Image: Laura M. Hamel/U.S. Masters Swim
All Great Racers Go to Indy
Spring Nationals heads to Indianapolis at the same time as Olympic Trials
Indianapolis will be the epicenter of swimming in the United States this June.
The 2024 USMS Spring National Championship will be held at the IU Natatorium June 20–24 to coincide with the final weekend of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials–Swimming, which will be happening at the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Indiana Sports Corp and the IU Natatorium are excited to host Spring Nationals,” says Melissa Thompson, Indiana Sports Corp’s vice president, bids and external affairs. “This event, hosted during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials–Swimming, will bring the best swimmers of all ages to Indianapolis for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The IU Natatorium will be hosting its eighth USMS national championship, the first since drawing a then-record 2,376 participants in 2018. The pool has hosted hundreds of state, regional, national, and international events, including four Olympic Trials. The lead design consultant for the facility’s construction in 1982 was legendary Indiana University swim coach Doc Counsilman, and a $20 million renovation in 2015 has kept this top-notch facility in the limelight.
The natatorium features two eight-lane competition courses, 19 warm-up/cool-down lanes, abundant locker room space, and seating for 4,700. It’s also within walking distance of many downtown Indianapolis hotels.
Spring Nationals participants will have an opportunity to meet Olympians and swim in the trials competition pool with a donation to the USA Swimming Foundation, which provides grants to USMS’s Adult Learn-to-Swim programs. Trials will be June 15–23, with tickets available at indianasportscorp.org/events/us-olympic-team-trials-swimming.
Swimmers can entertain their children with a visit to the five floors of interactive galleries and displays at the Children’s Museum. The museum provides an opportunity to wander through the Dinosaur Park, take a trip through Dale Chihuly’s Fireworks of Glass, learn about geology at Treasures of the Earth, or enjoy a live, laugh-out-loud theater show.
Another hit with families is the Zoolapalooza summer concert series, which happens every Friday in June at the Indianapolis Zoo. The concerts—held in the zoo’s outdoor amphitheater near the banks of the White River—feature local and regional bands playing a mix of genres ranging from rock to country to blues. At the zoo, visitors can admire the more than 3,800 animals on the grounds—including rare and endangered white rhinos, Amur tigers, Guinea baboons, red pandas, and Komodo dragons—and participate in live feedings and trainer shows.
Swimmers craving an off-the-charts adrenaline rush can sit behind the wheel of an open-wheel chassis IndyCar at Indy Racing Experience. Enjoy the rush of racing around the famous oval or other unique tracks around the city at speeds up to 180 mph.
