Join The PCA Project

Our Goal

Because no athlete should ever have to make the choice between their health, safety, and comfort, and a hard-earned chance to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Citing COVID-19 restrictions in Tokyo, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has banned personal care assistants (PCAs) from attending the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Many Paralympian athletes need PCAs to function as athletes and members of society. When Tokyo barred spectators from this year's Olympics and Paralympics, the USOPC has banned all non- “essential operational personnel” including PCAs. But what is "non-essential" about PCAs, who help paralympians function as athletes and members of society, allowing them to focus on breaking barriers and shattering records? Without PCAs, these athletes will have to navigate the Tokyo Olympic Games alone--or not at all, like blind-deaf swimmer Becca Meyers has had to do. While COVID-19 concerns are legitimate, especially with cases on the rise in Japan, as long as the PCAs are treated with the same strict safety measures which have been imposed on coaches and athletes, the benefits of allowing PCAs far outweigh the costs. With this in mind, and with the Paralympic Games beginning on July 24th, the PCA Project is racing against time work to implore the USOPC to fight for PCAs in Tokyo, for the sake of all that the Paralympics stands for. Most paralympians have trained for Tokyo for the last five years; many have given their whole lives for their Olympic dreams. The USOPC cannot be allowed to take it away from them.