The middle year between the Olympic quadrennial is always a struggle for swim fans to maintain their excitement. The post-Olympic euphoria has dissipated, there are no major international events and it’s too soon to start thinking about the next Olympics or even get excited about the following summer’s World Championships.

The big international event is slated to be the Pan Pacs in Tokyo -- but with the struggles of the Australian team on the big stage the past few years, one wonders if a dual meet between the U.S. and Canadian women might have just as much allure.

But there is one caveat. With the 2019 World Championships acting as a major lead-up to Tokyo and that 2019 Worlds team selected from the results at 2018 U.S. Nationals – this summer’s nationals loom large on the calendar. So book your ticket to Irvine this July as perhaps the biggest swim meet on U.S. soil until 2020 Olympic Trials!

2018 USA Swimming Calendar – Key Events

March 1-4                TYR Pro Swim Series at Atlanta                   Georgia Tech

April 12-15               TYR Pro Swim Series at Mesa                     Skyline Aquatic Center, AZ  

May 4-6                    Open Water Swimming Nationals                Tempe, AZ

May 17-20                TYR Pro Swim Series at Indianapolis          Indiana University

June 14-17               TYR Pro Swim Series at Santa Clara           Santa Clara, CA

July 6-8                    TYR Pro Swim Series at Columbus              Ohio State University

July 25-29                 2018 U.S. Nationals                                     Irvine, CA

July 31-Aug 4           2018 U.S. Junior Nationals                           Irvine, CA

Aug. 23-27                2018 Pan Pac Championships                     Tokyo, Japan

Dec 11-16                 FINA Short Course Worlds                           Hangzhou, China