The good folks at USA Swimming and Speedo released a study this week which named the top ten cities in the USA for swimming, and to be honest I was confused (in a good way) with a few of the choices. The below info-graphic lists the cities in order with a few tidbits about each. Ann Arbor, MI leads the list which you may not have guessed in a few million years, but after a little more insight into how USA Swimming determined this list, it all began to make much more sense.
According to Yahoo! Sports: “The cities most favorable to swimmers don’t follow any geographic pattern, stretching from sea to sea and north to south. Metrics include the number of swimmers, swim clubs, and accessible pools, as well as the number of standout swimmers springing from each locale.”
If you doubted Ann Arbor like myself, you may also be surprise to know that the city (courtesy of Speedo) “has produced more than 60 Olympians, including Tyler Clary and Tom Dolan, and participation in swimming programs grew by 16 percent in just the last year.”
Here is the list in its entirety courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.
1. Ann Arbor, MI
2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
3. Raleigh-Durham, NC
4. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
5. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
6. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
7. Madison, WI
8. Austin-Round Rock, TX
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
10. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN
11. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
12. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
13. Boulder, CO
14. Trenton-Ewing, NJ
15. Colorado Springs, CO
16. Anchorage, AK
17. Minneapolis-St Paul, MN
18. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
19. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
20. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria, CA
21. Lexington-Fayette, KY
22. Lincoln, NE
23. Richmond, VA
24. Denver-Aurora, CO
25. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
26. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
27. Tallahassee, FL
28. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
29. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
30. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
31. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
32. Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
33. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
34. Provo-Orem, UT
35. Reno-Sparks, NV
36. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
37. New Haven-Milford, CT
38. Albuquerque, NM
39. Columbus, OH
40. Baltimore-Towson, MD
41. Pittsburgh, PA
42. Tucson, AZ
43. Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA
44. Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN
45. Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL
46. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY
47. Fort Wayne, IN
48. South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
49. Rochester, NY
50. Salt Lake City, UT
