LIAC swimmers to compete in Junior Olympics

More than 150 swimmers from the Long Island Aquatic Club will compete in the 2011 Short Course Junior Olympics at the Nassau County Aquatic Center March 27 to March 29. The athletes representing the LIAC will compete against swimmers from throughout the New York Metropolitan area during the three-day meet. Athletes in this competition range in ages from 8 to 18. To qualify for the event, many of the swimmers have been practicing five to six days a week, and achieved their qualifying standards in other local swim meets throughout the year.

“The swimmers who have qualified for this weekend’s competition have challenged themselves in practice all year long and we look forward to watching their success this weekend,” said Ginny Nussbaum, a head coach at the LIAC.

The LIAC, based in Garden City, is Long Island’s premier USA Swimming club. The team regularly sends swimmers to compete at regional swim meets, as well as at national competitions and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The LIAC has been ranked as high as 14th in the USA swimming Virtual Club Championship, a national ranking of Age-Group club teams.

Many of the swimmers in this weekend’s competition began in the organization’s Long Island Swim School lesson program and now compete on the more elite age group level, and will eventually go on to swim in college. The LIAC’s graduating class of 2010 sent athletes on to prestigious universities, including Harvard, Cornell, Duke and Princeton universities, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina, the University of Southern California and New York University.

“Swimming teaches children to overcome new challenges and be successful on a daily basis. The lessons our swimmers learn each day about perseverance, dedication, and excellence apply in the pool, in the classroom, and throughout their daily lives,” said Dave Ferris, a head coach and program director at the LIAC.

The LIAC will be competing next weekend in the Junior Olympics at the Aquatic Center in East Meadow. Session times can be found on the LIAC website: www.longislandswimming.com.