The 2017 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships – featuring stand-alone Junior National Championships for the first time – are slated for May 19-21 at Castaic Lake in Santa Clarita, California.

“We’re looking forward to another exciting weekend of open water racing at Castaic Lake with qualification for a number of international events on the line,” said Bryce Elser, USA Swimming’s Open Water Program Director. “The addition of Junior Nationals will provide more up-and-coming swimmers an opportunity to experience open water racing and creates a direct pathway from the junior ranks to our National Team.”

Held at Castaic Lake for the first time since 2014, the Open Water National Championships weekend will kick off with the 10-kilometer events on Friday, May 19 with the men at 8 a.m. PT, followed by the women at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 21 will feature the 5K with the women at 8 a.m. and men at 9:30 a.m. Full event information is online at usaswimming.org. 

The 10K events will serve as a qualifier for the 2017-18 National Team and National Junior Team, as well as a number of international events, including the 2017 FINA World Championships (10K and 25K), 2017 World University Games and a junior FINA World Cup trip. Six men and six women will qualify for the National Team and National Junior Team. 

The 5K will serve as the qualifier for the 5K at 2017 Worlds. Complete selection procedures are available at usaswimming.org. 

On Saturday, May 20, the 5K Junior National Championships, for swimmers age 16 and under who have met the qualifying standards, will begin at 8 a.m. for the men and 9:30 a.m. for the women. Complete event information can be found at usaswimming.org.