Comparing USA Swimming LSCs Around the Country
With more than 300,000 swimmers registered with USA Swimming, the Local Swim Committees (LSC) take on the role of administering competitive swim meets across the country. The USA Swimming LSC map is a familiar sight to many, and the 59 LSCs vary significantly across the country in their geographic size and number of swimmers.
Here’s a little look at some interesting LSC facts.
Starting with geography, the data shows that small (in area) can be mighty. The smallest LSC by geographic area is Potomac Valley Swimming (PVS), which includes DC, northern Virginia, and southern parts of Maryland. According to the PVS website, it hosts approximately 12,000 swimmers, which is one of the highest totals in terms of athletes. Despite its small geographic size, PVS has been the home of some of the nation’s top swimmers for decades, most recently producing the likes of Katie Ledecky, Torri Huske, Phoebe Bacon, Jack Conger and Andrew Seliskar.
On the other end of the spectrum, the largest geographical LSC is Alaska Swimming, which encompasses the entire state of Alaska. Alaska Swimming has also had top-notch swimmers in the past few years, such as ASU breastroker John Heaphy, and of course, Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby. Not surprising, Alaska Swimming is one of the smallest LSCs by number of swimmers, with fewer than 2,500 swimmers registered, according to information available in USA Swimming’s 2023 Membership Demographics Report.
Due to the fact that Metropolitan Swimming includes the entirety of Long Island, a region of more than 7 million people, as well as much of the lower part of New York state, Metro Swimming is one of the largest by population, boasting 10,000 registered athletes according to its website. Similar to PVS, Metropolitan Swimming is fairly small by area, but has a large population, and has produced a handful of world-class swimmers, including American-record holder Kate Douglass, in the past few years.
The largest LSC by population, and by far, is Southern California Swimming, with approximately 20,000 athletes, coaches, officials and parent volunteers, according to its 2024 Swim Guide. This LSC includes both Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as well as Long Beach and Santa Barbara. Southern California Swimming has produced numerous Olympians, and U.S. National Teamers throughout the years. Recently, swimmers such as Bella Sims, Claire Weinstein and Katie Grimes have come up on the women’s side, produced by the Sandpipers of Nevada.
LSCs that fall in the middle of the pack according to geography and swimmer population have risen to the top in terms of achievement. New Jersey Swimming stands out as such an example, even though it only includes the upper half of the state. Jack Alexy, Dare Rose, Matt Fallon and Nic Fink, medalists at last year’s World Championships, all hail from this small LSC.
Great article, Avery!
Here’s some additional comparison amongst LSCs regarding the cost of Age Group Championship meets – https://www.streamlineteams.org/amp/the-cost-of-the-age-group-championship-meet
At the end of article there is a comparison of costs related to LSCs and database of meet announcements.