USA Swimming Releases Pre-Olympic Training and Competition Plan

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, September 21. USA Swimming today released its National Team plan for the remainder of the quadrennium leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The plan is highlighted by two annual national championships – one in the summer for long course events (50-meter pool), and one in the fall for short course events (25-yard pool) – as well as several international meets.

Pool Swimming
The national champions in long course events will be chosen at the 2007 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., July 31-Aug. 4, 2007. The 2007 Short Course National Championships will take place in Atlanta, Ga., Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 2007. The top swimmers from the 2007 Short Course National Championships will earn placement on the U.S. team headed to the 2008 Short Course World Championships in Manchester, England.

Among its remaining pre-Olympic international meets, Team USA will travel to Melbourne, Australia, for the 2007 FINA World Championships, March 25-April 1, followed by the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, a head-to-head meet versus international powerhouse Australia. The latter event will be held in Sydney, April 3, 2007. The U.S. National Team will compete in the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16-21, 2007. In addition, the USA’s top collegiate swimmers will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 8-13, 2007, for the multi-sport World University Games. Both the Pan American Games team and the World University Games team will train in Colorado Springs, Colo., April 19-22, 2007.

As for domestic competition, the 2007 Grand Prix of Swimming series kicks off with the only short course meet of the series, set for Jan. 12 in Long Beach, Calif. Other stops on the series include Columbia, Mo. (Feb.16-19), Ann Arbor, Mich. (May 17-20), Charlotte, N.C. (June 7-10), Santa Clara, Calif. (June 28-July 1) and Los Angeles (July 12-15). The 2007 Grand Prix schedule will wrap up in Minneapolis in November (date TBD).

Highlights from the 2008 pre-Olympic schedule include the Short Course World Championships in Manchester (April 9-13); the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb., (June 29-July 6); and the domestic U.S. Olympic training camp in Palo Alto, Calif., (July 7-25).

Open Water Swimming
USA Swimming also released its quad plan for the open water team. The 10K open water event was officially added to the 2008 Olympic program in October 2005.

Upcoming international meets on the open water schedule include the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, (March 18-25, 2007); the Seville World Cup in Seville, Spain, (June 4-10, 2007); and the 10K Open Water Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (July 14, 2007).

The major domestic selection meet for the open water swimmers will be held May 17-21, 2007, at the Open Water National Championships in Fort Myers, Fla. At that meet, swimmers will compete for placement on teams headed to 2007 Pan American Games and the 2007 Seville World Cup. On October 20 and 21, 2007, open water swimmers will compete in the Bakersfield 10K, where the top four swimmers will earn selection to the 2008 FINA Open Water World Championships team.

The 2008 FINA Open Water World Championships will serve as the Olympic selection meet. Swimmers who place in the top 10 at the Open Water World Championships will go to the Olympics in Beijing (maximum of two swimmers per country). If a country has no finishers in the top 10, but places a continental champion at the event, the continental champion will compete in the Olympics. If a country has neither a top-10 swimmer nor a continental champion, it may send two swimmers to compete in the pre-Olympic test event in Beijing, May 31-June 1.

The full 2006-2008 National Team Quadrennial Plan is as follows:

USA Swimming National Team Quadrennial Plan

2006
Oct. 29-Nov 1 National Junior Team Camp – Colorado Springs, Colo.
Nov. 10-12 Grand Prix (SCY) – San Antonio, Texas
Nov. 30-Dec 2 U.S. Open (long course) – West Lafayette, Ind.

