USA Swimming updated its National Team quad plan in May, reflecting updates through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, plus the Short Course World Championships thereafter.
The big news is the addition of dates and locations for next summer’s USA Swimming National Championships. The summer senior national championship meet will be held from July 31st through August 4th at Stanford’s Avery Aquatics Center in Stanford, California. Junior Nationals will follow from August 6th-10th.
The Avery Aquatic Center will mark two straight years in which USA Swimming will host their Summer National Championships both in California, and outdoors. The 2019 won’t be a selection meet for Worlds, or any other major international team, as that team is chosen this summer based on results of this summer’s Nationals and Pan Pacs.
The Avery Aquatics Center last hosted USA Swimming’s National Championship duet in 2004 and 2011. They also hosted the 2006 FINA Masters World Championships, the 2007 USA Diving National Championships, 2009 U.S. Synchro National Championships, and the U.S. Olympic Team training camps before they left for the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. The facility has also hosted a number of elite national water polo competitions.
The Avery Aquatic Center seats 2,530 spectators in its permanent grandstands for its main 37-meter pool (which hosts the schools’ athletic competitions), but racing for the U.S. Nationals will be held in two adjacent 50-meter pools with a temporary grandstand built for the event. In 2011, prelims at senior Nationals were split between the two pools, with finals being hosted entirely in the Belardi Pool (page 3 of this document shows how competition was split up for prelims in 2011). The Belardi Pool is 50 meters x 25 meters with a depth tapered to 11 feet in the center, while the Baker Pool is 50 meters x 25 yards with depth that varies from 4 1/2 to 8 1/2 feet.
Other Notes from the Updated Quad Plan:
- While locations are still undetermined, dates have been set for the 2019 and 2020 Pro Swim Series. 2019 will have 7 stops, 1 more than the 2018 series and 2 more than were listed on the last quad plan. The year after, the series will add a fall meet, which hasn’t happened since Minneapolis was cut, with one November date and 5 stops in the early part of 2020. There will be no June event before the Olympic Trials (the dates of which are still not set). Remember that starting in 2020, USA Swimming will ask cities to bid for hosting rights for the series, a change from when the organization previously paid them to host.
- Dates for swimming at the 2019 Pan American Games have been set, from August 6th-10th.
- Dates of pool swimming for the 2019 World Championships have been set for July 21st-28th.
- Still no dates for the 2019 World Junior Championships in Budapest.
- See the most up-to-date quad plan here.
Trying to understand the spectators’ ticket prices for Summer Juniors this year as compared to years past. Are the only available tickets really $45 or $55/day/person for this year’s Summer Juniors ($225/person for the entire meet) versus $60 for the whole meet in irvine last year?
When do tickets go on sale for the Nationals at Stanford University?
What if it snows? Or has electrical storms with lightning bolts?? People could get hurt and swimmers fried like tater tots!!! Except Dean Farris he would relish any harsh condition.
Dean Farris casts the lightning bolts from his elevated throne…
See you there, Braden!
By the way, shown in the photo are Avery’s two 50 meter pools. The competition will be held in the upper one (farthest from camera). I hope US Swimming brings some multi-color lane lines (like those used at the Olys and Worlds) for easier lane identification — Stanford’s current ones are simple red, white, and blue on each lane line.