The 2023 Central Zone Select Camp was held this past weekend at Cleveland State University in Ohio. The four-day camp hosted 56 participants and seven coaches and managers from the Central Zone.
In terms of numbers of participants, Academy Bullets led the way with five swimmers, while Carmel and Patriot Aquatic Club had four athletes each. This year’s camp was led by head coach Paul Donovan from the Jersey Wahoos.
Headlining the boys’ roster this year was Winter Juniors qualifier Brayden Capen, who won five events at the NCSA Age Group Championships this spring. Lucy Velte also won five events at the same meet, and was also in attendance. Other notable athletes include Indiana High School State runner-up David Kovacs and Junior Nationals qualifier Lucy Enoch.
- View the roster here.
The Central Zone Select Camp is one of four Zone Select Camps held each year. In each zone, 28 girls and 28 boys are chosen to attend, with the girls being ages 12-13 at the time of their performance and boys being 13-14 years old. Athletes are selected by the following criteria:
- The top seven IMX scoring athletes in each age and gender (28 total)
- The next fastest available swimmer in each Olympic event per gender (28 total)
To be selected, athletes must also be U.S. citizens who have not already been to the National Select Camps or been named to the National or Junior National Teams. The camps work as a progression, meaning that once an athlete has attended a higher level camp, they cannot “step down.”
The camps consist of both in-water practices and classroom sessions that cover various information designed to motivate and empower athletes as they continue their swimming careers.
