USA Swimming recently announced the expansion of its Block Party program, marking the first evolution of USA Swimming policy since the recent discourse about its operating methods.
The Block Party program provides a pathway for USA Swimming clubs to host meets that are smaller, cheaper, and shorter than traditional multi-day meets, with the idea of making participation less intimidating for new or recreational swimmers and families.
Block Party meets cost $175 to sanction and are designed to be held in two hours.
The program will enter phase three of its pilot program in September, where it will be made available to 25% of USA Swimming clubs. Sign-ups for phase three are ongoing.
USA Swimming says the pilot generated 6,700 new competitors in the first two phases, and that 40% of those competitors later swam at LSC-sanctioned meets. So far, 242 clubs have participated in Block Party, and over 800 meets have been held. More than 31,000 swimmers have participated, and satisfaction rates are reported to be high.
There have been an estimated 800 Block Party meets run so far, which at $175 per meet would generate around $140,000 in sanctioning revenue from the program so far.
- For a full report on the results of phase one, click here.
The Block Party program originated from consultancy firm Reimagine Sports, which is co-owned by Gulf Swimming LSC Executive Director Julie Bachman and Minnetonka Swim Club and Minnetonka School District Aquatics Director John Bradley. Both are heavily involved in the administration of the sport, with Bradley formerly serving as the Central Zone Coach Director and the Minnesota Swimming Sport Development Director.
Reimagine Sports also conducted the results report linked above.
The Block Party brand is co-owned by USA Swimming and Reimagine Sports, with USA Swimming paying Reimagine a management fee plus incentives for hitting certain thresholds.
The two organizations are working together to produce the events, with Reimagine focusing on implementing events and marketing the program and USA Swimming focusing on both marketing and sanctioning/technology support.
A lack of smaller, single day meets has long been a challenge for USA Swimming clubs. The high fees and time commitment associated with traditional meets are often seen as a roadblock for participation in the sport at the beginner level. USA Swimming hopes that Block Party will address that issue.
The program is also directed at providing relief to rural clubs who have few teams in their surrounding area. Block Party meets can be intrasquad, making it easier for these teams to host meets of their own and allowing their swimmers to get sanctioned times without having to travel multiple hours.
One of the program’s founders, Julie Bachman, says Block Party can also rectify capacity issues in areas where there are more swimmers than meet slots.
Details, Limitations, and Challenges
There are limitations placed on what Block Party times can qualify a swimmer for: athletes are not eligible to qualify for USA Swimming 5-Star meets (Sectionals or above) or National Age Group records using Block Party times. This is due to looser officiating regulations within the program – the meets can be officiated by YMCA, NFHS, Summer League Swimming, and NCAA officials, as long as they are non-athlete members of USA Swimming in good standing and enforcing the USA Swimming ruleset. USA Swimming coaches can also officiate.
These officiating regulations are designed to make it easier for teams that struggle to find USA Swimming officials to host meets. They do, however, make it possible for officiating at Block Party meets to be inconsistent with the full USA Swimming ruleset, hence the limitation on qualifying times. USA Swimming says that increasing the number of USA Swimming officials is a sub-goal of the program.
There has been an increase in USA Swimming officials over the past year, says USA Swimming Managing Director of Sport Development Joel Shinofield, but online education for USA Swimming officials was implemented during the same time frame. Shinofield says that makes it difficult to attribute the increase in officials to one or the other.
Reimagine Sports highlighted positive results in its report on phase one of the pilot, saying Block Party helped ease financial burdens on clubs and participants. They also reported challenges, including pushback from multiple LSC’s. This was largely due to the fact that Block party meets skirt the LSC framework: meet fees are paid to USA Swimming and LSC’s have no input on meet scheduling.
That report was given in September of 2024. Shinofield said USA Swimming doesn’t fully know how LSC’s received the program’s expansion in phase two, but they do know some LSC’s are utilizing the program more than others.
It was also reported that in phase one, clubs described challenges affording timing systems they thought were necessary to run meets. Shinofield stressed that moving forward, one of their main focuses was providing clarity on Block Party’s flexibility, because “You can also just use watches” to run a Block Party meet.
More up-to-date details on the program’s effects should be available upon the completion of phase two in September.
