By NIC HALLISEY
Have you ever dreamed of competing at the highest level, perhaps even representing the United States in the Olympics? The United States Olympic Committee is coming to Missoula, and those in the region have the chance to prove themselves.
The United States Olympic Committee has selected the University of Montana as one of six testing locations and will host a pro day on campus on Monday, April 29.
“We are honored to be selected as one of six locations around the country to host this event,” Montana athletics director Kent Haslam said. “It is exciting for the University of Montana to partner with the U.S. Olympic Committee in looking for potential new members of Team USA. I am grateful to many in the athletic department for working hard to make this event possible. We are looking forward to a great day.”
The pro day is free and open to anyone ages 18-24. The skills competition will last approximately one hour, taking participants through a series of tests:
- 10-meter, 30-meter and 40-meter sprints
- Vertical jump
- Triple hop (two feet)
- 10-second max watt row
- 1-minute average watt row
- 3RM back squad
- 1RM power clean
- Rugby skills event
- Cheer skills event
- Burnout row
- Max pull-ups
The organizations that will be evaluating results are USA Weightlifting, USA Rugby, USA Cheer, USRowing, USA Bobsled/Skeleton and USA Triathlon. Those who test well enough could be invited to the United States Olympic Training Center to compete and train with sport-specific coaches.
“We are very excited to be one of the six locations chosen to host an event to give individuals from our community the chance to pursue an opportunity with USA Olympics,” said Brandon Ronan, Montana’s director for athletics performance who will help run the testing. “We are proud and humbled to be able to provide a top facility for these regional Olympic hopefuls.”
Testing will take place in the Champions Center, a state-of-the-art facility on campus which opened in October 2017. Those interested in registering for the event can do so online. For more information, click here. The other locations selected to host a pro day are Colorado Springs, Colo. (Air Force), Marquette, Mich. (Northern Michigan), Chapel Hill, N.C. (North Carolina), Johnson City, Tenn. (East Tennessee State), and Waco, Texas (Baylor).