USA Swimming on Tuesday revealed the Speedo Swim Again Virtual Series, a month-long national competition that begins Sept. 7.
The competition, which will run through Oct. 11, will highlight the top performers, from age-group to elite participants, every week based on user-submitted times to USA Swimming. The competition will produce a weekly leaderboard of the top eight clubs across three divisions.
The Speedo series springs from USA Swimming’s efforts to expand virtual meets, with travel and physical proximity an ongoing issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. That effort led to the launch in July of the Virtual Meet Simulator on USA Swimming’s site and efforts by various governing bodies to clarify sanctioning on virtual meets. More than 19,000 swimmers, according to the USA Swimming release, have participated in virtual meets since July 1. The Speedo Swim Again Virtual Series adds greater visibility to that effort with a coast-to-coast reach and Speedo’s brand imprimatur.
“As more pools across the country continue to safely open, our team has focused on taking the next steps in creating a unique competitive and racing opportunity for our members,” USA Swimming Managing Director of Sport Development Joel Shinofield said in a press release. “We are incredibly appreciative of Speedo’s support in helping us to provide this opportunity and to supporting our efforts to get our athletes’ back to competition and achieving their goals.”
Teams will be divided into three divisions based on size and historical age-group rankings. In addition to weekly leaders, a set of division champions will be crowned at the end of the competition on Oct. 14. Teams will be eligible for prizes, in cash and Speedo merchandise, through the series. Each division winner will get $800, with $500 available for second place and $300 for third. Prizes are also available for teams that engage with the series on social media, via the hashtag #SpeedoSwimAgainSeries.
“We are proud to partner and support this new innovative way of reaching our swim community,” Speedo USA President Jim Gerson said. “As the leader in competitive swim, Speedo stands on our messaging that there is no stopping we, our united swim community, who always stand together as we swim on.”
The Speedo Swim Again Virtual Series competition will include both sanctioned and non-sanctioned meets across all three pool distances. Events will be scored using a modified FINA Points formula. Times can be submitted to the USA Swimming Virtual Meet Simulator.