Compare USA Swimming LSCs across the country
USA Swimming has over 300,000 registered swimmers, and Local Swimming Committees (LSCs) are responsible for organizing competitive swimming meets across the country. While the USA Swimming LSC map will be familiar to many, the 59 LSCs across the country vary greatly in geographic size and number of swimmers.
Here are some interesting facts about LSC.
Let’s start with geography. The data shows that small (small in area) can be powerful. The smallest LSC geographically is Potomac Valley Swimming (PVS), which includes Washington DC, Northern Virginia, and Southern Maryland. According to its website, PVS has approximately 12,000 swimmers, making it one of the most numerous. Despite its small geographic size, PVS has been home to some of the nation’s best swimmers for decades, most recently Katie Ledecky, Tori Husk, Phoebe Bacon, Jack Conger, and Andrew Celisker.
Meanwhile, the largest LSC geographically is Alaska Swimming, which encompasses the entire state of Alaska. Alaska Swimming has been home to some of the top swimmers in recent years, including Arizona State University breaststroker John Heaphy and, of course, Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby. Not surprisingly, Alaska Swimming is one of the smallest LSCs in terms of number of swimmers, with fewer than 2,500 registered swimmers, according to information provided in USA Swimming’s 2023 Membership Demographics Report.
Metropolitan Swimming serves all of Long Island, a region with a population of over 7 million, and much of southern New York State, making it one of the largest swimming clubs by population, with 10,000 registered swimmers, according to its website. Like PVS, Metropolitan Swimming is fairly small in terms of area, but has a large population and has produced several world-class swimmers over the past few years, including American record holder Kate Douglas.
The largest LSC by population by far is Southern California Swimming, with approximately 20,000 athletes, coaches, officials and parent volunteers, according to the 2024 Swimming Guide. This LSC includes Las Vegas and Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Barbara. Southern California Swimming has produced numerous Olympians and U.S. representatives over the years. More recently, female swimmers such as Bella Sims, Claire Weinstein and Katie Grimes, all from the Sandpipers of Nevada, have emerged.
LSCs that rank in the middle of the pack in terms of geography and number of swimmers are rising to the top in terms of performance. New Jersey Swimming is a good example of this, even though they rank in the top half of the state. Last year’s world championship medalists Jack Alexie, Der Rose, Matt Fallon and Nick Fink all hail from this tiny LSC.
