Epic Showdowns on the Horizon: Georgia High School Swimming Reclassifications Unveiled

The 2024-2025 Georgia High School swimming & diving season is approximately a month away from its state championship competitions, which will appear significantly different this year following the realignment announcement at the start of the academic year. This includes the state championship-winning teams from the state’s two largest divisions both ascending to new categories and the removal of one division.

Previously, Georgia’s high school sports were divided into eight classifications, but for this year, it has been streamlined to seven – a contrary shift to what is occurring nationwide.

Specifically in swimming & diving, there will now be merely three state championship events at each tier: 6A, 4A-5A, and 1A-3A, reduced from the earlier four-championship structure.

While it is not unusual for high school state champions to ascend a classification, frequently due to a newer school with an increasing student population, it is uncommon for state champions to drop to a lower classification.

This distinctive consolidation of the organization’s 457 high schools has resulted in the boys 7A Champions from Walton High School transitioning to class 6A, and the 6A champions from Johns Creek migrating to Class 5A.

The 2024 boys state champions included Walton (7A), Johns Creek (6A), Chattahoochee (4A-5A), and Wesleyan (1A-3A); Walton, Johns Creek, and Wesleyan are all two-time defending state champions, while Chattahoochee has captured five of the last six titles.

This sets the stage for a significant battle in the 4A-5A title contest between two schools elevated by the presence of nationally recognized club teams: Chattahoochee is home to Chattahoochee Gold, while Johns Creek serves as a site for the SwimAtlanta program.

On the girls’ front, the 2024 champions included Brookwood (7A), Lassiter (6A), Westminster (4A-5A), and Wesleyan (1A-3A). The girls of Wesleyan, akin to their male counterparts, are two-time defending champions, while Westminster has claimed six of the last seven titles in the 4A-5A classification.

On the girls’ front, Brookwood, the state’s largest high school with 4,518 students, will similarly be relegated to the new 6A classification, while Lassiter will advance to 5A and Westminster will drop to 3A. This creates a notable confrontation in the 1A-3A meet, among the state’s smallest institutions, between two private school powerhouses in the northern Atlanta suburbs.