UVA camper parent here - lots of super fast kids from PVS and other parts of VA attend. So while there is no qualifying standard to register, there are a lot of fast kids there to work hard, and more importantly have a ton of fun.

Anonymous wrote:So consensus seems to be Navy is better than UVA?

For technique and swimming yes. There are other threads on this. The Elite camp requires at least one A time in order to be in it. There are other camps if you want to travel (as in fly) that are pretty exceptional too. The Longhorns Swim Camp is pretty intense. Depends on the goal.

The UVA camp is more summer campy and fun.

So consensus seems to be Navy is better than UVA?

The coach who runs navy is wonderful. It’s a great camp. We did it for 8 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've done Navy Swim Camp three summers in row. My son absolutely loves it.

Does he love it because camp on a college campus doing something you enjoy with friends is fun (and it could also be equally fun if it were pottery or skateboarding or show choir), or does he love it because it helps to make him a better swimmer?

It's a great combination of hard work and fun. It is *not* at all like a normal summer camp. It is a technique-focused camp, and the kids train many many hours over the week. There's in-water and dryland training. They focus on one stroke each day Mon-Thurs. And Friday is racing and exhibition. Everyday is exhausting. But living at Bancroft Hall at the Naval Academy is a unique experience, and the camp does a great job of incorporating some of the Naval Academy values into the camp. So it may not be for everyone. If you don't like the military, then probably not a great fit. If your kid isn't self-motivated, it might be too much. They also bring in amazing guest speakers to talk to the kids about things like nutrition and wellness. They had Caeleb Dressel's coach as a speaker this past summer. The kids are broken up into "Seal Teams" so even though there are a lot of kids, you do everything with your smaller group, which is led by two coaches.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've done Navy Swim Camp three summers in row. My son absolutely loves it.

Does he love it because camp on a college campus doing something you enjoy with friends is fun (and it could also be equally fun if it were pottery or skateboarding or show choir), or does he love it because it helps to make him a better swimmer?

Unless it’s a learn-to-swim camp, it’s probably unrealistic to think that a one week camp is going to make your child a better swimmer. Yes, ideally they’ll pick up some new technique here and there that will help with a particular event, but 4-5 days of swimming with hundreds of other kids isn’t going to yield major changes to their caliber. Camps are fun, hopefully focus on great habits in/out of the water, and are an opportunity to learn from different coaches (great to get that new eye and perspective). But that’s about it. I’d still recommend UVA for what it is, but just have very realistic expectations.

Anonymous wrote:We've done Navy Swim Camp three summers in row. My son absolutely loves it.

Does he love it because camp on a college campus doing something you enjoy with friends is fun (and it could also be equally fun if it were pottery or skateboarding or show choir), or does he love it because it helps to make him a better swimmer?

We've done Navy Swim Camp three summers in row. My son absolutely loves it.

Our DC did a one-day Navy clinic (different from camp of any kind, I know). We were not impressed, especially at the price.

There is a Navy Elite camp which is worth it if you have a high-level swimmer. Camps where there are kids from a wide age range with no performance standards aren’t as helpful as the elite camp.

We had a swimmer do the UVA camp and thought it would make a huge difference with their swimmer. It did not.

Point of camp is a fun reward.

Not sure the difference but we did navy for years and kid loved it. Well run

Do a search. This is discussed all the time. Both are good.

What are the differences between these two summer swim camps for kids? Is one better than the other?