North Baltimore Races to 2010 Club Excellence Title (2/19/2010)

North Baltimore Races to 2010 Club Excellence Title  (2/19/2010)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In one of the closest championship finishes in the 9-year history of the Club Excellence program, the North Baltimore Aquatic Club is the 2010 team champion. Scoring 56,155 points, Coach Bob Bowman’s Maryland-based club took top honors in a race that saw the top two teams separated by only 2420 points. Swim Atlanta was a very close second with team-record 53,735 points, followed by 3rd place Longhorn Aquatics with 48,142 points.

Following are the Gold Medal Clubs for 2010:

1. North Baltimore Aquatic 56,155
2. Swim Atlanta 53,735
3. Longhorn Aquatics 48,142
4. Swim MAC Carolina 43,685
5. The Woodlands Swim Team 34,334
6. Curl Burke Swim Club 32,685
7. Bluefish Swim Club 32,406
8. Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics 32,344
9. Phoenix Swim Club 30.979
10. Mission Viejo Nadadores 29,699
11. Carmel Swim Club 28,910
12. Bolles School Sharks 26,151
13. University of Denver Hilltoppers 26,115
14. Rockville Montgomery Swim Club 25,984
15. Dallas Mustangs 25,751
16. North Coast Aquatics 22,525

Five clubs achieved the Gold level for the first time: Bolles School Sharks, Carmel Swim Club, Rockville Montgomery, The Woodlands, and the University of Denver Hilltoppers. A record 58 clubs met the criteria for Gold medal eligibility.

The 2010 program results are based on performances in the 2009 calendar year. Clubs have been selected as Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal clubs according to the following parameters:

Gold Level: The top 16 point-scoring clubs eligible for the Gold level.

The USA Swimming Club Excellence Program is a program that recognizes USA Swimming clubs for their commitment to excellence in performance. In addition to recognizing the top club teams, the program provides grant funding for resources that enable clubs to expand and/or enhance the services they already provide to athletes. A total of $320,000 in grant dollars will be distributed to 100 Gold and Silver-level clubs. Final grant awards will be announced by June 11.