2007*
Jan. 12-15 Long Beach Grand Prix of Swimming (SCY) – Long Beach, Calif.
Jan. 10-15 Junior Pan Pacific Championships – Maui, Hawaii
(Pool competition: Jan 11-14)
(Open Water competition: Jan 15)
Feb. 16-19 Grand Prix Meet (Long Course) – Columbia, Mo.
Mar. 18-Apr 1 World Championships-Melbourne, Australia
(Pool competition: Mar 25-Apr 1)
(Open Water competition: March 18-25)
Apr. 3 Mutual of Omaha Duel in Pool – Sydney, Australia
Mar. 27-31 USA Swimming Spring Championships (Long Course) – East Meadow, N.Y.
Apr. 19-22 National Team Camp (World University Games and Pan American Games) – Colorado Springs, Colo.
Apr. 24-27 National Team Coaches Camp
May 17-20 Grand Prix Meet – Ann Arbor, Mich.
June 7-10 Grand Prix Meet – Charlotte, N.C.
June 28-Jul 1 Grand Prix Meet – Santa Clara, Calif.
July 12-15 Grand Prix Meet – Los Angeles, Calif.
July 13-29 Pan American Games – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(Pool competition: July 16-21)
(open water competition: July 14)
July 31-Aug 4 ConocoPhillips National Championships – Indianapolis, Ind.
Aug. 6-10 Speedo Junior National Championships – Indianapolis, Ind.
Aug. 8-14 World University Games – Bangkok, Thailand
Aug. 21-24 Japan International Grand Prix – Chiba, Japan
Oct. TBD National Junior Team Camp – TBD
Nov. TBD Grand Prix Meet – Minneapolis, Minn.
Nov. 29-Dec 1 Short Course National Championships – Atlanta, Ga.
selection for 2008 Short Course World Championships
Dec. 2 Long Course Time Final National Invitational – Atlanta, Ga.

2008*
Jan. TBD Junior Team Competition – TBD
Jan. 19-21 Long Beach Grand Prix of Swimming (Short Course) – Long Beach, Calif.
Feb. 15-18 Grand Prix Meet – TBD
April 3-6 Grand Prix Meet – Stanford, Calif.
April 9-13 Short Course World Championships – Manchester, England
May 15-18 Grand Prix Meet – Santa Clara, Calif.
June 5-8 Grand Prix Meet – Charlotte, N.C.
June 5-8 Grand Prix Meet – Omaha, Neb.
June 29 – Jul 6 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Omaha, Neb.
July 7-25 Olympic Team domestic training camp – Palo Alto, Calif.
July 29-Aug 2 ConocoPhillips National Championships – Minneapolis, Minn.
Aug. 4-8 Junior Championships – Minneapolis, Minn.
Aug. 8-24 Olympic Games – Beijing, China
(Pool competition: Aug. 9-16)
(Open Water competition: Aug. 20-21)
Sept. 4-9 FINA World Youth Championships – Monterrey, Mexico
Oct. TBD National Junior Team Camp – TBD
Nov. 14-16 Grand Prix Meet – Minneapolis, Minn.
Dec. 4-6 Short Course National Championships – Atlanta, Ga.
Dec. 7 Long Course Timed Final National Invitational – Atlanta, Ga.

USA Swimming National Team Open Water Quadrennial Plan

2007*
March 12-17 Open Water training camp – Melbourne, Australia
March 18-25 FINA World Championships – Melbourne, Australia
May 13-17 Open Water training camp – Fort Meyers, Fla.
May 17- 21 Open Water National Championships – Fort Meyers, Fla.
Selection meet for Pan American Games and Seville World Cup
June 4-10 Seville World Cup – Seville, Spain
June 30 Long Beach Open Water Grand Prix (5K) – Long Beach, Calif.
July 14 10 K Open Water Pan American Games – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Aug. 5 Open Water Grand Prix – Indianapolis, Ind.
Aug. 11 Open Water 37K – Atlantic City, N.J.
Oct. 20 10 K (women) Selection Meet – Bakersfield, Calif.
Oct. 21 10 K (men) Selection Meet – Bakersfield, Calif.

2008*
April 29-May 4 2008 FINA Open Water World Championships – Seville, Spain
(selection for 2008 Olympic Games)
May 31-June 1 Olympic Test Event – Beijing, China
July 11-25 Olympic Team required domestic camp – Palo Alto, Calif.
July 25-Aug 3 Required domestic camp – Napa, Calif.
Aug. 5-9 Training Camp – Beijing, China
Aug. 8 Opening Ceremonies
Aug. 9-15 Training Camp – Japan
Aug. 16-20 Olympic Games – Beijing, China (Open Water competition: Aug. 20-21)

From USA Swimming News Reports

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