Honolulu not a top U.S. ‘swim city’
Kamehameha's Kanoa Kaleoaloha, blue cap, at the start of the men's 50 yard freestyle at the 38th annual Dorthy Aki/Kalani Swimming Invitational meet at the Kalani High School Pool.
Honolulu jumped up 77 rungs on the “America’s Top Swim City” list but is not among the top-ranked swim-friendly communities, according to USA Swimming and swimwear manufacturer Speedo USA.
Honolulu is ranked 49th of the list’s 50 cities, despite being surrounded by the ocean, despite the isles’ year-round climate conducive to daily swimming, and despite all the ocean-related activities for which Hawaii is known.
The second annual study named Ann Arbor, Mich. the best swim city in America for the second year in a row, with San Jose-Santa Clara repeating as runner-up, and the San Francisco-Oakland metro climbing two spots to finish in the top-three.
A key part in the methodology leading to Ann Arbor’s second consecutive win, is that it has the largest percentage of top USA Swimming athletes per capita including more than 60 Olympians. USA Swimming is the national governing body for the sport of swimming in the United States.
The organization is focused on competitive swimming and the number of swimming pools in a market, as well as the number of current USA Swimming members, U.S. Masters swimmers and the number of USA Swimming clubs, among other factors that include activities leading up to the Olympic Games.
