The top swimmers in the country will return to the pool for the 2008-2009 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series. For the second year in a row, swimmers will be awarded points for medals earned at the six meets. A $20,000 purse will be awarded to the swimmer with the most points at the conclusion of the series.

The USA Swimming Grand Prix Series will kick off Nov. 14 in Minneapolis, Minn., and will make additional stops in Long Beach, Calif.; Columbia, Mo.; Austin, Texas; and Charlotte, N.C. The $20,000 prize will be awarded at the final stop of the series in Santa Clara, Calif., June 11-14, 2009.

The scoring system awards swimmers points based on gold, silver and bronze-medal performances. At each meet, a gold medal earns a swimmer five points, a silver medal commands three points and a bronze medal is one point. The standings will integrate male and female participants, recognizing the swimmer with the highest cumulative point total. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the swimmer who earned the highest single-race FINA power point ranking. Leaders will be tracked online at www.usaswimming.org, www.swimnetwork.com, and in Splash magazine, the official magazine of USA Swimming.

“We are thrilled to continue the scoring element of the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series, and we look forward to another exciting year of competition, especially following the success of the U.S. Swim Team at the 2008 Olympic Games,” said Mark Schubert, USA Swimming’s National Team head coach and general manager. “Last year we saw the competitive spirit come out in our swimmers as they raced towards the $20,000 prize, and we look forward to seeing that excitement grow throughout the duration of the series.”

Last year’s series saw a competitive run from many of the country’s top swimmers, including Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.), and Mary DeScenza (Naperville, Ill.). Phelps earned the top spot with a total of 112 points, taking home the first-ever $20,000 purse for the 2007-2008 Grand Prix Series. DeScenza, a specialist in multiple strokes, earned the second-place spot, while Hoff was third.

The full schedule for the 2008-2009 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series is below.