2022 USMS Spring Nationals: Get Ready to Swim Fast in San Antonio

Dust off your tech suit and prepare for fast swimming and Texas-style hospitality at the 2022 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship. This meet will take place in San Antonio April 28-May 1 at the state-of-the art Northside ISD Swim Center. To round out your racing experience, you can drive downtown to savor San Antonio’s rich cultural history with a visit to the Alamo, Historic Market Square (El Mercado), the River Walk, and the Missions National Historical Park (part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

You can access more San Antonio tourism information at Visit San Antonio. Entries are now open, enter now and view the meet information here.

Drumroll, Please

The spectacular Northside ISD Swim Center should get your heart pumping and you upping your training ante to chase down your goals. Many swimmers who raced at this facility in 2015 will undoubtedly want to return to hit a second competitive high note.

The 202,000-square-foot swimming complex is composed of an outdoor pool, which was opened in 2013 and will be the competition pool, and an indoor pool, which was built in 2006 and reconstructed in 2018.

A total of 35 warm-up lanes will be open throughout the competition: 22 in the main pool and 13 in the diving well and lesson pool. In the outdoor facility, two 10-lane courses will be set up for concurrent racing, which will facilitate a speedy timeline.

April and May are great months for outdoor racing in southwest Texas, when temperatures in the low to mid-80s reign. Your family and friends will be wowed by their spectator experience. The 2,500 stadium-style seats at the complex are covered to offer protection from the sun. A Jumbotron-style Colorado Time Systems scoreboard will make it a snap for swimmers and spectators to view race results.

Recent events hosted by this incredible facility include the 2015 USA Swimming Speedo Junior Nationals, 2015 Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships, 2015 World Deaf Swimming Championships, and 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Training Camp.

Jenny Carnes, senior vice president and chief operating officer for San Antonio Sports, and Kristin Libardoni, aquatics coordinator for the Northside ISD Swim Center, are thrilled to provide this outstanding venue for Nationals.

"We enjoyed hosting this event in 2015 and cannot wait to have everyone back on the blocks,” Libardoni says. “We have more deck space than most pools, your choice of indoor or outdoor warm-ups, plenty of locker room and shower space, and, of course, the Southern hospitality that we always bring to the table. Looking forward to the good times, in and out of the water.”

River Walk Social, Texas-Style

The meet social will be held downtown at the famous San Antonio River Walk, a 15-mile waterway also known as the Paseo del Rio. A shuttle will transport swimmers to this event that Carnes promises will showcase Texas hospitality and southwestern cuisine.

The meet social will be hosted in the Lonesome Dove room (named after the Western adventure miniseries) in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The indoor/outdoor event—in a unique Texan design space to be decorated in a Lonesome Dove theme—will take place on the river level. Swimmers will have the opportunity to socialize, sate post-race hunger with a delicious Texas meal, and a enjoy a live music performance.

UNESCO Creative City for Gastronomy

San Antonio is one of only two U.S. cities (joining Tucson, Arizona) awarded the title of UNESCO Creative City for Gastronomy. The Pearl district near downtown offers a variety of international restaurants, one of which will sate every swimmer’s palate. There’s Asian American food at Best Quality Daughter, French comfort food at Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, and even West Indian and Caribbean fare at Mi Roti. German food is available downtown at Little Rhein Prost Haus.

You can also haunt hangouts unique to the San Antonio area. Devils River Whiskey Distillery is a popular place for live music and drinks. After you shop until you drop at the sprawling outdoor RIM Shopping Center, you can dine southern-style and sip a local brew at Southerleigh Haute South. Whether you want a burger, a pizza, sushi, or Mediterranean food, you can find it at the RIM.

Screaming Family Fun

SeaWorld San Antonio, Aquatica San Antonio, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas are perfect family escapes. Experience the feeling of weightlessness as you loop and dive on the Dare Devil Dive Flying Machines at Six Flags. SeaWorld boasts a scary rollercoaster—the Texas Stingray—featuring a bone-chilling 100-foot drop and speeds of up to 55 miles per hour. Waterslides and other water park fun await at Aquatica.