FAQs

CCS is the collective organization that unifies college club swim programs across the country. CCS provides the rules, calendar of events, results database, and communications across all registered CCS clubs. It's run by an Advisory Board made up of CCS swimmers and backed by U.S. Masters Swimming.

• CCS member swimmers' times will be included in the CCS meet results database
• The ability to post meets and events on the CCS Calendar of Events
• Access to best practices on running and growing a CCS club and help from the CCS support team
• Certification/documentation of legitimate status within the CCS national organization (required by many colleges and universities)
• Access to USMS partners for possible club sponsorships
• Access to local USMS clubs for collaboration and fundraising

The club and its university or college decides who can be a member of their local club team. The below definition is only for eligibility as a nationally-registered CCS swimmer, who will be listed in the CCS database.

To be an individual CCS member, a swimmer needs to be a member of a CCS registered club. They can only be a member of one registered CCS club at a time. The swimmer must also meet the following requirements:

• Is a member in good standing with a CCS club affiliated with a university or college.
• Is affiliated with the university as a full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate student in the current academic term, a full-time co-op/intern student or faculty and staff in the current term.

To find out about CCS swim meet eligibility see Who is eligible to compete in CCS swim meets?

• Swim times posted in the CCS meet results database
  • Individual event results from all CCS swim meets participated in
  • National swimmer rankings in all events across all CCS clubs
• Discounts on swim gear from USMS partners
• Digital version of SWIMMER magazine, USMS’s premiere publication
• Networking opportunities and access to posted jobs and internships
• CCS bi-annual eNewsletter
• Opportunity for volunteer leadership experience with the CCS board of directors

• Any swimmer who has gone through the CCS swimmer registration process and meets the CCS eligibility requirements will be eligible to have their times in the CCS database.
• Further clarifications:
  • Any swimmer who swims with a college club program, but isn’t registered with CCS may participate in non-regional or national championship meets but their times will not be reflected in the CCS database.
  • Any swimmer who is currently on a varsity team or has competed in a varsity meet in the current academic year may only compete as an exhibition swimmer at the local level and is not eligible for regional or national competition.
  • Any swimmer who does not meet the NCAA amateurism eligibility standards may only compete as an exhibition swimmer at the local level and is not eligible for regional or national competition.

CCS swim meets follow the USMS Rules of Competition.

CCS club registration starts on August 1 each year but you may register at any time during the school year for the current season through July 31. Once a CCS club is registered, an invoice will be sent to the club president. Payment on the invoice is due before December 31 for the club to maintain its eligibility.

If the number of CCS swimmers registered to a CCS club rises from the group size they paid in the fall, then CCS will send a follow-up invoice for the difference in the spring.

It doesn’t cost anything for a swimmer to join CCS. The only cost is associated with registering a CCS club. CCS swimmer registration starts on August 15 and runs through the end of the school year.

Once the swim meet is over, the event director needs to send either a .SD3, .CL2 or .HY3 file to CCS for posting in the CCS results database.

If your college does not have a CCS club, you can start one! Contact CCS to learn more and sign up. Also, review the Benefits of CCS to learn more about how CCS can help you and your swimmers. 

There are several colleges that have started CCS clubs without a pool on campus. Some of these clubs make arrangements with local private pools for lane space or use public pools close to campus for practice. We can also help find a local USMS team that might be able to help you find lane space.

When your CCS club shuts down for the summer, you can join a USMS program to stay in shape, compete in events, or meet new people!

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. 

Read more about the terminology and definitions here.