"We were approached at the beginning of this year by the New Mexico Military Institute about potentially hosting one of the national championships,” said Scott Novack, the United States Olympic Committee’s Manager of High Performance for Modern Pentathlon.  “After going through the parameter of the facilities that they have and the requirements for the Youth National Championships, which are the four disciplines minus the riding, they indicated that they would have the capacity and the facilities to put together the program for hosting the Youth National Championships.  It fit well, given that we are hosting the Senior and Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs.  It is great to have another organization with the capability of hosting an event like this, as it gives us the opportunity to spread the sport to other parts of the country which will help to expose more people to the sport.”

Located in Roswell, N.M., the New Mexico Military Institute offers a rich 113-year history and tradition of educating tomorrow’s leaders through a program of strong, challenging academics, leadership preparation, and character development.  Known as “The West Point of the West,” NMMI remains the only state-supported co-educational college preparatory high school and junior college in the United States.

NMMI grants High School diplomas and Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees, in 22 concentrations.  The Institute's emphasis on qualities of honor, integrity, and responsibility, contributes to its unique educational philosophy.

Leadership training is provided to all cadets at the college level, through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program, and at the high school level through the Junior ROTC program.  The ROTC Program offers college cadets the opportunity to receive a commission in the U.S. Army through the 2-Year Early Commissioning Program.  Cadets may pursue commissions in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines through the Service Academy Preparatory Program.

The New Mexico Military Institute has a rich history and strong connection to the sport, given the military influences in the sport of modern pentathlon.  Jan Olesinski, the head coach of the cross country and swim teams and a physical education instructor at the New Mexico Military Institute, will serve as the event competition manager.  Mr. Olesinski is very experienced in the sport of modern pentathlon and coaches many athletes in the Roswell area, including his daughter, in the various disciplines of the sport.

"This is a great honor for the New Mexico Military Institute to be selected to host the 2007 USA Pentathlon Youth National Championships,” said Olesinski.  “We are a small school with 1,000 students, but we have the military tradition and a history of athletes that have come through this school and competed very well internationally in the sport of modern pentathlon.  We have a tradition of modern pentathlon here.  Many times in the past we have hosted the Youth and also the Junior National Modern Pentathlon Championships in Roswell, N.M.  In those years, we also hosted a modern pentathlon camp for youth, which we will again be doing this year.  We have a very good youth program here at the New Mexico Military Institute.”

The 2007 USA Pentathlon Youth National Championships will determine the athletes that may 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.

The complete competition package for the 2007 USA Pentathlon Youth National Championships, including registration forms and event schedule are available on the USOC/USA Pentathlon website at www.usolympicteam.com/152.htm.

For more information, please contact Cecil Bleiker, United States Olympic Committee NGB Services Manager at 719-866-4608.  This press release is also available on the USOC’s media specific website at http://www.usocpressbox.org/.