As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, meets across the country have been delayed or cancelled, including NCAAs, USA Swimming Summer Nationals, YMCA Nationals, and the United States Olympic Trials.
One of the cancelled meets is the College Club Swimming Championship, which was scheduled to take place Greensboro, North Carolina last weekend. The meet, which has been occurring under the umbrella of US Masters Swimming since 2018, is the largest college meet in the country. Last year, the meet had just over 1,800 swimmers attending from over 170 member clubs. This year, the organization was expecting similar attendance numbers.
With the cancellation of the meet, the College Club Swimming community has decided to come together to honor it, while having some fun. Several members of the community started a hashtag, #CCSNatsAtHome, on which people are posting their unique race videos, ranging from swimming in bathtubs, to swimming in ice. They have also included a variety of props in these videos, including horses and dogs. Additionally, alumni of the CCS clubs have made a video dedicated to those swimmers who were unable to participate in their national championship, which can be viewed below. Through all of this, CCS says that they hope they can spread a little bit of cheer and motivation to athletes who are going through this difficult time, while helping people come together.