USA Swimming Announces Split-Site 2021 Speedo Summer Championships

USA Swimming confirmed on Monday plans for the 2021 Speedo Summer Championships. The meet will take place from August 3-7 and be split into East and West sites.

The meet is being referred to specifically as “Summer Championships” and not “National Championships” because the results won’t be officially combined into a single ranking.

Locations

  • East – Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
  • West – William Wollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, California

This replaces the slot that typically houses a post-Olympic Games Summer National Championship meet. Historically, the U.S. Olympians have only rarely competed in that event, and with swimming concluding on August 1 (Tokyo time) and a long trip back, that’s likely to be true again. Though, with new restrictions encouraging athletes to leave after their competition is concluded, there’s a chance some will arrive in time for late-meet races with an eye on securing National Team qualification or qualification for other meets.

The USA Swimming Summer Championships will include the full 34-event Olympic schedule (but no stroke 50s) along with 400 free, 800 free, and 400 medley relays. There will be no mixed relays, in spite of that now being an Olympic event.

The 800 and 1500 freestyle races will be swum as timed finals, as will the relays.

Swimmers will be sent to a specific meet based on geography. Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and all states to their west will travel to the West meet, while Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi form the boundary of the East meet.

Meet Assignments:

Time Standards

USA Swimming will employ a time standards system that other countries have used but that is fairly novel for major American events. The Summer Championships will have separate time standards for 19 & over swimmers and 18 & under swimmers. This system allows the meets to include the top-performing juniors who might factor into future national or international conversations gain the experience offered by these high level meets, but can limit opportunities for college-aged swimmers.

This system repaints a meet like this as more of a “pathway” to the end goal, which is international success, rather than a true domestic championship. The system also reframes the incentive-perspective of qualification for national meets like this.

There will be Bonus Standards for both 19 & Over and 18 & Under age groups, with the regular 18 & Under standard being the same as the 19 & Over standard. Athletes who have qualified in one or more individual events can swim up to two bonus events in events where they have achieved the Bonus Standard.

There are specific relay qualification standards as well.

19 & Over Standards

18 & Under Standards

 

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Ghost
3 years ago

I wouldn’t attend because it is during finals of Olympics…it seems weird timing by USA swimming?!

NC Fan
Reply to  Ghost
3 years ago

@ghost swimming ends night of July 31st US time. What finals are you referring to?

Ghost
Reply to  NC Fan
3 years ago

Just all sports end August 8th

ITSYABOI
3 years ago

I don’t understand why they needed to make these time standards trials cuts. They already made the pro meets trials cuts and 18 and over swimmers who are super close to making trials haven’t had any chances this entire year to swim in a high-level prelims finals meet. It’s super frustrating.

sprint fan
3 years ago

There doesn’t appear to be stroke 50s in the meet flier. Were they left out in error?

DWY
3 years ago

Since they’ve selected a California site USA Swimming must be confident California will lift their “no teams from outside California” rule.

Taa
Reply to  DWY
3 years ago

Every back to normal June 15th…..supposedly

Coach
Reply to  DWY
3 years ago

The in-state restriction only applies to youth sports. With pro athletes in attendance this event will be exempt from that rule regardless of whether or not it is lifted. Just like Pro Series in April

Swimmer
3 years ago

I think you accidentally attached the same picture for the 19&o and 18&u cuts

Curious
3 years ago

Curious… how many trial qualifiers/participants are going to swim at this less than 10 weeks after not making an Olympic team?

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Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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