CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A local facility in Chesterfield won a bid to host the 2020 U.S. Masters Swimming Summer National Championship competition.
The organization estimated that 1,200 of the nation’s best adult swimmers will compete in the August 2020 event. This is the first time a U.S. Masters Swimming national competition will be held in Virginia.
As part of the bid, SwimRVA installed new starting blocks, and it will add an above-ground warm-up pool during the competition. A 20-foot screen will also be installed outside the facility for spectators to watch the competition.
“I hope this event will inspire, energize and excite people in the region to get involved with swimming,” said Adam Kennedy, executive director of SwimRVA.
“We’re excited to bring our Summer National Championship to Richmond, Va., in 2020. We have a highly active Masters Swimming membership in the mid-Atlantic region and we’re confident that USMS members from all over the country will enjoy visiting the area and swimming at the Chesterfield County facility,” said Dawson Hughes, U.S. Masters Swimming’s CEO.
A representative with the Richmond Region Tourism said that metro’s hotel partners, amenities, and other attractions influenced the decision for SwimRVA’s winning bid.
“We are honored to host this prestigious event for the first time in the Richmond Region,” said Danielle Vincenti, senior sports development manager for Richmond Region Tourism. We look forward to welcoming the swimmers and their families in 2020, and enjoying the benefits of the economic impact they’ll make while here.”
Any money SwimRVA earns because of the competition will be used to further the nonprofit’s mission to teach the region to swim.
“Everything we do as a nonprofit, our beating heart, is to drown-proof Richmond,” Kennedy said. “Every dollar will be turned around to our work teaching kids to swim.”
