Does anyone know if YMCA Swim Team counts as "varsity" for your USNA application?

ABCDE_2026

Member
Joined
May 21, 2020
Messages
63
I'm asking because I tried to search it up but I didn't see anything that answered my question. Thanks in advance.
 
I'm asking because I tried to search it up but I didn't see anything that answered my question. Thanks in advance.
If you look up the definition of “varsity sport,” it specifies the main teams of a high school, college or university. The YMCA, while a fine organization, is none of these. I don’t think you would introduce yourself as a varsity athlete to anyone who played on your high school’s competitive varsity team, right? I think you already know the answer to this, as you asked if it would “count as.”

There is value in participating in a sport - the discipline, the fitness aspect, the leadership opportunities. There are plenty of people at SAs who were not on a varsity team, but participated in traveling teams, county rec leagues, individual martial arts, ice skating, marathons, etc. They ensured their leadership skills were showcased in other areas; they worked hard to get a good CFA score.
 
@Capt MJ is spot on about what a varsity team is. That doesn’t necessarily discount a team that’s not classified as varsity.

For example, DD’s primary sport is a highly regional one. Before she started high school, we moved from a state where the sport is virtually religion — and most high schools have a girls varsity team — to one where there are only two high-level teams, pulling players from a 100-mile radius and beyond. These club teams were the epitome of traveling teams, with DD hopping on an airplane about every three weeks, departing Thursday and returning Sunday. They played at the highest level of that sport for high-school girls, aside from national developmental teams.

So while DD didn’t list this as varsity participation — it obviously wasn’t — she nonetheless got credit for it as it delivered varsity-level experience and demands. YMCA teams typically don’t rise to that level. The more important thing is to show that whatever sports experience you do have, it delivers on the key expectations: high levels of teamwork, discipline, rigor, perseverance, time management and so on.
 
Last edited:
If you are a nationally ranked swimmer and are, or will be recruited by multiple Division 1 schools, then high school participation may be irrelevant to your SA application. You will be able to point to high level success in a local, regional, and possibly national competitions. If you can cite Sectionals, Futures, or Junior Nationals times, those will speak volumes. The dedication, sacrifice, and focus required to achieve those cuts are self-evident.

However, there are loads of highly ranked swimmers who take time of from their club teams (or National teams in the case of Missy Franklin, for instance) in order to participate for their high schools. Just for the fun and bonding with their classmates.

But if you are not a top-level swimmer who can point to objective excellence in the sport, I would strongly suggest that you participate all 4 years for your high school team. One, you will be able to flesh out your application and, two, you may just enjoy it.
 
And when you get to the point of applying, you can fill out the sports recruiting questionnaire on USNA’s athletic page. Whether or not a varsity athlete (obviously you would need to be competitive in your sport...).
 
If you look up the definition of “varsity sport,” it specifies the main teams of a high school, college or university. The YMCA, while a fine organization, is none of these. I don’t think you would introduce yourself as a varsity athlete to anyone who played on your high school’s competitive varsity team, right? I think you already know the answer to this, as you asked if it would “count as.”

There is value in participating in a sport - the discipline, the fitness aspect, the leadership opportunities. There are plenty of people at SAs who were not on a varsity team, but participated in traveling teams, county rec leagues, individual martial arts, ice skating, marathons, etc. They ensured their leadership skills were showcased in other areas; they worked hard to get a good CFA score.

Did your HS offer team swim and you chose not to participate? That is a huge difference. My club swimmer smoked many varsity athletes in swim - went to regional meet and smoked many swimmers there too. He would have no trouble introducing himself as the person on a club team who beat the neighboring, larger HS varsity captain as a club sport athlete. His rural HS did not offer swim as a sport. He wished he had swam with the Y from a young age. After being All Ohio football for 2 years, he recruited a ton of football players to swim and it continues today.
 
Last edited:
No, for purposes of bubbling in your application, it should not be in the varsity section. It would go in Other and/or your resume. It is up to the SA to determine if you get similar credit for whatever your level/leadership of Y sport.

The great thing about swimming is the objective times. You are either a Sectional and above level swimmer or not. You can even see how you stack up against USNA's team by going to collegeswimming(dot) com.

You aren't the only one with no varsity sports at your school - but make sure that is a true statement. My DD went to a magnet school where they are allowed to compete for their home high schools. It was really, really hard on so many levels, but those that take advantage of perceived disadvantages or have to go the extra mile like MidCakePa will stand out that much more.

Depending on your area, Y teams can be very competitive or not at all, so you have to quantify this with times, and explain leadership.
 
There are club or travel teams in many sports that require higher levels of commitment and play at far higher levels of competition than high schools. They aren't varsity, but they're very worthy of mention on an app.
 
^^^^ Exactly. A competitive non-varsity team can stand (swim?) on its own merits.
 
Maybe its time for USNA to re-word how they reword the application to include the Club/Travel programs. In any event, if you are involved in a non-school sport that takes alot of committment, and higher levels of performance, make sure you tell your BGO about it ...and he/she can make sure its addressed in their write up.
 
Agree with Old Navy above. Hockey is very much like this if you don't play HS varsity. There are travel leagues such as AA and AAA, which require very high levels of committment that includes tryouts and a ton of travel. If you play AAA, its almost exclusive of other sports given time/travel you do. DS played hockey at this level, though he didn't segue this into the USNA hockey program, he certainly made sure it was noted in his application package.
 
Back
Top