COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Swimmers from around the globe will be making five stops in the United States next year on the newly unveiled 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series competition calendar. Part of the USA Swimming Championship Series, the events will travel coast to coast, stopping in Knoxville, Tenn., Des Moines, Iowa, Richmond, Va. and Bloomington, Ind. between January and June 2019. The June 2019 event location will be announced at a later date.
 
“We are very excited about the tremendous interest from teams, convention and visitors’ bureaus and sports commissions from across the country, wanting to bring a high-level swimming event to their community,” USA Swimming President & Chief Executive Officer Tim Hinchey III said. “Beyond their great competition venues, our six selected hosts have the resources, contacts and commitment to help market and facilitate incredible events for our athletes.”
 
The full schedule:

 
The TYR Pro Swim Series will run Wednesday to Saturday, with the exception of Bloomington, Ind., which will host the event Thursday to Sunday with an Olympic Intrasquad event to kick off the meet.
 
"As the title sponsor of the TYR Pro Swim Series, TYR is always working to support athletes, coaches and fans in fun and creative ways," began Chief Executive Officer Matt DiLorenzo. "With this city lineup we are looking forward to introducing new communities to the Series, our brand and our technology."
 
A sanctioned series for over 20 years, the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series marked the first time USA Swimming selected its events via a request for proposal and bid process. The highly-competitive process yielded many submissions from communities across the county. Together with USA Swimming, each event’s Local Organizing Committee (LOC) will play a vital role in the planning, community connections, local sponsorships, ticket sales and marketing of the event.
 
“We are thrilled to be hosting the kickoff event for the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series,” said Chad Culver, Senior Director of the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission.  “This is a huge win for Knoxville and our entire swimming community. The Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center is a world class facility that will be a great host for the event.”
 
“We are very excited to welcome USA Swimming and athletes, both amateur and professional, to Greater Des Moines,” said Ryan Vogt, National Sales Manager (Sports) at Catch Des Moines. “We have a great partner in the Wellmark YMCA and we are sure visitors will be blown away by our new, state-of-the-art pool. The ease of having everything within walking distance in downtown Des Moines, from the pool, hotels, restaurants and attractions, will make for a great athlete and fan experience. This is another step in the journey to make Greater Des Moines a national landing spot for swimming competitions.”
 
“We are honored to host the TYR Pro Swim Series at SwimRVA’s facility,” said Adam Kennedy, Executive Director at SwimRVA. “This is one of the highest profile swimming events in the world with some of the most decorated Olympians. This international competition will not only elevate our local swimming community, but Richmond as a whole. We can’t wait to welcome some of the nation’s best swimmers to our pools.” 
 
“Visit Bloomington and Hoosier Sports Corporation are thrilled to host the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series,” Hoosier Sports Corporation Sports Sales Manager Pete Nelson stated. “We are excited to host some of swimming’s most elite athletes, in partnership with Indiana University, in this amazing city.”
 
The TYR Pro Swim Series is a 3.5-day long course event that consists of six stops across the country from January through November. The meet, which traditionally runs from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday, is televised on NBC Sports Network, the Olympic Channel, as well as live streamed at usaswimming.org.
 
Historically, each stop attracts between 400-600 of the world’s top swimmers including, USA Swimming National Team members, Junior National Team members and top 50 world ranked swimmers.
 
Returning this year will be the USA Swim Squads, which allows USA Swimming National Team members to compete for team points and a grand prize throughout the year’s events. Four teams will feature six active athletes designated across six event categories (one athlete per team per category) who are eligible to score points in a maximum of two events from that category – free, back, breast, fly, IM or flex. Captains will be announced this fall and the teams will be selected Sunday, November 18.
 
In the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series, swimmers may earn awards for top-three finishes in all individual Olympic events. At each meet, $1,500 will be provided for a first-place finish, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. In addition, the athlete (one per gender) who has the highest scoring prelim swim, in Olympic events only, based on FINA power points, at each TYR Pro Swim Series Meet, will win an additional $1,500.
 
At the conclusion of the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series, the eligible athlete (male and female) who has the highest scoring swim in an individual Olympic event (based on FINA long course power points), at any of the TYR Pro Swim Series, will win a one-year lease of a BMW vehicle.
 
For more information about the series, visit https://www.usaswimming.org/tyr-pro-swim-series.

About Catch Des Moines
Catch Des Moines is the official destination marketing organization promoting and representing Greater Des Moines to leisure travelers and meeting planners. As the visitors’ and meeting professionals’ trusted partner, we help elevate the visitor experience by connecting the functional to the aspirational. Our focus is to drive economic success for our more than 840 partners and enhance the quality of life in the 15 Greater Des Moines communities we represent. For more information, visit catchdesmoines.com.

Contact: Jordan Powers (515-699-3466 / jordan@catchdesmoines.com)

About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
 
Contact: Isabelle McLemore (719-866-3588 / imclemore@usaswimming.org)
 

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