2021 Speedo Winter Junior Championships – East & West
East Details:
- December 8-11, 2021
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Psych Sheets
West Details:
- December 8-11, 2021
- Jamail Texas Swim Center, Austin, Texas
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Psych Sheets
The 2021 USA Swimming Speedo Winter Junior Championships begin on Wednesday, following up on last week’s US Open meet. The Winter Junior Championships are a series of two separate meets, which are scored and ranked separately. Athletes are assigned to one of two sites: Greensboro for the “East” meet and Austin for the “West” meet, based on the geography of their registered clubs.
Unlike the US Open, which had fairly small fields, athletes are out in full force for the Winter Junior Championships.
While the meets are administered, ranked, and scored separately, SwimSwam will combine results throughout the week to create an informal “mythical national championship” ranking.
One of the nation’s best junior programs will miss the meet: Nation’s Capital in the DC Metro will host its own NCAP Invitational, as is traditional this time of year.
But most of the country’s most recognizable clubs will be in attendance, including the TAC Titans, Dynamo Swim Club, SwimMAC Carolina, Carmel Swim Club, Club Wolverine, SwimAtlanta, Bolles School Sharks, Bellevue Club Swim Team, PASA, Irvine Novaquatics, Rose Bowl Aquatics, Katy Aquatics, and Sandpipers of Nevada.
The Sandpipers will bring along their two remaining junior swimmers who were on the U.S. Olympic Team in 2021, Bella Sims and Katie Grimes, as well as their new wunderkind Claire Weinstein.
Most of the USA Swimming Junior National Team will be in attendance at one meet or the other.
Also racing at the East meet is 14-year old Thomas Heilman from Cavalie Aquatics. Last week, between the US Open and a nearby short course yards meet that he raced in for one session, Heilman broke 7 National Age Group Records (including records in both courses).
He has a 6 event schedule lined up for the Winter Junior Championships – East: 50/100/200 frees, 100/200 fly, and 200 IM. While he’s not the top seed in any of those races, he is an outright contender in each after his performance last weekend.
More previews to come later this week.
COVID Protocols
- All credentialed participants, vaccinated or not, must show proof of a negative test for COVID-19 within 72 hours before the meet, before receiving their credentials.
- All USA Swimming representatives, including volunteers, staff, and officials, must be vaccinated.
- In Greensboro, everyone in the venue must wear masks except when competing. That includes coaches, athletes, officials, and spectators. In Austin, masking is “strongly recommended” but not required.
On another note, women’s 500 Free is going to be heated in west. Sims 4:32.1 and Grimes 4:37… I wonder if we can see a sub 4:30 from one of these women 👀 Also, we need a swimswam podcast with Grimes! Really eager to hear about her Olympic experience as a 15 year old, and her successful open water season!
I wonder why Tuggle isn’t there… no appearance at US Open, and not a blazing opening over her season… hope she gets back to 2019 form!
She did swim in Berlin/Budapest with the Junior team.
LIAC and NOVA will also be at the NCAP meet. Three strong age group teams skipping Jrs.
I’m sure this won’t be liked, but is this a good thing for a 14-year-old 8th grader to be doing back-to-back-to-back big meets? Is this being driven by his coach or does Tommy really want to be doing this? How about the financial strain of going to 3 big travel meets in a row for his parents?
what’s the third back in your back-to-back-to-back scenario? The one morning session he did at YOTA before driving home?
See look, you even admitted it was a dumb comment.
Y’all ever met kids? Kids love competing. Is it good for a kid to do back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back 10,000 meter practices, where they’re 6 hours at practice for a week straight? No, but some of y’all still love to worship that stuff.
The basketball kids play games every weekend. So do the soccer kids.
Athletes love competing. I can’t in my earthly mind, even if I put on my very biggest coach-trying-to-be-pseudo-psychologist hat, think of what would be bad about this. So please tell us what could possibly be bad about it.
And burn out is a real issue in swimming so it is a valid concern to raise.
It’s no joke lots of the best swimmers in the world have gone through it…even me.
They get burned out from practice, not from meets.
Is that true? Burnout only happens from practice? The pressure of meets never burns a kid out?
Counterintuitively, sometimes it’s easier for younger swimmers to go to more meets because their homework level is lower.
Bellard goated
Ur talking about Hannah Bellard right? She’s on my team 😉
Off topic, but can we get a Femke Heemskerk retirement/appreciation post?
There *are* other fast swimmers in this meet too.
Great comment.
Imagine all the school he’s missing. All those 8th-grade homework assignments!
Still some schools offering online so who knows
Would do them for him.
My experiences as a swimmer, coach, and teacher are simple: swimmers might “miss school” but they don’t “miss” homework” — they make it all up, and usually with a GPA that would make “Other Sports” proud!
Often under appreciated—not having to do homework is one of the best parts of being an adult