King County makes bid to host U.S. Olympic diving team trials

Sims says King County Aquatics Center perfect site for event

With a world-class aquatics center that has already hosted numerous national and international competitions, and a strong community partnership supporting the effort, King County is making a bid to host the 2008 Olympic Dive Team Trials at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way.

"Our aquatics center is recognized as one of the best of its kind in the nation, and this is an exciting opportunity to showcase our facility to an international audience, and also to bring impressive amounts of new revenue into our local economy," said King County Executive Ron Sims.

King County has formed a partnership with the City of Federal Way and the Seattle Sports Commission to organize its bid for the event. The competition will bring dozens of the nation's best divers to compete for one of the 12 or so spots on the U.S. team that will compete with the rest of the world during the Summer Olympic Games, set for August 2008 in Beijing.

Competing against King County for the privilege of hosting the Olympic dive trials are the cities of Indianapolis, Columbus, Ohio and Huntersville, N.C.

"While some of these facilities may be newer than ours, we have proven, 15-year track record of hosting highly successful regional, national and international events," said King County Aquatics Center Director Mike Dunwiddie, who has been the facility's director since its Goodwill Games debut in 1990.

"Throughout this facility's lifetime, King County Parks and our staff have made the necessary improvements to keep our aquatics center among the handful of elite venues in the nation," Dunwiddie said. "I think our chances of winning this bid are excellent, and I can guarantee the U.S. Olympic Dive Team and the spectators will get a fantastic event."

The dive trials are scheduled to run June 14-22, 2008, six weeks before the Olympics begin in Beijing. The event will be televised nationally on NBC as part of their extended Olympics coverage.

"Federal Way is located in the heart of the Puget Sound Region, which has strong ties to the rest of the Pacific Rim," said Mayor Michael Park. "Our location positions us naturally to host these Diving Trials, just six weeks before the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008."

"This event would be great for the community," added Ralph Morton, executive director of the Seattle Sports Commission, a program of the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We look forward to bringing our enthusiasm and extensive event management experience to this partnership with Federal Way and King County."

Weyerhaeuser King was built to host swimming and diving competitions for the 1990 Seattle Goodwill Games. The facility, which is maintained to the highest international standard has one of the most active competition schedules in the country - hosting more than 50 major events annually. It hosted the 2000 Olympic Dive Team trials, and regularly hosts top national and international competitions. The facility draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year with an annual economic impact of more than $8 million for the local community.

More information about the King County Aquatics Center is available at www.metrokc.gov/parks/kcac/.