FAST forward

The Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training (FAST) venue has been bringing increased levels of competitive swimming to Marion County for more than a year.

In 2022, FAST hosted more than 45 days of competition meets, welcoming 10,000 spectators and allowing over 5,000 youth swimmers to compete. Starting July 13, FAST, at Calesa Township in southwest Ocala, hosted three competitions that brought in more than 2,500 swimmers and over 7,000 spectators in the span of three weeks.

The competitions included the July 13-16 Florida Age Group Championships—Northern Region for swimmers ages 14 and under. From July 20-23, the Florida Senior Championships were held for high school and college-aged swimmers. From July 26-30, the USA Swimming Futures Championship Meet brought in the best swimmers from the Southeastern Region, which includes Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

“Across the three events, the swimmer‘s ages ranged from 9 to 21. Many swimmers earned their personal bests and scored points for their teams. Team banners and flags were strung across the indoor pool deck to support their teams, and spectators cheered on the competition from the seatbacks on Level 2. Over 2,000 spectators not in attendance streamed the events from the FAST YouTube channel. Thank you to event sponsors Calesa Township, HDG Hotels, and World Equestrian Center,” said Kinley Rogers, in the marketing department with Colen Built Development, LLC.

“Swimmers who participated in the USA Swimming Futures Championships on July 26-29 broke national records and punched tickets to the U.S. Olympic Swim Team Trials next summer in Indianapolis. The Triangle Aquatic Center Titans from Greensboro, N.C., set a new record in the boy‘s 15-18 and 17-18 National Age Group record in the 400m medley relay. Twenty-four athletes punched their ticket to the U.S. Olympic Swim Team Trials throughout 42 events. FAST was one of the five facilities nationwide to host this USA Swimming-sanctioned meet,” Rogers added.

To learn more about the FAST venue, which offers a range of lessons and programs, go to floridafast.com