New England Swimming
Level 3

Championship Season Recap

Jack Van Meter

Good Afternoon YNS Families, 

 

The short course championship season is here! The swimmers’ hard work throughout the season is paying off and we are very happy with the participation and results thus far. 

 

January was a busy month for the Sharks which warrants a quick recap. The following will be covered in this newsletter: 

  • Meet Recap
  • Upcoming Events and Deadlines
  • Types of Meets
  • Helpful Tips - Checking Time Standards
  • Championship Season Progression

 

Meet Recap:

The Sharks have competed in four meets this last month: the RAYS Specialty Meet, New England Swimming Bronze Championship, YMCA District Championship, and New England Silvers Championship

 

The Sharks began their January swim meets at the RAYS Specialty Meet in Salem, NH. This meet was a one-day meet for our Bronze, Silver, and Gold groups. Participation in this meet was up 95% from the previous year with 77 swimmers participating! The RAYS meet was filled with a lot of first-time swims and new qualifiers for the upcoming championship meets.

 

The following weekend, some of the Sharks competed at the New England Bronze Championship in Andover. Of the 54 swimmers and 193 entries, the Sharks boasted 60% best times across the board! There were a lot of swimmers who earned some more times for Districts and Silvers in the coming weeks.

 

YMCA Districts was the first meet we hosted in 2024, and was a huge success! 121 Sharks participated in District Champs, up 17% from 2023. Our swimmers won in the following categories: 

  • 8 & Under Girls
  • 8 & Under Combined 
  • 9-10 Girls 
  • 9-10 Combined 
  • 13-14 Boys
  • 13-14 Combined
  • Overall Combined Team

Congratulations to all swimmers who contributed towards this feat. The Sharks were the only team in the League to break the 3000 point threshold! 

 

The following weekend, we hosted the NE Silvers Championship in Beverly. This was one of three sites across New England and we hosted over 700 swimmers and had 3000+ visitors over the course of the weekend! Our 61 athletes saw plenty of time drops, personal bests, and new time standards met. 

 

Thank you to all of our volunteers who made this meet possible to run. A special thank you to Dan Sionkiewicz, our Meet Director, who worked his last meet with us. His 16 years of helping run our swim meets is greatly appreciated!

 

Over these past couple of weeks, we have had over 20 swimmers from across the Association qualify for a higher-level championship meet. Thank you for your participation and support thus far, and we look forward to the rest of the championship season! 

 

Upcoming Events and Deadlines:

New England 10 & Under Age Groups- Upper Valley Aquatic Center (White River Junction, VT)*

  • Feb. 16 - 18
  • Deadline: PASSED

New England 11-14 Age Groups- Boston Sports Institute (Wellesley, MA)*

  • Feb 22 - 25 
  • Deadline: PASSED

New England 15-18 Age Groups- WPI (Worecester, MA)*

  • Mar. 7 - 10 
  • Deadline: Saturday, Feb. 17
  • Sign Up

New England Gold Championship- Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, NH)*

  • Mar. 7 - 10
  • Deadline: Wednesday, Feb. 14
  • Sign Up

YNS Spring Pre-Team Showcase- Greater Beverly YMCA 

  • Mar. 10
  • Deadline: Wednesday, Mar. 6
  • Sign Up Coming Soon

YMCA New England Championship- WPI (Worceseter, MA)*

  • Mar. 15 - 17
  • Deadline: Wednesday, Mar. 6
  • Sign Up

National Centennial Invite- Port Charlotte, FL

  • Mar. 21 - 24
  • Deadline: Friday, Mar. 1
  • Sign Up

MIT Specialty Meet- MIT (Cambridge, MA)

  • Mar. 22 - 24
  • Deadline: Friday, Mar. 1
  • Sign Up

 

* Time Standard applied to the meet

 

Types of Meets: 

As a YMCA and USA Swimming Team, we have the opportunity to compete in a plethora of events throughout the short course and long course season. This short course season we have participated in USA Swimming meets (New England Swimming) and YMCA/USA Swimming meets. The distinction between the type of meet is important because the requirements for USA Swimming and YMCA Championship meets differ. 

 

All Championship meets we participate in towards the end of the short course and long course season have time standards. Swimmers must meet a minimum time to participate in the meet, and some USA Swimming meets apply a maximum time standard for swimmers who have qualified for higher level meets within our LSC. 

 

Our YMCA Championship meets: YMCA Districts Championship, YMCA New England Championship, and YMCA National Championship all have a time standard and participation requirement. 

 

Requirements for YMCA Meets are the following: 

  • Districts- Time Standard met AND participate in one YMCA meet
  • Y New England's- Time Standard met AND participated in 2 YMCA meets
  • Y Nationals- Time Standard met AND participated in 3 YMCA meets (one championship meet)

 

For all USA Swimming Championship meets, all swimmers must meet the time standard within the qualifying period. New England Swimming Championship Meets include the following:

  • NE Bronze Championship
  • NE Silver Championship
  • NE Gold Championship 
  • NE Age Group Championship (10&Under, 11-14, 15-18)
  • NE Senior Championship

 

Helpful Tips - Checking Time Standards

As we get to the end of the season, there are more meets on the calendar with time standards. If a meet has time standards, it will be mentioned in the event description by stating their times will appear as black or red. 

 

When you commit your swimmer to a swim meet, you will have an option to commit them to the sessions. To check the time, please click on the session and an event drop down will appear. If the times appear in black, that means your swimmer has qualified in the event. If the times in the drop down appear in red, your swimmer has not qualified in the event yet. 

 

If you have questions about whether your swimmer is qualified for a meet, please reach out to your Lead Site Coach.

 

Championship Season Progression:

Lastly, are some meets we recommend your athlete attend in the short course season (past and upcoming). We understand the quantity of meets can be confusing to manage. Please reach out to your Lead Site Coach with any questions about meets to attend.

 

  • 12&Under 
    • NE Bronze Championship OR NE Silvers Championship
    • YMCA Districts
    • NE Age Groups OR NE Gold Championship
    • YMCA New England Championship
    • End-of-Season Meet (Florida OR MIT)- No Standard
  • 13&Over
    • NE Seniors Championship
    • NE Bronze OR NE Silvers Championship
    • YMCA Districts
    • NE Age Groups OR NE Gold Championship
    • YMCA New England Championship
    • YMCA Nationals OR End-of-Season Meet (No Standard)

 

We are very happy with the results of this championship season thus far and we are looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your continued support for our program and GO SHARKS!

 

~Your YNS Coaching Staff