May 17th and 18th open water swimming hopefuls will gather for 2013 USA Swimming national championships north of Los Angeles on Castaic Lake. It will be an outstanding venue with expected warm air temperatures and ideal water conditions. The top 6 finishers, for both men and women, in the 10K event – Friday May 17th – will be selected to the 2013 national team (as long as they are within 10 minutes of the 1st place finisher).
Junior national team members will also be selected from the 10K event with top six male and female athletes who are 18 and under selected to the team.
The Castaic Lake event will also be used to select the 2013 Open Water World Championship team. Swimmers can qualify for the 10K national championship via pool time standards, placement at the 2012 Open Water National Championships or placement at FINA 10K events. Full details on qualification can be found at USA Swimming
As was the case in 2012, expect a strong contingent of distance swimmers including open water veterans and top distance swimmers looking to make the open water swimming team. 2012 featured some amazing performances from pool swimmers who have successfully made the transition to open water.
The May championships will undoubtedly be outstanding for both athletes and spectators.
See Also:
USA Swimming unveils selection criteria for Open Water World Championships team.
Wondering of they will they be having Open Water Events at the Junior World Championships, and if so will the National’s 5k be the qualifying event for that as well?
Great point NYCfanofOW. There’s a lot more at stake this year in the 5k race at the USA Nationals. The 5K will selection according to the USA Swimming criteria.
http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/a1f25362-2de2-4348-9302-83a62013dac2/USA%20Swimming%202013%20OW%20World%20Championships-FINAL.pdf
Obviously there are a few permutations that may impact how the team is selected that include the 10K race, but nevertheless, the 5K has WC implications too. Thanks for bring up this up.
I hope a lot of our up and coming talent are psyched for this year’s OWS nationals!
Mike-You make no mention of the 5k selection for the USA Team. Surprised you missed it. This is a big deal and a huge change in criteria. Might entice a few guys afraid of the 10k to try for a spot on the World Championships team. Please clarify…
NYCfanofOW – I can clarify: These are the selection criteria for the NATIONAL TEAM as distinct from the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP team. You can see more about the World Championship selection criteria here:
http://swimswam.com/southern-california-to-host-2013-open-water-nationals-world-championship-selection-criteria-revealed/