College Club Swimming
Frequently Asked Questions

College Club Swimming (CCS) is the governing body that unifies college club swim programs on college or university campuses across the United States backed by U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS). Each CCS club is locally run by college students, faculty, or staff. CCS is governed by an advisory board made up of current and former CCS members including two USMS volunteer representatives.

While separate governing structures, CCS is a program of USMS. USMS and the USMS staff provide the infrastructure and manage the administrative operations for the organization, including communication, annual budgeting, liability insurance coverage, event calendar, registration and results database, and championship meet operations and execution.

The USMS bridge membership is a USMS membership type automatically provided to CCS members. It is a limited annual USMS membership. This membership offers CCS teams and swimmers that may not have meets with other CCS teams during the season, or are not located near any other college teams, the opportunity to compete and earn CCS national qualifying times (NQTs) in USMS-sanctioned events. The membership also allows CCS swimmers to participate in other USMS activities including workouts, clinics, and other USMS-approved activities. The bridge membership helps integrate the two organizations and encourage CCS members to join USMS post-graduation. 

Yes. The bridge membership ID format is the same as a USMS registration ID.

All CCS swimmers are automatically registered in the CCS LMSC regardless of their home or school address. They will not show up in USMS LMSC membership records or reporting.

All CCS swimmers are affiliated with their CCS club in the USMS database. CCS clubs are automatically USMS bridge clubs within the CCS LMSC. 

Yes. CCS swimmers are bridge members and, thus, may participate in USMS activities. As always, swimmers are encouraged to reach out to the club prior to showing up on deck to see if there are any requirements, which varies among USMS clubs. They may reach out to a USMS club looking to train during school breaks when the club team is not training or to supplement club training as not all CCS clubs have a coach.

Yes. CCS members have the same participant accident insurance benefits as full USMS members and USMS general liability policies apply to them.  They are eligible for the same insurance coverage as USMS members at USMS-approved activities. 

Yes! If they enter with their USMS Bridge Membership registration ID, they will be affiliated with their USMS bridge club in the CCS LMSC. Events include USMS-sanctioned events including pool, virtual, and open water national championships.

No. USMS Bridge Members may only affiliate with their USMS bridge club. If a CCS swimmer wants to affiliate with a USMS club (to represent the USMS club at events), they must purchase a standard USMS membership.

Yes, subject to USMS club transfer rules 201.3.5 and 201.3.1 (i.e. club affiliation can be changed upon registration and up to 3 additional times during the membership year). CCS swimmers will have just one USMS registration ID. If a USMS Bridge member purchases the standard USMS membership, their bridge members ID will become a standard USMS membership, and they may choose to represent either their Bridge club or USMS club when registering for USMS events. 

Yes, as long as the meet is a USMS-sanctioned or recognized short course yards (SCY) meet. If a CCS swimmer competes in a USMS-sanctioned meet, the attending CCS team must request the meet be added to the CCS calendar. That CCS team will then be responsible for working with the event director to obtain results files and have them set CCS within seven days of the conclusion of the meet.

Reach out to the club president via email. A list of all registered CCS clubs can be found here. A map of clubs with club contact information can be found here. USMS and CCS clubs are also encouraged to co-host events, which can be mutually beneficial. See CCS-USMS meet video examples here and here as well as the Relay 2024 “Bridging the Generation Gap” presentation slides here. We encourage you to connect with USMS staff to explore best practices and marketing opportunities, and to help in planning your event.

No. A CCS club must be affiliated with a university and is locally run by enrolled students, faculty, or staff members of the university. A nearby USMS club may offer assistance/advice such as planning a season, coaching, fundraising ideas, and professional development. USMS can support CCS team creation on college campuses is by using your local networks to encourage friends and contacts with high school and college-age swimmers to make them aware of CCS and have them connect with CCS for more support if they are interested.