USA Swimming Names 119 Swimmers to 2025 Zone Select Camp Rosters

USA Swimming has announced rosters for its the 2025 Select Camps. In total, 119 junior-aged athletes will attend the three camps where athletes will be exposed to elite level coaching and sport performance concepts and tiptoe into the cultural bonds of the broader US national system.

This is actually an increase from the 112 participating clubs at the 2024 camps, in spite of the consolidation.

Zone Select Camps

This year, USA Swimming is hosting two Zone Select Camps, consolidating from the previous four, with Eastern and Southern Zones combining for a camp and Western and Central Zones combining for a camp.

30 swimmers were selected from each zone aside from the Western Zone, where only 29 will attend. The selection procedures invite the best swimmers in each of the 14 individual Olympic event (based on the Paris Olympic schedule), plus the next fastest 12 year old girl, 13 year old girl, 13 year old boy, and 14 year old boy based on an overall ranking of their placement in three events within their Zone.

The qualifying period was September 1, 2023 until August 31, 2024 and only long course swims are considered.

This system was a change from prior versions that relied more on IMX score. According to USA Swimming, their data team found that choosing by event versus an overall score was a better predictor of advancements to higher levels of national and international swimming.

Athletes who have already appeared on the Junior National Team are not eligible to attend.

Coaches of invited athletes are also able to attend the camp, where they will have a separate track from the coaches’ camps. Housing, meals, and local transportation is included for attending coaches.

The Southern/Eastern Camp will be held at the University of Louisville from May 22-25, while the Western/Central Camp will be held at Arizona State from June 5-8.

Eastern Zone (Camp 1)

The historic North Baltimore Aquatic Club, the program that gave rise to Michael Phelps, will be well-represented in the Eastern Zone with 3 swimmers attending. Cavalier Aquatics, NOVA of Virginia, Racer X Aquatics, and one of the country’s largest clubs NCAP all have multiple swimmers attending from the Eastern Zone.

Southern Zone (Camp 1)

The Southern Zone, which spans from West Virginia to Texas and Florida, excluding Virginia, is one of the country’s most successful regions. The camp will include 2 athletes each from SwimMAC Carolina, the North Carolina Aquatic Club, and the TAC Titans in North Carolina’s fertile club scene, 2 each from Saint Petersburg Aquatics and the Sarasota Sharks in Florida, and 2 from the First Colony Swim Team and Lakeside Aquatic Club in Houston, Texas.

Note that Carmel Swim Club will be represented in both camps: Alex Clark lived in Florida when she qualified (Southern Zone) but has since moved to train with the Carmel Swim Club in Indiana (Central Zone). She will attend the Southern Zone Camp, while Andrew Allen and Haley Morris will both attend the Central Zone Camp.

Central Zone (Camp 2)

Two more from the Carmel Swim Club, making three total, leads the way for the Central Zone. Other clubs with two in this group include the Waukesha Express in Wisconsin, the Dublin Community Swim Team and Mason Manta Rays in Ohio, and FMC Aquatic in Illinois, which is home to the FMC Aquatic Center that has become a jewel in the national swimming hosting rotation.

Western Zone (Camp 2)

Four clubs on the West Coast had three swimmers qualify each: The Santa Clara Swim Club and Sierra Marlins Swim Team in Northern California, Irvine Novaquatics in Southern California, and the Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club in Seattle.

Among the highlights of this group is National Age Group Record breaker Aiden Zhou.