Orange Bowl Swimming Classic to be Held Jan. 3 in Key Largo

Collegiate swimmers leap off the starting blocks for the 50-meter women's freestyle event Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, at the Orange Bowl Swimming Classic in Key Largo, Fla. Michigan placed first in the women's division while West Virginia University won the men's division. The event, staged at the Jacobs Aquatic Center, was the highlight of the winter collegiate swimming training season in the Florida Keys. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO)

Photo Courtesy: Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO

Hundreds of the nation’s finest collegiate swimmers are to gather to compete in the Orange Bowl Swimming Classic, Tuesday, Jan. 3, at the Jacobs Aquatic Center, mile marker 99.6 oceanside in Key Largo.

The island’s subtropical weather, a first-class training facility and the lure of South Florida’s Orange Bowl game combine for the popular monthlong Orange Bowl training session held annually on Key Largo.

The sprint-style meet features 20 fast-paced swimming events clocked by a state-of-the-art timing system. Admission is free to watch the competition, expected to start at 10 a.m. and continue until noon.

Several men and women who have either trained at the Jacobs Aquatic Center swimming facility or participated in the Orange Bowl Swim Classic have gone on to pursue Olympic gold.

Among more than a dozen college teams scheduled to attend winter training, eight are slated to compete in the swimming classic including long-time attendees George Mason University from Fairfax, Virginia; and the University of Michigan from Ann Arbor. They will be joined by universities from Massachusetts, Texas and Vermont.

A post-contest awards social and dinner at the Jacobs Aquatic Center follow the meet, where spectators are welcome to interact with the swimmers and coaches.

Press release courtesy of Florida Keys.

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