USMS Virtual National Championships
USMS conducts five Virtual National Championships each year (they were formerly called Postal or ePostal championships. Register for the event, swim on your own and submit your results. Links to the current year’s events are below.
One-Hour Virtual Championship
- Swim as far as you can in one hour.
- Runs from Jan 1 through Jan 31.
- Swum in pools 25 yards or longer.
- Distances are rounded down to the nearest completed 5-yard increment (i.e. 2764 rounds to 2760).
5K and 10K Virtual Championships
- Swim 5K or 10K for time
- Runs from May 15 through Sep 15.
- Swum in 50-meter pools.
- The 5K and 10K are separate events and must be swum separately. A split time from the 10K cannot be used as a 5K time.
3000 and 6000-Yard Virtual Championships.
- Swim 3000 yards or 6000 yards for time
- Runs from Sep 15 through Nov 15.
- Swum in 25-yard or 25-meter pools.
- The 3000 and 6000 are separate events and must be swum separately. A split time from the 6000 cannot be used as a 3000 time.
Swimmers may swim in a pool of their choice that meets the pool length requirements for the event. Work with your coaches and team mates to arrange for pool time.
USMS rules apply. They include:
- Age is determined by your age on December 31 of the given year, except 18-year-olds must be 18 on the day that they swim.
- Current USMS membership required by the day of your swim.
- Check out swimwear rules (see USMS 102.12.1 in the USMS Rule Book, available online at USMS.org).
- Drafting, flotation, and propulsive devices are not permitted (pull buoys, fins, paddles, snorkels, wet suits, etc.).
- No more than two swimmers may share a lane; circle swimming is not permitted.
- An adult acting as a starter/referee shall be present during the swim.
- Each swimmer must have a timer to time, count laps and record cumulative splits and lengths every 2 lengths of the pool. The starter/referee can also perform this function.
- One person may serve as a counter/timer for no more than two swimmers at a time.
- The timing of the event may be done with a stopwatch or electronic timing device.
Registration for the event is done online and must be completed before the swim.
After completing the event, the swimmer enters split times from the split sheet onto the event website. This must be done prior to the cutoff date posted for the event. USMS compiles and posts results.
Relays: Your club (PSM, BWAQ, etc.) may enter relays for an event. These are cumulative relays and are not swum “together” like at swim meets. Instead, they are composed by adding together the times of the three (or four) times of the relay members from the individual event.
- There are three categories of relays, 3 Men, 3 Women, 4 Mixed (2 Men and 2 Women).
- All swimmers on a relay must be from the same club.
- Relays are compiled for all five virtual events.
- Relay entry takes place after the individual events are completed and before the relay entry cutoff date.
- Age groups for relays are as follows: Open and 18+, 25+, 35+… (10-year age groups as high as necessary), with the age of the youngest relay member determining the age group.
- If your club has a relay coordinator, check with them before entering a relay.
Links to the USMS site for each event are below. They have event details and links to registration.
USMS One-hour Virtual National Championship
USMS 5K/10K Virtual National Championship
USMS 3000/6000 Virtual National Championship
Virtual National Championship results are archived at https://www.usms.org/events/national-championships/virtual-championships. Scroll down the page to Prior ePostal National Championships Results and choose the year.
Swim all five virtual events and USMS will recognize your accomplishment with a Virtual Championship Series Challenge patch.
USMS Non-Championship Virtual events
USMS conducts these virtual fitness events. Follow the links for details
These three fitness swimming events (30-minute, 2K and 1-mile swims) are a great way to contribute to the USMS Adult Learn-to-Swim grants supported by the USA Swimming Foundation. You can complete these fun events with your local USMS club or swim on your own.
More than 10,000 USMS members have logged more than 10 BILLION yards in this self-directed fitness event. Log your mileage throughout the year to hit certain milestones and see where you stack up against others in your age group.
How far can you go in 30 minutes? Let’s try it out with the 2023 Winter Fitness Challenge with a 30-minute swim from January 1-31. Register and receive an event cap and log your results on the Swim.com app