USA Swimming Grand Prix - Long Beach

USA Swimming announced the dates and locales for the 2008-2009 Swimming Grand Prix Series.  The 2008-2009 series will be offering a $20,000 purse to the swimmer with the most points at the end of the series.  First up will be this weekend in Minneapolis and then in Long Beach in January. 

The series is like the just finished FINA / ARENA World Cup.  A little information about the scoring system:

The scoring system awards swimmers points based on gold, silver and bronze-medal performances. At each meet, a gold medal earns a swimmer five points, a silver medal commands three points and a bronze medal is one point. The standings will integrate male and female participants, recognizing the swimmer with the highest cumulative point total. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the swimmer who earned the highest single-race FINA power point ranking.

This is a great series that features the best swimmers in the United States.  If you are a swimmer or just a fan of swimming you should check out the Grand Prix Series as it will touring the US of A.  Check out for information and dates at USA Swimming LINK.