USA Swimming has announced that the US Grand Prix Series title sponsor, Toyota is offering a $20,000 purse to the winner of the eight rounds of the 2007-08 series. Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and Katie Hoff are among the entries for the next stop the Toyota Southern California Grand Prix, from Friday to Monday, at Long Beach, California.

The meet will provide a good guide to coaches and swimmers but for the rest of the world will not give the event more than a passing glance: it all unfolds in yards, like a good number of US competitions this season - a good mechanism for racing hard without letting the world know where you're at, perhaps. Certainly a good mechanism for having many of your swimmers times never recorded on the official world rankings. Perhaps there are some positive reasons too but they are not obvious to a world that left yards behind half a century ago.

Meantime, the Grand Prix series finale takes place in Omaha, Nebraska on June 8, with the crowning of a series champion for the first time. Points are accumulated with first, second and third-place finishes.

Speaking through the federation, Mark Schubert, USA Swimming's national team head coach and general manager, said: 'Our nation is home to some of the best swimmers in the world, and I'm pleased that USA Swimming and Toyota continue to promote these athletes as they move toward their ultimate goals in Beijing.'