Thursday, February 11, 2016

INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES Ceremonies Postponed – Conflict with Copa America Soccer Tournament Cited.

FORT LAUDERDALE - The International Swimming Hall of Fame announced today that it will postpone its 2016 Induction Weekend, originally scheduled to take place in Santa Clara, Calif., June 3-5, to a date still to be determined in either October or November.
            The cause of the change is necessitated by a conflict with the Copa America Soccer tournament, says ISHOF CEO Bruce Wigo.
            “Subsequent to our announcement last year,” says Wigo, ”the City of Santa Clara and Levi Stadium were selected by CONCACAF, the continental governing body for association football (soccer) in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, to host the Copa America.  We have tried to work things out, but realize that the impact of these games and the crowds they will attract will just be too disruptive for our attendees as the events were scheduled to take place in the same general area as Levi Stadium.”
            The ISHOF considered other options in San Jose and other nearby cities, but as Santa Clara is the new home of the organization, it remains committed to host its events in the City and now must wait until after the Olympics. ISHOF expects to make an announcement confirming a new date once the NFL schedule is published in April – so the organization won’t face the same situation in the fall.
            The Class of 2016 to be honored includes Swimmers Aaron Peirsol  (USA), Camille Muffat (FRA) and Dara Torres (USA); Divers Dmitry Sautin (RUS), and Guo Jingjing (CHN); Synchronized Swimmer  Elena Azarova (RUS); Water Polo Team: The 3 X (2000, 2004 & 2008) Olympic gold medal winning Hungarian team (HUN); Open Water Swimmer Larisa Ilchenko (RUS); Marathon Swimmers: Desmond Robert “Dez” Renford (AUS) and Monique Wildschut (NED) Coach Bob Bowman (USA);  Contributor Sir Peter Heatly (GBR); Pioneers, Simeon Boychenko (RUS), Horst Gorlitz (GRD/ITA/FRG), Frank Gorman (USA), Hilda James (GBR), and Leonid Meshkov (RUS).

About the ISHOF
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) was established in 1965 as a not-for-profit educational organization in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ISHOF Museum was recognized by FINA, the international governing body for the Olympic aquatic sports, prior to its opening in 1968. The Mission of ISHOF is to PRESERVE and CELEBRATE aquatic history, to EDUCATE the general public about the importance of swimming as the key to water safety, drowning prevention, better health and a better quality of life, and to INSPIRE everyone to swim. ISHOF’s collection of swimming memorabilia, art, photos and films, along with archival documents and rare books in the Henning Library, make ISHOF the premier repository and academic research resource for swimming and aquatic history in the world.
For more information contact Bruce Wigo at 954-462-6536 ext. 201, or email bwigo@ishof.org

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