USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming in the United States, today announced a new virtual competition format for its members, allowing swimmers from across the country to compete against one another from the comfort of their local pool.
The new competition style, which marks the first time USA Swimming has held virtual meets on a national scale, allows swimmers to return to racing while reducing the risks of travel and large gatherings in venues. Athletes who compete in these virtual meets will swim in their local pools and submit their times to USA Swimming just as they would for a traditional meet. These results will then be showcased on a virtual meet leaderboard, in a unique time search database and in a newly designed meet simulator widget on usaswimming.org/times/virtual-offerings/virtual-meet-simulator.
While created to address short term concerns caused by the global pandemic, the virtual competition tool is a long-term investment for the sport that can help bridge the gap between summer league competitors and premium year-round members, and introduce competition to beginner-level club swimmers. The virtual format will allow for both sanctioned and non-sanctioned meets.
For more information on virtual meets, please view the following resources:
All training and competition must conform to local, state, and federal public health guidelines. Questions regarding this new format can be directed to virtualmeets@usaswimming.org.
