While swimming around the world still looks a lot different than normal due to the effects of COVID-19, we’re still highlighting and celebrating swim teams from across the country. This month, we’re taking a closer at Nation’s Capital Swim Club, located in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Also known as NCAP, it is one of the largest and most successful teams in the entire country, boasting an impressive roster of current swimmers and alumni, including world record holder and seven-time Olympic gold medalist, Katie Ledecky.
Ledecky wasn’t the only NCAP-connected swimmer on the USA’s Tokyo Olympic roster, however. Andrew Seliskar made the team in the 4×200 free relay, while Phoebe Bacon punched her Olympic ticket in the 200 back. Seliskar was an age group standout who racked up numerous national age group records while swimming at NCAP. He then went on to have a great career with the Cal Bears, including winning three individual events and a team title at the 2019 NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships. Bacon won the NCAA title in the 200 back swimming for Wisconsin last year, and she seems poised for a great 2021-2022 college season as well.
Plenty of other NCAP alum are set to make an impact on the NCAA this season. Sean Conway, Abby Harter, Paige McKenna, Claire Nguyen, and Chase Travis were all nationally-ranked swimmers coming out of high school who have become big parts of the some of the most elite Division I programs in the country.
Meanwhile, current Nation’s Capital swimmers continue to rack up the accolades. Swimmers like Sophie Duncan, Erin Gemmell, Landon Gentry, Camille Spink, and Eleanor Sun have all been impressive over the past few years, with several of them being the most sought-after recruits in the high school classes of 2022 and 2023.
However, a program’s success is measured by more than just the achievements of one big name, or even a few, and no matter what metric you want to use, NCAP is an incredible program, both in terms of accomplishments and in terms of depth. NCAP has routinely finished at or near the top of the USA Swimming Club Excellence program, including a streak of seven-straight years in which it topped the club rankings.
NCAP hosts practices at roughly a dozen different locations in the DC area, including sites in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC itself. While the competitive team gets a lot of the attention from swimming fans, the club also has a mission to help make swimming and safe and lifelong activity for children of all ages and skill levels, as reflected in the club’s mission statement:
The Nation’s Capital Swim Club strives to create a pathway to excellence for athletes, ensuring success in life and in swimming while maintaining a safe, healthy, and positive environment for all.
To that end, Nation’s Capital has helped thousands of children fall in love with the water and achieve their goals, whether those goals are simply learning to swim, or winning Olympic gold medals, or anything in between.
Nation’s Capital is one of 3,000 swim clubs in the United States. How can we grow that number and promote the sport?
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