What is the deal with time standards? How do I know what meets my swimmer can enter?Basically, meets are open to certain age groups and have restrictions for entry based on best times achieved. In addition, the meet director can establish additional criteria which your child will have to meet in order to participate (for example, an event may be open only to members of a certain local swimming committee).
If your child has never competed, they will have to enter an open meet. Often, these meets are referred to as B/C meets. This meet will establish times for your child in their current age group and will determine what future meets your child can enter. Some children immediately place out of these meets, while others remain at this level.
To provide a fair competitive field and to allow for an effective ranking system, USA Swimming has different achievement levels. The most inclusive level is “C”. The next level is “B”. So, if your child enters a “B/C” meet and does better than the fastest “B” time, they will now have a “BB” time.
After a swimmer has achieved a new level, the types of meets they are eligible for may change. For example, if a meet is classified as “B/C” and your swimmer has achieved a “BB” time, they may not be able to enter the “B/C” meet. Likewise, if your swimmer has not achieved a “BB” time, they will not be able to event a meet which specifies that the swimmer needs to have achieved a “BB” time standard to qualify for the meet.
The basic time standard levels recognized by USA Swimming are as follows (each time standard reflects faster times):
C (any time slower than the B qualifying time)
B
BB
A
AA (Double A)
AAA (Triple A)
AAAA (Quad A)
A breakdown of the time standards for boy and girl swimmers is available on the USA Swimming website. In addition, many meet programs have these time standards included. Many swimmers have plastic bag tags with the times on them that can be attached to a swim gear bag so you and your child have a reference while at a meet. (The bag tags are only $2.50 at Bag Tags Inc)
*** Make sure you purchase the correct bag tag because there are certain specs that need to match your swimmer (boy/girl – age – SCY or LCM)
SCY (Short Course Yards) These times are intended to be used for 25 yard pools
LCM (Long Course Meters) These times are intended to be used for 50 meter pools
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