Approximately 260 physically disabled athletes from 16 countries will compete at the event, including all members of the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Elite and National Teams. U.S. Paralympics Swimming head coach Julie O'Neill (Colorado Springs, Colo.) says the deep international field should factor in to some strong races during three-day event.

"We expect some great competition throughout the weekend," O'Neill said. "A number of countries are bringing some of their best athletes to this event, and that will provide some great racing opportunities for our U.S. athletes.

"This is a competition that's been on the minds of our Elite and National Team athletes all year. It's an ideal time for them to experience top level competition as they make their final preparations for the Paralympic Team Trials in Minneapolis next April. It is also a perfect opportunity for emerging athletes to qualify for the Elite and National Teams before a Games year."

Two of those athletes who will look to make their move and join the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Team are Dave Denniston (Longmont, Colo.) and Melissa Stockwell (Chicago, Illinois). Denniston, an NCAA champion (1999, 200m breaststroke) and 15-time All-American at Auburn, will be entering his first Paralympic competition after being injured in 2005. Stockwell, who was injured in 2004 while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, has been preparing for the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials ever since she began swimming in 2005. A strong performance in College Park would be a big step toward positioning herself to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Team.

Preliminaries will take place at 9:00 a.m. all three days, with finals each evening at 5:00 p.m. Results will be available at www.usparalympics.org at the conclusion of each day's competition.