“Around the country, there are only a handful of facilities that are able to professionally equip and host a U.S. National Championship in the sport of modern pentathlon,” said Scott Novack, the United States Olympic Committee’s Manager of High Performance for Modern Pentathlon. “With the U.S. Olympic Training Center and all of the facilities here, including the riding venue at the Norris-Penrose Events Center, Colorado Springs is the best venue for the event. For our top-level world class athletes it has proven to be the best venue for them. Training and competing at altitude and being in the Olympic Training Center environment we think will lend credence for future success in international competitions.”

The male and female winner of the 2007 USA Pentathlon Senior National Championships will automatically earn a spot on the USA Pentathlon Team that will compete at the 2007 World Modern Pentathlon Championships in Berlin, Germany, August 15-22. The 2007 USA Pentathlon Senior National Championships is also designated as a domestic event in the International Pentathlon Point System (IPPS) giving athletes the opportunity to earn valuable IPPS that will count toward an athlete’s international ranking which factors into eventual U.S. Olympic Team selection for 2008.

Novack also announced that USOC/USA Pentathlon has put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a host community/organization for both the 2007 Youth National Championships (10-18 years old) and the 2007 Junior National Championships (19-21 years old). These events will determine athletes that will represent the United States of America in the 2007 Youth Modern Pentathlon World Championships, August 27 to September 2 in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa and the 2007 Junior Modern Pentathlon World Championships, September 25-30 in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. Details on the Request for Proposals for these events is available on-line at http://www.usolympicteam.com/2007RequestProposals-MODYouth-JuniorNationals.pdf.

The 2007 USA Pentathlon Senior National Championships will also be an opportunity for senior division athletes to make the run/swim/shoot standards to qualify for entrance or continuance in the USA Pentathlon Olympic Training Center Resident and Training Program. As set forth in the 2007 USA Pentathlon Athlete Selection Procedures (http://www.usolympicteam.com/2007.pdf) in September 2007, there will be an opportunity for athletes to stay and/or enter the Olympic Training Center Resident and Training Program. By September, to stay or enter the program, athletes of any division must have made the standard in the Senior division.

Novack, who came to the United States Olympic Committee in January from USA Taekwondo has also been instrumental in instituting the standard qualification system for the USA Pentathlon Olympic Training Center Resident and Training Program. Novack was hired by the USOC as the High Performance Manager for the sport of Modern Pentathlon and began his duties on January 22, 2007. He had most recently served in a similar position with USA Taekwondo since 2005.

For more information, please contact Cecil Bleiker, United States Olympic Committee NGB Services Manager at 719-866-4608 and Nikki Boone of the Delaware Tourism Office at 302-672-6857. This press release is also available on the USOC’s media specific website at www.usocpressbox.org.