The United States Olympic Training Centers (OTCs) are three campuses created by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lake Placid, New York; and Chula Vista, California. There is a U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Michigan and other official U.S. Olympic/Paralympic training sites in Oklahoma City and Edmond, Oklahoma, Carson, California, Birmingham, Alabama, and the Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis, Wisconsin.
Some athletes preparing for the Olympics, Paralympics, and Pan American Games live at one of the OTCs for a period of months or years, while others visit periodically with their respective national teams for training camps, coaching (especially in sports science and sports psychology), or physical testing. Although foreign national teams are occasionally granted use of the USOTCs, they are used mainly by athletes from the United States.
The Colorado Springs OTC was the first of the three to be built, and has been the home of the U.S. Olympic Committee since 1978. Its location on the former Ent Air Force Base was selected for its relatively high elevation, which is often thought to improve training effectiveness. Its facilities include an Olympic-size swimming pool, an indoor shooting range, a velodrome, two sports centers housing numerous gymnasiums and weight rooms, and a sports science laboratory, in addition to an athlete center and dining hall, several dormitories, a visitors' center, and the offices of both the USOC and U.S. Paralympics.
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