USA Swimming today announced the top 200 clubs recognized as Gold, Silver, or Bronze medal clubs in the 2024-25 Club Excellence program. The program annually recognizes the highest-performing clubs in developing athletes aged 18 years and younger. To learn more about the program and see the benefits of participation, click here.
For the third year in a row, SwimMAC Carolina earned the top spot with 88,076 points. This year marks the club’s 20th Gold Medal recognition, with top athletes including two USA Swimming National Junior Team members. Elle Scott earned points in four events, placing first in the women’s 200m individual medley, second in the 100m breaststroke, third in the 100m butterfly, and fourth in the 100m freestyle. She earned an astonishing total of 6,079 points. Jordan Willis, who claimed 1,680 points last year in the men’s 200m breaststroke, earned 3,352 points by placing first and second in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, respectively. Both athletes represented USA Swimming in August at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Canberra, Australia, where athletes brought home 44 medals and 11 records.
Rounding out the top five clubs are Carmel Swim Club (64,531), Sandpipers of Nevada (52,121), Lakeside Swim Team (49,013), and Nation’s Capital Swim Club (48,0970). Nation’s Capital Swim Club secured their spot as the club with the most Gold Medal recognitions all time at 22.
Now in its 24th year, the program’s primary objectives are to recognize and promote:
- The development of strong, well-rounded age group and senior swimming programs that produce elite 18-and-under athletes;
- Resources to motivate and assist USA Swimming member clubs to achieve the highest athlete performance ideals;
- Grant funding to support Gold and Silver status achieving teams; and
- The USA Swimming club development system as an integral part in achieving excellence in the sport.
18-and-under athletes were eligible to earn points through pool and open-water performances between September 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024. Open water performances from the 5K and 10K at the 2024 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships and the 5K and 7.5K at the 2024 USA Swimming Open Water Junior National Championships are also eligible. All program requirements, including time standards, can be viewed here.
This year, there are 21 Gold clubs and 79 Silver clubs. Clubs earn automatic Gold status for Olympic athletes. Congratulations to Carmel Swim Club, Fishers Area Swimming Tigers (29,409), and Sandpipers of Nevada for achieving Gold status by earning both overall points and placing an athlete on the 2024 Paris Olympic Team.
Texas Ford Aquatics (31,754) and Fishers Area Swimming Tigers both earned Gold status for the first time, placing 15th and 17th, respectively. Fifteen Local Swimming Committees (LSCs) achieved Gold Medal status. The following USA Swimming member clubs achieved the Gold Medal ranking for 2024.
| Swim Club | Points |
| SwimMAC Carolina | 88,076 |
| Carmel Swim Club | 64,531 |
| Sandpipers of Nevada | 52,121 |
| Lakeside Swim Team | 49,013 |
| Nation’s Capital Swim Club | 48,097 |
| Long Island Aquatic Club | 42,195 |
| Lakeside Aquatic Club | 41,565 |
| Sarasota Sharks | 40,067 |
| Rockville Montgomery Swim Club | 39,620 |
| Scarlet Aquatics | 39,043 |
Click here to view the 2024 Club Excellence Program results.
Congratulations to the 19 new Club Excellence clubs, all of which earned Bronze status:
- Blazing Barracudas (7,824)
- Front Range Barracudas (5,633)
- Hurricane Aquatics (5,563)
- Orange County Gold (5,530)
- Wolfpack Elite (5,258)
- Mississippi Makos Swim Team (5,256)
- Mason Makos Swim Team (5,118)
- Alpha Aquatics (5,041)
- Aquawolves Swimming (4,978)
- Glacier Swim Club (4,862)
- Great Waves Aquatics (4,862)
- Lubbock Swim Club (4,816)
- Ridley Area YMCA Stingrays (4,568)
- Metro Area Life Time (4,452)
- Farmington Valley YMCA Tsunamis (4,436)
- Jersey Aquatic Club (4,432)
- Greater Kalamazoo Crocs (4,344)
- Hornet Age Group Swim Club (4,336)
- Saluki Swim Club (4,301)
Out of 200 USA Swimming member clubs that earned Gold, Silver, or Bronze recognition, Southern California Swimming led all LSCs for total clubs recognized (12).
In conjunction with the USA Swimming Club Excellence program, USA Swimming will honor 11 clubs as 2024 Podium Clubs. To qualify for Podium Club, a USA Swimming member club must achieve Gold Medal club status for four consecutive years. Congratulations to the following clubs for being recognized this year as a Podium Club:
- SwimMAC Carolina
- Carmel Swim Club
- Sandpipers of Nevada
- Lakeside Swim Team
- Nation’s Capital Swim Club
- Long Island Aquatic Club (42,195)
- Lakeside Aquatic Club (41,565)
- Sarasota Sharks (40,067)
- Irvine Novaquatics (35,791)
- Bolles School Sharks (35,203)
- NOVA of Virgnina Aquatics, Inc. (35,108)
For more information about the Club Excellence program, click here.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with USA Swimming. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.