The PARA Speed Projects Grant Program provides funding to:

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1. encourage clubs to organize speed training and racing opportunities for the broader PARA membership held at age-appropriate venues (including out-of-state venues);

2. encourage clubs to focus those athlete development opportunities for U16, U14, and younger athletes; and

3. lower the cost to participants of such opportunities.

 

This program is designed to ensure that any such projects supported with PARA funding:

• provides advance notice of the event dates, and advance notice of when registration will open;

• reserves a portion of the available camps slots for PARA’s top-ranked U14s and U16s. 

 

All PARA Clubs in good standing may apply for funding up to a maximum of $5,000 per grant.  Funds are paid directly to the PARA Club. 

 

Applications are due to the Executive Committee by September 30th each year.  Funding decisions are to be made by the Executive Committee by no later than October 21st. 

 

To apply, clubs must either email the Executive Committee a document that addresses the questions below, or they can complete this Google Form.  (Both are not required.)

 

Clubs must submit an application no later than September 30th each year with whatever information is available to them at that point.  Partial applications without a date, venue, or cost will be considered and are encouraged. 

 

Grant applications must answer all of the following questions:

1. What is the name of the PARA club organizing the event?

2. What is the amount of funding requested?

3. Are you applying for other sources of funding? If so, provide details.

4. What are the proposed dates and venue for the camp?  Please state whether or not the host venue has committed to a date.  (If the date is not yet known, please answer “TBD”.  PARA can grant a preliminary approval without knowing the camp dates or venue.)

5. What Age Class athletes are eligible to participate?

6. What is the maximum number of athletes that can participate?

7. What is the minimum number of registered athletes needed for the camp to happen?

8. What training or skill development activities are planned? (A list or short description is fine.)

9. Would the camp be open to athletes from other States? If so, please specify and under what conditions? (e.g., it would be open to SARA athletes only if the camp doesn’t fill X weeks before the start date)

10. What would be the impact on the camp from PARA approving your full funding request?  Please state how much the requested funding would reduce the registration fee by.  (For example, a $5,000 grant would reduce the registration fee by $X per athlete.)

11. What are the expected athlete registration costs? (A range is acceptable if the registration costs are not yet known due to the host venue not having committed to a date and cost for the hill space.)

12. Will you comply with each of the following requirements (please include affirmative statements in your application explicitly committing to comply with each/all four requirements):

    • provide a 1 week advance registration for top five ranked U14 and U16 athletes in each birth year and gender as specified on the PARA website?

    • open general registration for the camp no later than four weeks before the event starts?

    • send to the Executive Committee and Webmaster the dates and times that the priority and general registration would open no later than three weeks before priority registration opens? 

    • provide a brief written report on the camp to the Speed Committee no later than April 1st? 

 

The Executive Committee will make funding decisions by October 21st each year.  The Executive Committee is permitted to award preliminary approvals conditional on a final review of the event date, venue and final cost. 

 

All grant awards will be paid to the club after the Executive Committee receives and reviews the club’s report on the camp, and after Exec Comm determines that the organizers have met all program requirements.  

 

If the Speed Camp application originally included athletes from outside of PARA, the athletes from outside of PARA will be allowed to register with general registration after prior registration has completed.  If the Speed Camp application did not include athletes from outside of PARA general registration does not reach the minimum number of athletes by two weeks before the event, the Camp Organizers are permitted to expand registration to athletes from outside of PARA.   In that case, Camp organizers shall notify the Speed Committee and the Executive Committee that registration has opened to athletes outside of PARA.