Four Team USA Athletes Receive 2023 Community Champions Awards

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation and Comcast have announced four athletes as the 2023 honorees for the Team USA Community Champions Award.  

Jamal Hill (Swim Up Hill Foundation), Staci Mannella (Sisters in Sports Foundation), Kait Miller (New England Nordic Ski Association) and Peter Westbrook (Peter Westbrook Foundation) were selected based on their nonprofit work that benefits their communities. Each athlete will receive $25,000, of which half will be directed to the athlete’s nonprofit of choice and the other half awarded to the athlete. 

Here’s how each recipient is having a positive impact on the world.

Jamal Hill is a Para swimmer who specializes in short-distance races. Before winning two silver medals at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, Hill won a bronze in the 50-meter freestyle S9 at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. 

Hill began learning how to swim when he was 10 months old while growing up in Inglewood, California. Nothing has stopped him from getting in a pool since then, including being diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological condition that affects the muscles in his arms and legs. 

“My dedication to breaking down barriers and fostering an inclusive environment in the world of sport demonstrates the power of determination and the true meaning of triumph over adversity,” Hill said.

In 2018, Hill started Swim Up Hill with the goal of teaching millions of low to middle-income people of color how to swim.

The foundation strives to make swimming lessons as accessible as possible, so it offers a series of at-home exercises called “Bowl, Bench, Bucket.” Using those three household items, kids can master underwater breathing techniques before ever jumping in a pool. 

“I am committed to making a positive impact on the lives of countless others, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to swim, regardless of their background or ability,” Hill said. 

Learn More About Swim Up Hill

Staci Mannella first began skiing when she was 4 years old. Born with a visual impairment, the Randolph, New Jersey, native started competing for an alpine team through the Adaptive Sports Foundation when she was 11.

Mannella’s quick rise in the Para skiing world continued into the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, where she was the youngest American skier at the Games. Before her return to the Paralympics in 2018, Manella won a bronze at the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships. 

Mannella is now retired from competitive skiing, but she continues to stay connected to adaptive sports in multiple ways. While pursuing a master’s degree at the University of British Columbia, Mannella conducted multiple research projects related to disabled athletes, including studying relationship dynamics between visually impaired athletes and their guides. 

“I value the voices and unique experiences of athletes with disabilities and aim to address current challenges in Paralympic sport,” Manella said.

Mannella has also served as a mentor for the Sisters in Sports Foundation. Founded by four-time Paralympic alpine skier Danelle Umstead, the foundation offers mentorship programs and grants to girls and women with disabilities to help them with their athletic pursuits. 

“I am passionate about supporting and expanding access to Paralympic sports for women with disabilities,” Mannella said. 

Learn More About the Sisters in Sports Foundation

Kait Miller (they/their) has extensive ties to skiing in New England. After learning to ski in their hometown of Elmore, Vermont, Miller competed on the Nordic ski team at Bowdoin College in Maine from 2011 to 2014. They then trained with the Vermont-based Craftsbury Green Racing Project before competing for Team USA in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. 

A lot of Miller’s skiing experience was made possible by the New England Nordic Ski Association, an organization that creates opportunities for skiers of all levels to participate in the sport. Miller paid back their gratitude to the organization by working as its youth and introductory program director since June 2020, where they helped encourage kids to get involved in Nordic skiing. 

“If every child can experience the joy of gliding on snow, think of how many more young people will grow through sport and build each other up to strengthen skiing at all levels,” Miller said.

Miller recently left their position at NENSA but will continue to volunteer for the organization to help provide more people in the area access to skiing. 

“There’s a lot of pessimism, hopelessness and division in the world, and while ski programming will not fix all the world’s problems, seeing the joy that gliding on snow brings to young people gives me hope for the future,” Miller said.

Learn More About the New England Ski Assocation

Peter Westbrook broke boundaries and made history throughout his fencing career. The five-time Olympian won the men’s individual sabre bronze medal in 1984, making him the first Black athlete to win an Olympic fencing medal. That bronze was also the first Olympic fencing medal won by an American man in 36 years. 

While growing up in a housing project in Newark, New Jersey, Westbrook’s mother paid him $5 every time he would go to a fencing class, which is what started his legendary career. In an attempt to give other kids like himself the opportunity to fence, Westbrook started the Peter Westbrook Foundation in 1991.

“Fencing has given me so much that it’s my duty to serve others through this Olympic sport,” Westbrook said.

The foundation is dedicated to helping underprivileged kids in New York get access to the sport. On top of working on fencing skills, the foundation’s programs focus on teaching good sportsmanship, critical-thinking skills, healthy lifestyle habits and other life skills.

“In the Olympic spirit, we train our students to become stronger mentally and physically, reach higher heights, achieve success faster and provide them with a clearer path to excellence,” Westbrook said.

Learn More About the Peter Westbrook Foundation