The 2022 USA Swimming National Championships will head back to California in August, this time taking place in Irvine. The last time USA Swimming held Nationals in California was in 2019 at Stanford, following the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. While the 2019 National Championships came immediately after the racing was finished in Korea, the 2022 National meet will be more than 2 months after Worlds, giving American athletes plenty of time to rest and prepare.
In fact, the summer of 2022 could be relatively low-key as athletes won’t have to be away for a month for Worlds, Pan Pacs, or Pan Ams. In 2022, senior-level athletes could race at the World University Games in July, if they are eligible. WUGs will be held in Chengdu, China, from June 26th through July 7th, though swimming will not take place over that entire span of time. Beyond WUGs, however, there will be little reason for most of Team USA’s senior athletes to leave the country to race, which will instead give them the chance to focus on training at home.
Irvine was also the host of the 2018 USA Swimming National Championships, which saw two American Records one World Record set during the competition, as well as two World Junior Records.
2022 USA Swimming National Championships Dates & Location
- August 2-6: Irvine, CA — William Wollett Jr. Aquatic Center
Has there been any word about World Championship trials or if they’ll use this year as a double selection year like they would in a normal cycle? I think most swim fans would agree that the selecting the team the year prior is dumb under normal circumstances, and would be even dumber this year.
Don’t know how NCAA athletes handle the potential timing of their championship in March, Trials in April, then Worlds in May unless they “train through” NCs.
It’s there April 26-30