There is so much information out there and so many cool things these days…. Things are seemingly at your fingertips! (as long as you have a computer or a fancy mobile device!) I am going to take a look at some websites and Apps that you may or may not have heard of before.
Swimming Websites:
We all know the usual ones - our teams or LSC's website where we get most of our information about the meets that most of our swimmers go to – but what about other websites?
UsaSwimming.org
There are tons of things that you can do on this website. I will let you know some of my favorite things to do here:
· Check out Best Times and Rankings: Click on Times/Times Search. From here you have three options.
1. Individual Times Search: You can find all of your Individual Times in one spot. You can search just this season, just last season, or all time! From here you can see your “powerpoint” score (0-1,000) for each event.
2. Individual Event Rank: Choose your name and age then you can find out where you rank in USA Swimming for each event. You can do that for this season, and last, and the one before that. This is a great way to find out if you are “moving up” the ladder!
3. Event Rank: You can choose a particular event and age range to see who the top swimmers are in the USA!
· Find Time Standards: For some reason I always find myself looking these up via usaswimming.org! Click Times/Time Standards
· IMX Rankings: What is IMX? Find out. Click Times/IMX & Powerpoint. Awesome Program and Ranking System.
· Events: I check out the bigger USA Swimming events that are happening. There is always a Grand Prix or National meet coming up. Many of these meets have live video streaming of the event. If you click “Events” from the main menu you can see what is coming up!
· Tips: There are always tips being published on the website. For swimmers, parents, and coaches. Click on “Tips & Training” for them!
· Member Resources: From this menu you can find lots of information for whoever you are (Swimmer, Parent, Coach, Official) One thing that I like to do is check out our Virtual Club Ranking by clicking Member Resources then Recognition Programs under “Swim Clubs”. This is a ranking of clubs for swimmers ages 11-18.
· Deck Pass: You don’t have one? I am sorry to hear that. Get one. It is free. Click “Sign In” at the top of usaswimming.org. I normally do this on my phone though! More about Deck Pass in the App Section.
SwimmingWorldMagazine.com
This is one of the best swimming news websites out there for fans. There are always new things posted on this site. Interviews, news items, meet results, and swimming tips. They have many videos on the website as well. They have a great segment called “Morning Swim Show” (also a podcast) which T2’s Erika Erndl and Paul Yetter have both been featured on! Just search their names in the search bar to find them! There is just a ton of information on this website to keep you busy for weeks. (also an app for $3.99 which I have not tried)
SwimUtopia.com
This is a great up and coming swim website that targets ALL types of swimming (age group/college/national/international). There are tons of cool videos on this website. Several T2 swimmers and coaches have been featured here as well!
FloridaSwimNetwork.com
A great place to watch some swimming videos! Some meets have live streaming! You can also check out replays of the meets after they are finished. They also follow Triathlons, High School Swimming, College, and Masters swimming.
FloSwimming.org
This website sadly has gone without an update for years but the fact remains that the videos on here are COOL. When it was up and running it was one of the most popular, if not the most popular swimming website out there. Workouts, Interviews, Races – you name it – it was on here. Still tons of awesome things on here!
Swimming Apps
If you have a smartphone or an ipod touch or an ipad, you can enjoy all kinds of swimming apps! Here are my favorites:
USA Swimming Deck Pass: This is a new app from USA Swimming. From here you can do so many cool things on the go. Here are some of the cool things that swimmers can do! (This can also be done on your computer as well)
· Scoreboard: Earn Virtual Patches for everything and anything. USA Swimming can award you patches and so can your coaches. You must have an account though! You can also check out your IMX ranking, your best times,
· Goals: Set Goals for any event that you wish (or all of them!) and have them visible for you whenever you log in.
· Friends: You can be friends with some of your swimming buddies and check out what type of patches they are earning!
· Log Book: If you like typing in your results, this is the place for you!
· News: You can read all of the latest news from usaswimming.org
· Times Search: Search your official times from the USA Swimming database! You can see your time standards and powerpoint rankings in this section.
· What if I am a parent?: You can create your own account and have it stand alone or link it to your child’s account to see what type of patches they are earning!
Meet Mobile (free) / Live Results (99 cents): These are apps that make it possible to see results of a meet on your phone. More and more meets these days make Live Timing available. You can see the results on your computer or use these apps to make viewing easier! Live Results does cost 99 cents but it will work with ANY meet that is doing live timing. Just copy/paste the live timing URL into the app!
Splash Magazine: The same magazine that you get delivered to your house as a member of USA Swimming. Now you can get it delivered to you as an App!
Swim Star: Ever play Track and Field on an Atari? If you are over 30 years old you probably have! Now you can swim virtually in this game app! This is a cool app because you can swim different strokes and distances and the “techniques” are different. (Tips: “zoom” in on the race to get a better feel for your rhythm and sometimes using one arm is better than using both!)
Stick Swim Lite: Similar to SwimStar but you can breathe! You can customize your swimmer and do different distances in the Pro version of this app which is 99 cents.
Summer Games 3D Lite: You can’t swim on the lite version but upgrade for 99 cents and you can (you can run and pole vault in the lite version). This is just like old school Atari. I suggest all swim parents get this thing and swim all you want in the stands during meets! Don’t let the kids have all the fun!
Pace Clock: Ever wish you could have a pace clock to stare at just like you do at swim practice? Download the Pace Clock app and you will never be without a pace clock!
Go Swim: This is an App that has tons of videos and pictures of all kinds of swimming stuff!
Days Until: How many days until the next meet? Use this app to find out!
Map My Run: Doing some running for dryland? You can use MapMyRun to easily find out how far you are running, what your speed is, and you can even track and save your results if you wish!
Any Course Lite: This is a stopwatch app that lets you time with splits!
Time Standard Central: This is a free app that is great for viewing the USA Motivational Time Standards on your mobile device. You can purchase tons of other standards to add to the app for 99 cents. If you are interested in doing that I suggest you check out the app “Time Standards” for 99 cents. That App is awesome for USA Swimming standards as well as Grand Prix, Nationals, US Open…. And more.
I'm a new swimming parent, my daughter just loves to swim :) Thanks for posting such great information!
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