Monday, February 28, 2022
The Final Sprint: February 2022
Each month, The Final Sprint will detail recent events that have happened in the world of swimming. Whether it be a fast time, an organizational announcement or a social media post you need to see, The Final Sprint has you covered. Here are a few things that took place this past month:
Between Lane Lines
The University of Virginia lived up to the hype at the ACC Championships this month, as they broke American records in the men’s 4x50y freestyle relay (1:14.47), women’s 4x50-yard freestyle relay (1:24.47), women’s 4x50y medley relay (1:31.81) and women’s 4x100y medley relay (3:22.34). The Cavalier women will enter March’s NCAA Division I Championships as the top-ranked team in the nation and will face numerous challengers in the Big 12 Champion Texas Longhorns, SEC Champion Tennessee Volunteers and more.
On the men’s NCAA side, Texas proved they were worthy of their No. 1 national ranking. At the Big 12 Championships, U.S. National Team member Carson Foster earned “Swimmer of the Meet” honors after top finishes in the 200- and 400y IM as well as the 200y backstroke, helping lead the Longhorn men to a conference title. Texas will be challenged by NC State, Cal, Indiana and Florida among others in what should be an exciting men’s NCAA Championships.
At the club level, the annual Black History Invitational meet was held February 18-20 in Washington, D.C. The competition, now in its 35th year, celebrates Black swimmers, coaches, parents and more. Eleven-year-old Sydney Campbell, out of Maryland Suburban Swim Club, had the top-two swims of any swimmer at the meet (based on Hy-Tek Power Points) by going 25.57 and 25.21 in the prelims and finals, respectively, of the 50y freestyle. Read more about this year’s Black History Invitational Meet here!
Around the Pool Deck
USA Swimming had multiple organizational announcements in the month of February.
On February 1, USA Swimming announced its Athlete Inclusion, Competitive Equity and Eligibility Policy, outlining the new policy applicable to USA Swimming athlete members and approved elite events.
The organization also announced changes to the TYR Pro Swim Series calendar, resulting in a new event in Westmont, Ill. from March 2-5, as well as a date change to the TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo, which is now June 1-4. The event changes come as a result of FINA's decision to host its World Championships in Budapest, Hungary this June, where the U.S. team will compete under the leadership of Todd DeSorbo and Anthony Nesty.
In programming news, Seward Tsunami Swim Club was named 2021 Grand Prize winner in a drawing from Olympic gold medalist Zach Apple. The club will receive a year of free license fees from our online fundraising partner, TeamUnify, and a visit from a USA Swimming National Team member for winning the Grand Prize. The USA Swimming Foundation also announced that it would be awarding nearly $900,000 to learn to swim providers nationwide, resulting in free or reduced-cost lessons for an estimated 19,870 children and 2,007 adults.
Lastly, USA Swimming has partnered with LiveBarn, providing live and on-demand video streaming services for swimming pools utilized by USA Swimming member clubs. A renewed partnership with Competitor Lane Lines was also announced, as was a new partnership with USA Track & Field to develop a national Request For Proposal (RFP) process to sign a leading agency to package and sell key categories and properties for both entities.
The Content You Need
Many people look at February as conference championships season, but it is also #SwimValentines season. Head to USA Swimming’s Instagram to get your annual dose of #SwimValentines content.
Also, Caeleb Dressel’s tattoo game continues to get stronger – check out the newest details to his collection here.
Tips and Tricks
Every athlete who has ever competed has likely been told by their coach to lengthen their stroke. Coach Amy Padilla breaks down tips for each discipline on how to make your stroke longer and how doing so can help you go faster.
Between Lane Lines
The University of Virginia lived up to the hype at the ACC Championships this month, as they broke American records in the men’s 4x50y freestyle relay (1:14.47), women’s 4x50-yard freestyle relay (1:24.47), women’s 4x50y medley relay (1:31.81) and women’s 4x100y medley relay (3:22.34). The Cavalier women will enter March’s NCAA Division I Championships as the top-ranked team in the nation and will face numerous challengers in the Big 12 Champion Texas Longhorns, SEC Champion Tennessee Volunteers and more.
On the men’s NCAA side, Texas proved they were worthy of their No. 1 national ranking. At the Big 12 Championships, U.S. National Team member Carson Foster earned “Swimmer of the Meet” honors after top finishes in the 200- and 400y IM as well as the 200y backstroke, helping lead the Longhorn men to a conference title. Texas will be challenged by NC State, Cal, Indiana and Florida among others in what should be an exciting men’s NCAA Championships.
At the club level, the annual Black History Invitational meet was held February 18-20 in Washington, D.C. The competition, now in its 35th year, celebrates Black swimmers, coaches, parents and more. Eleven-year-old Sydney Campbell, out of Maryland Suburban Swim Club, had the top-two swims of any swimmer at the meet (based on Hy-Tek Power Points) by going 25.57 and 25.21 in the prelims and finals, respectively, of the 50y freestyle. Read more about this year’s Black History Invitational Meet here!
Around the Pool Deck
USA Swimming had multiple organizational announcements in the month of February.
On February 1, USA Swimming announced its Athlete Inclusion, Competitive Equity and Eligibility Policy, outlining the new policy applicable to USA Swimming athlete members and approved elite events.
The organization also announced changes to the TYR Pro Swim Series calendar, resulting in a new event in Westmont, Ill. from March 2-5, as well as a date change to the TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo, which is now June 1-4. The event changes come as a result of FINA's decision to host its World Championships in Budapest, Hungary this June, where the U.S. team will compete under the leadership of Todd DeSorbo and Anthony Nesty.
In programming news, Seward Tsunami Swim Club was named 2021 Grand Prize winner in a drawing from Olympic gold medalist Zach Apple. The club will receive a year of free license fees from our online fundraising partner, TeamUnify, and a visit from a USA Swimming National Team member for winning the Grand Prize. The USA Swimming Foundation also announced that it would be awarding nearly $900,000 to learn to swim providers nationwide, resulting in free or reduced-cost lessons for an estimated 19,870 children and 2,007 adults.
Lastly, USA Swimming has partnered with LiveBarn, providing live and on-demand video streaming services for swimming pools utilized by USA Swimming member clubs. A renewed partnership with Competitor Lane Lines was also announced, as was a new partnership with USA Track & Field to develop a national Request For Proposal (RFP) process to sign a leading agency to package and sell key categories and properties for both entities.
The Content You Need
Many people look at February as conference championships season, but it is also #SwimValentines season. Head to USA Swimming’s Instagram to get your annual dose of #SwimValentines content.
Also, Caeleb Dressel’s tattoo game continues to get stronger – check out the newest details to his collection here.
Tips and Tricks
Every athlete who has ever competed has likely been told by their coach to lengthen their stroke. Coach Amy Padilla breaks down tips for each discipline on how to make your stroke longer and how doing so can help you go faster.