The United States Aquatic Sports Convention kicked off Tuesday in Greensboro, NC and on Wednesday USA Swimming released the meet schedule for 2013-2014, the first half of their quadrennial plan which runs through 2016.
As predicted, it looks fairly similar to the Grand Prix schedule we mentioned earlier this summer, heavy on the warm-weather cities with meets in Orlando, Fl. and Mesa, Ariz. added in winter and early spring to join the usual suspects like Austin, Santa Clara, and Charlotte for the next two Grand Prix Series.
The schedule for the major national championships, which was also released earlier this summer, contains few surprises for next year, but a couple shake-ups in 2014. In 2013, Indy will host World Championship Trials and Juniors and U.S. Open will take place at Irvine. The following year, Irvine will host again, but the schedule flip flops. Speedo Juniors will take place July 30-Aug. 3, and then Nationals (World Championship/Pan Pacific Championships/World University Games/ Pan American Games Trials), most likely due to the fact that Summer Youth Olympic Games is at the end of August and this gives swimmers more time in between the two.
Selection criteria hasn’t been released yet, but regardless of whether Juniors is a qualifying meet or completely separate, the three week turnaround will be a great way to prep young swimmers to race at conference meets and then NCAAs when they reach the collegiate level.
Finally, included in the schedule is a national team duel meet in March of 2013 and 2014. Details haven’t been released yet, but hopeful swim nerds read into events like these as a predecessor of some sort of version of pro-league swimming several years down the road.