Courtesy: YMCA of the USA
YMCA of the USA will celebrate 100 years of cultivating champions in and out of the pool during the 2023 YMCA National Short Course Swimming Championship, April 3-7 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
Former YMCA swimming and diving athletes are invited to attend the centennial celebration, which includes an alumni reception, and a special opening ceremony, featuring a performance by North Carolina A&T State University’s Cold Steel Drumline. There will also be appearances and photo opportunities with former Olympians, and an athletes’ dinner and talk show hosted by Rowdy Gaines. To view the complete celebration schedule, please visit the event website.
More than 200 YMCA teams and 1,300 swimmers from around the country will compete, with an additional 1,000 coaches, volunteers, alumni and family members expected to attend the event in support of the athletes.
The first YMCA National Swimming and Diving Championship was held in Brooklyn, NY in 1923. Since its debut 100 years ago, this national meet has featured outstanding swimming competitors and served as a celebration of achievement for young athletes. Many of these YMCA swimming and diving champions have gone on to compete at the collegiate level and represent Team USA in the Olympics.
For more information on the centennial celebration or the 2023 YMCA National Short Course Swimming Championship, please visit the event website or email Meredith Griffin ([email protected]).
I am thankful for the YMCA. I train in pools during the winter and the national membership program allows my self to visit YMCAs all over the country when I travel.
Even when I am at home I have access to over 15 pools within 25 miles!
As someone who grew up swimming in a YMCA program and created some of my fondest memories there, it is really sad what has happened to YMCA swimming in many parts of the country. Directors who don’t care about swimming look at the salaries of experienced coaches as a budget hit, and constantly seek to replace them with less experienced replacements, regardless of how long they have worked at the YMCA.
My former YMCA team got rid of a guy who was consistently producing national-level athletes for years and replaced him with a part timer who has just been mailing it in. The fall of the program was especially sad for alumni, given how hard the parents and swimmers… Read more »