Swimming in Washington DC: Annual Black History Swim Meet VIDEOS

Swimming is one of my favorite sports and Washington, DC, is a great city for swimming. Here is a list of resources for swimmers in DC and my videos of the 23rd Annual Black History Invitational Swim Meet.

Photo by Michael Starghill

Swimming in Washington DC

Washington, DC, has several swimming pools, public and private. The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) operates 7 indoor public pools which are open all year long, and 19 outdoor pools that open mostly in summer, and 6 children pools.

All DC residents can use those aquatic facilities for FREE, although some of the pools may be closed periodically depending on the time of the year. All the indoor pools have lifeguards permanently, the facilities are clean, well kept, beautifully built and easy to access by Metro train and bus.

The DPR has its own youth swiming team club: the DC Wave. This is great news for those who can't afford a private gym or pool, and anyone living in the District. For more information check out the DC Department of Parks & Recreation.

If you live outside of the District in the DMV metropolitan area, here are some locations of swimming facilities.

View Larger Map

Click in the red dots and contact these facilities by phone or email to request more information about lessons, fees and schedules. Have fun!

The 23rd Black History Invitational Swim Meet

The Black History Invitational Swim Meet is "the premier minority swim competition in the United States and in the World" and is been organized since 1987 by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation and the United Black Fund, Inc, honoring Black History Month and the event is open for children of all races.

The 23rd Annual BHI Swim Meet was held in February 13-15, 2009 at the Takoma Acuatic Center, in Washington, DC. This was a very successful and exciting event, there were anxious parents and coaches guiding and rooting for over 900 young swimmers ages 5 to 18 years old.

These are the videos that I recorded during the 23rd Annual Black History Invitational Swim Meet. [Note: I recorded this video report in 2009 when Youtube had a video length limit. I had to divide it into 4 videos]

During this event I met Olympic medalist Cullen Jones [see video here]. Cullen seems to be a good person and he has become a role model for young swimmers. Few years ago when he was 14 years old, Jones placed last at the DC BHI Swim Meet, but he is now one of the best swimmers in the world.

23rd Annual Black History Invitational Swim Meet - See the results of this event here

Thanks to everyone who helped me recording this competition, congratulations to all the participant swimmers, parents, coaches and organizers of this event. All of you are winners!


.