![USA Swimming to Restructure Qualifying for last 3 Grand Prix Meets [Updated]](https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/stock-TB1_9259-.jpg)
It won’t be any easier to qualify for the last three stops of USA Swimming’s Grand Prix Circuit but it will be easier to understand the qualifying. According to a source close to SwimSwam, the big change is that there will no longer be A and B standards at the Charlotte, Mesa, and Santa Clara meets. It will take the same qualifying times as Junior Nationals to make the meets and all three will be capped at 600 swimmers. As we reported yesterday the Orlando stop has already adjusted their B standards.
In a letter to coaches, National Team Director Frank Busch said that his hope was to “clean up the mess that he helped make in regards to the Grand Prix Meets entry procedure.”
Busch then cited two goals for the Grand Prix: to give athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest level and to control the size of the meet to ensure a high quality event.
The schedule for entries to open for the remaining Grand Prixs will be Mesa entries opening on February 4th at noon Eastern Standard Time; Charlotte Entries opening on February 18th at noon; and Santa Clara opening March 4th at noon. The hope is to allow coaches to create a more reliable season plan.
The meets will still be capped at “approximately 600” swimmers, plus those who fall under the top 50 in the world caveats.
The note from coach Busch was actually quite refreshing. Rather than making the excuses that we’ve sometimes seen in the past out of Colorado Springs, he accepted responsibility, acknowledged that the decisions made did not have the intended results, and corrected them as best he was able.
I’m not exactly sure why they fixed something that wasn’t broken. The Grand Prix meets last year were extremely successful and it didn’t look as if they were overloaded. Also there was a general standard that each meet tailored to their market. Wait till next year – USA Swimming will be crying that they lost sponsors and hemorrhaged money because of dismal numbers both at the meet and in participation… For an organization that loves to tout their commitment to developing talent in this country, they sure know how to shoot themselves in the foot…
are there no yard cuts posted for junior nats? can they only qualify summer with LC cuts? Just curious what the yard q’s will be for Grand Prix if there are any. Couldn’t find anything on the USA site.
Better than Schubert, but only a little
Is there an official list of the clubs and coaches that USA Swimming will allow to enter the meet after the 600 swimmer is capped?
Nothing like a solid season plan! I think next year I’ll read my athletes’ horoscopes to plan their meet schedule rather than rely on published cut times.
In the words of all those young whipper-snappers, epic fail.
Seriously?! For smaller or local teams who have but 1-2 who could qualify, how does this connect with the grassroots initiative the high ups speak about. This is a joke.
Please, USA Swimming, raising the bar is one thing, but this is far too drastic a measure to make people strive for greatness.
Hey, at least we are taking care of the Canadian and Mexican national athletes! Who cares about grassroots?
Um… third try is a charm?