How do you try out for the olympics in swimming?

Question

How do you join the USA swimming team? Do you have to be spotted? Is there a try out meet?

Answer 1

While most of the answers are correct, they are not entirely accurate. In the United States, we have various levels of time standards for the various levels of competition. For the 2008 Olympics in China, we will have an Olympic trial meet from June 29th to July 6th, 2008. To be able to compete at the US Olympic Trial meet, you must have met or gone faster than the qualifying time posted. At the meet, the top two finishers in each individual event qualify to represent the United States at the Olympics. To make up the relay entries, the coaches choose winners of the corresponding events plus 1 o2 alternates for the relays.

To qualify for the Olympics, a swimmer is NOT required to be on the national team, nor are they even required to be on a team at all. I know several swimmers that train alone and do not want any distractions from others in the pool.

Answer 2

If you want to be a USA swimmer then you have to join a team, most teams will only require you to be able to swim the length of the pool before they begin training you. When it comes to swimming on a US Swimming team there are no spotters, US Swimming is the most professional team with the strictest adherence to the rules, and in general coaches are tough and they operate under a work hard swim harder attitude. To find a local club by you go to http://www.usaswimming.org/usasweb/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=503&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en . Keep in mind that if you live in a large city you can "shop around" for your team. Find a coach that works, and other swimmers that you are similar to. If you are older (High School) and you have little or no experiencer you will probably be put into a younger group until you develop as a swimmer which will happen quickly, so don't worry. Another thing to remember is that manyh people, myself for example, who are on a US Swim Team have been swimming competivley for their whole life (im 16 and ive been swimming for 11 of those years). Training is intense but extremely fun. Go for the team!

On the olympic thing, you must go to sectionals, then nationals then trials before you may go to the olympics all have set time standards and rankings that you must achieve before you can move on to the next level.

Have fun swimming.

Answer 3

you have to have a lot of heart form what you posted you sound like somebody has talked to you about trying that's good. I'm personally shooting for the paralympics in 2008 so I know what it takes. and I will tell you have no social life outside of school and the pool. I swim twice a day and am training extremely hard for my times the Olympics however are even harder to get into every poster before has said all the steps you have to go through. it take a long time many years some times swimmers start at the age of 4 but don't achive anything big (like olympic cuts) until there 26 or so. bottom line its a long and hard road to the Olympics int the sport of swimming. sorry

Answer 4

There is usually a meet that qualifies you for the olympics. But first you have to get the qualifing times and join a USA swimming team.

Answer 5

It's basically exactly what the first poster said. In addition to being on a USA sanctioned team, you have to qualify. We (the coaches) post the Olympic Trial Qualifying Times on the board every year for our swimmers so they know what to shoot for. Once they make the qualifying times, there are various stages of qualifyng that swimmers must go through. If you continue all the way through qualifications and the US feels you'd be an asset to the team then you will be selected to compete under the US flag. But it doesn't end there. olympic athletes train all the tiem, give up everything to focus on the dream and in some cases never even get to compete because they are simply reserves. It requires a ton of dedication and heart to be an olympian but it begins n your own town.

Good luck!!!

Answer 6

First you have to get on a team then you have to work really hard and the coach will like you and then you compete against other swim teams until you get to the finals then the Olympics people who are in charge will go talk to your coach about trying out for the Olympics.

Answer 7

there's a meet that is called the oylimpic trials and u have to get the qual cuts u can ONLY compete in the events for the cuts that u have made then if you plave in the top 2 in your event then u go for sure and from there they just take the next best swimmers everthing depends on your performance at that meet so if you win every thing every where else and then at that meet you don't place high enough to make it you don't go and the other meets don't matter