MADISON, Wis. – It's a special time to be a part of the Wisconsin swimming and diving program. A program on the rise, the Badgers also call one of the best "swim cities" in the country home, as USA Swimming has ranked Madison at No. 5 among the 50 Top Swim Cities for 2016.
Boasting an impressive number of top-level swimmers, active swimmers, new members, swim clubs and accessible pools, Madison was recognized as one of the best swim cities in America. With 28 pools in the area, Madison holds the highest number of facilities per capita of any city according to USA Swimming.
Madison has been on the rise as a swim city over the past few years, as the city checked in at No. 7 in the ranking in 2014, climbed up to No. 6 in 2015 and now has cracked the top five.
The third annual 50 Top Swim Cities listing based on a research study commissioned by USA Swimming and Speedo USA in partnership with Sri and Sports Marketing Surveys, the official research provider to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
Each city's ranking is based on an aggregate score in categories including percentage of active swimmers and swim clubs, swim team growth, number of accessible pools and volume of top-level swimmers from the area. Cities in the top 50 had an MSA population of 250,000 or higher.
Highlighting the continued growth of swimming and diving in Madison is a new $26 million competition pool, included as part of the University of Wisconsin Recreational Sports unit's renovations to the Southeast Recreational Facility (SERF) near the Kohl Center. Construction is planned to begin in 2017, with the 50-meter pool ready for meets in 2019.
The ranking index was developed through a comparison of each city's swim-related attributes relative to the overall U.S. population. Key elements included the number of current USA Swimming members; new member growth; number of USA Swimming clubs and club excellence. The study also looked at the number of qualifying swimmers for high level competitions like the Speedo Sectionals, Speedo Junior Nationals, Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships, Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games; as well as Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) participation data, including the number of competitive and fitness swimmers, and the number of swim facilities open to the public in each city.
