C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton has hosted the OHSAA swimming and diving championships since 1976 for the boys finals and 1980 for the girls finals.

OHSAA Swimming and Diving Finals to Remain in Canton

Association signs 10-year contract extension with C.T. Branin Natatorium

COLUMBUS, Ohio � The Ohio High School Athletic Association has signed a 10-year contract extension with the Canton City Schools to keep the state swimming and diving championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium, OHSAA Commissioner Daniel B. Ross has announced. The contract extension, approved today by a unanimous vote of the Association�s Board of Directors at its regularly scheduled meeting in Columbus, means the state championships will remain in Canton at least through the 2018 season.

�The Canton City Schools and the folks at Branin Natatorium do such a great job in hosting our state championships, so we�re thrilled to be able to reach an agreement for 10 additional years,� Ross said. �We believe we have one of the top swimming and diving championships in the country, and, along with having outstanding participants and coaches at our member schools, a lot of the credit goes to the staff in Canton, which provides exemplary organization and tremendous hospitality. Our agreement is a win-win situation for everyone involved in the tournament.�

Branin Natatorium, which has hosted the OHSAA boys state championships since 1976 and the girls state championships since 1980, can seat up to 2,400 spectators with an additional 1,000 on the pool deck. The natatorium is named in honor of Ted Branin, a swimming coach at Canton McKinley High School from 1928-72, and was built for the Canton City Schools by the Timken Foundation of Canton.

�I would like to thank the OHSAA for awarding the Canton City Schools this extension,� said Sam Seiple, the natatorium�s aquatics director and the OHSAA�s longtime swimming and diving tournament manager. �If you talk to any participant, high school coach or college coach, they will tell you the state championship held in Canton is the most exciting high school swimming and diving meet they have seen in the country. Our seating on three sides of the pool gives the crowd the opportunity to be right on top of the swimmers, and that makes the atmosphere in the natatorium absolutely incredible.�

Traditions at the swimming and diving championships include opening ceremonies with the Canton McKinley High School marching band and camp sites around the outside of the natatorium of fans waiting for doors to open.

�I am so pleased that the OHSAA Board of Directors and staff have the confidence in me to continue to run this event for at least the next 10 years,� Seiple said. �I have an awesome team of volunteers and committee members that work so hard for me each year, so I know they will be excited to hear the news.�

This year�s state swimming and diving championships will be held Feb. 25-28, 2009.

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Contact: Tim Stried, [email protected]