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Artistic swimming (you might remember it by its former name of synchronized swimming) is an Olympic sport. USA Artistic Swimming is seeking homes for a number of its events from the 2023-2025 period, including national events, camps, trials and convention. Seven national championships will take place in 2024 alone and the right destinations stand to benefit greatly from these events.
First, the basics. USA Artistic Swimming will accept bids from any city, CVB, sports commission or artistic swimming division interested in hosting a national event. The bid must provide facilities, commit services, supply personnel and volunteers and proposed host hotels to USA Artistic Swimming. The range of events and the flexibility that USA Artistic Swimming offers in sharing responsibilities provides hosts with various levels of involvement.
The full RFP is here and can be downloaded easily and free of charge.
Proposals are due to USA Artistic Swimming based on the following schedule:
- 2024 proposals are due December 1, 2022.
- 2025 proposals are due June 1, 2023.
USA Artistic Swimming will rotate each events location yearly. The organization is interested in multi-year agreements with host that will rotate through multiple events. An example would be for a destination to host 2023 Junior Olympic, 2024 Masters and 2025 Open.
Proposals are accepted and evaluated on a rolling basis, so events may be awarded to cities that have submitted excellent bids in advance of the deadline
Venue Requirements:
Note: Adequate water depth of the competition area is essential to hosting, regardless of the level of competition. The RFP contains full information on venue requirements for each event, and potential hosts are advised to ascertain venues conform to these specifications.
In short: A 50M pool is necessary; this must be split into two halves: Deep Half: 12 meters (40’) by 25 meters (82’) is required, within an area of which 12 meters by 12 meters must have a minimum depth of 3 meters (10’). The depth of the remaining area shall be 2 meters (6.5’) minimum. Shallow Half: no depth requirement (used for warm up; 7’ is desired.) Spectator seating is also necessary, with ranges from 100-800 with view of the deep half of the pool.
Additionally, USA Artistic Swimming has noted information on areas for judging, and athletes, including Knoxing stations.
Lodging: USA Artistic Swimming uses Team Solutions, its, housing service partner, for all events except its convention. Its membership is very interested in extended stay properties; these will be the first hotels to fill for any Championship Event. Ideal hotel rate for all events listed is $130/night.
Host Organization: A LOC that is comprised of both representatives of a local artistic swimming club (whenever possible) and CVB/Sports Commission members provides the most attractive combination for a successful event. The following are additional incentives when selecting our host location:
- City located within close proximity to a hub airport – International airport for UANA, Worlds and FINA events.
- Bids that cover the cost of internet, tables/chairs/staging, shuttle transportation and/or facility rental are viewed favorably.
- Covering the cost of catering meals for staff and judges. Additional incentive when including coaches in this catering.
- Having the host hotel(s) within walking distance of the venue for convenience and to alleviate USA Artistic Swimming of having to use cabs/rental cars/shuttles
- Provide a keepsake/gift for all registrants (150 - 1,500 total depending on the tournament) – typically something with the city logo
- Securing of city/local grants to aid local grassroots/developmental artistic swimming programs
Sample Volunteer Needs
Volunteers need no previous artistic swimming knowledge. All positions can be taught onsite. Typical needs are 10 people onsite at one time in any of the following positions. Figure events require an additional 15-20 volunteers.
USA Artistic Swimming’s RFP also offers up the following additional information:
Member Clubs: There are currently 176 artistic swimming clubs in the United States.
Universities & Colleges: There are four college varsity programs and 24 college club programs.
Zones as Partner Opportunities: USA Artistic Swimming is divided into four zones: North, South, East and West. Each year between the end of February to early March these zones host a qualifying event. USA Artistic Swimming will connect you with Zone Leadership to create an agreement to help host their events. Room nights depended on host city and team proximity.
• North: 250 athletes
• South: 250 athletes
• West: 300 athletes
• East: two events at 150 athletes each
Full information is found in the RFP.
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