpringfieldCollege, and a B.A. in History from ProvidenceCollege. He also attended Virginia Military Institute and was recognized as a Sports Ethics Fellow at the Institute for International Sport in 1996 by the University of Rhode Island.
Chuck resides in Colorado Springs with his wife, Nancy and their children.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
