NCAA Lowers 15 Individual “A” Standards for 2022-23 DI Championships

The NCAA has released qualifying standards for the 2022-23 Division I Swimming & Diving Championships, and there are significantly more time drops than last year. 

The NCAA chose to leave the standards the same for 2021 after the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to COVID-19. Then last year, they lowered six individual “A” standards ahead of the 2022 NCAA Championships. The NCAA is more than doubling that mark next year, setting new “A” standards in 15 individual events along with new qualifying standards for eight relays. 

Here are the standards that have changed:

• Men’s 50 Free “A” standard (.08 faster)
• Men’s 50 Free “B” standard (.14 faster)
• Women’s 50 Free “B” standard (.05 faster)
• Men’s 100 Free “A” standard (.07 faster)
• Men’s 100 Free “B” standard (.21 faster)
• Women’s 100 Free “B” standard (.07 faster)
• Men’s 200 Free “A” standard (.07 faster)
• Men’s 200 Free “B” standard (.44 faster)
• Women’s 200 Free “A” standard (.14 faster)
• Men’s 500 Free “A” standard (.22 faster)
• Men’s 500 Free “B” standard (.99 faster)
• Men’s 100 Fly “A” standard (.14 faster)
• Men’s 100 Fly “B” standard (.2 faster)
• Women’s 100 Fly “B” standard (.07 faster)
• Men’s 200 Fly “A” standard (.24 faster)
• Women’s 200 Fly “A” standard (.34 faster)
• Men’s 200 Fly “B” standard (.38 faster)
• Men’s 100 Back “A” standard (.15 faster)
• Men’s 100 Back “B” standard (.18 faster)
• Women’s 100 Back “A” standard (.04 faster)
• Women’s 100 Back “B” standard (.03 faster)
• Men’s 200 Back “B” standard (.22 faster)
• Women’s 200 Back “B” standard (.04 faster)
• Men’s 100 Breast “A” standard (.19 faster)
• Men’s 100 Breast “B” standard (.4 faster)
• Women’s 100 Breast “A” standard (.36 faster)
• Women’s 100 Breast “B” standard (.28 faster)
• Men’s 200 Breast “A” standard (.74 faster)
• Men’s 200 Breast “B” standard (.48 faster)
• Women’s 200 Breast “A” standard (.4 faster)
• Women’s 200 Breast “B” standard (.08 faster)
• Men’s 200 IM “A” standard (.12 faster)
• Men’s 200 IM “B” standard (.25 faster)
• Women’s 200 IM “B” standard (.38 faster)
• Men’s 400 IM “B” standard (.15 faster)
• Men’s 200 Free Relay qualifying standard (.27 faster)
• Men’s 200 Free Relay provisional standard (.22 faster)
• Men’s 400 Free Relay qualifying standard (.47 faster)
• Men’s 400 Free Relay provisional standard (.02 faster)
• Women’s 400 Free Relay qualifying standard (.4 faster)
• Women’s 400 Free Relay provisional standard (.03 faster)
• Men’s 800 Free Relay qualifying standard (.78 faster)
• Men’s 800 Free Relay provisional standard (.91 faster)
• Men’s 200 Medley Relay qualifying standard (.46 faster)
• Men’s 200 Medley Relay provisional standard (.41 faster)
• Women’s 200 Medley Relay qualifying standard (.16 faster)
• Women’s 200 Medley Relay provisional standard (.03 faster)
• Men’s 400 Medley Relay qualifying standard (.51 faster)
• Men’s 400 Medley Relay provisional standard (.69 faster)
• Women’s 400 Medley Relay qualifying standard (.28 faster)
• Women’s 400 Medley Relay provisional standard (.24 faster)

A brief refresher on how NCAA qualifying works (read the full explanation here):

• Individual Events: In individual races, all swimmers with “A” standards automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. Thereafter, swimmers are chosen event-by-event, lined up to an equal number across all events, until the maximum number of individual swimmers have been selected (235 for men, 281 for women).
• Relay Events: All relays with the Qualifying Standard can swim at the NCAA Championships, provided they have 1 individual (swimmer or diver) invited to the meet as well. Once a team has a relay invited, they can swim any relay in which they have a provisional standard as well. Relays are qualified “to the team,” not to the individual swimmers, so teams can take whichever swimmers they want to participate in relays.

In practice, we know that the qualifying times for the individual events are largely symbolic. Because swimmers are ranked based on individual event order, and because it’s rare for the “A” cut limits to come into play, or for a scoring athlete to be anywhere near a “B” cut even in a 3rd event, the change in standards don’t matter much in a practical sense.

Many teams use them as a benchmark, though, to evaluate in-season performances.

More significant is the change in the relay standard, because teams can’t qualify for NCAAs without those standards, and we often see relays that might score at NCAAs be left home because they miss the standard by very slim margins.

2023 NCAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING STANDARDS

Swimming

Diving

*Denotes 6/5 dive qualifying standards

Below is a complete analysis of the standards’ time drops from 2022 NCAA Championships.

Men’s Qualifying Standards Change

Women’s Qualifying Standards Change

On the men’s side, the biggest changes are in the 100 breast, 100 back, 100 fly, 200 fly, and 200 breast, which saw .74 seconds shaved off the “A” standard. On the women’s side, the biggest movement comes in the 100 breast and 200 fly.

How the Standards are Created

• The “A Standard” for individual events is calculated by using the three-year average of the eighth best time on the performance list unless the current “A Standard” is faster than the three-year average.
• The “B Standard” for individual events is calculated by using the three-year average of the 125th best time on the performance list unless the current “B Standard” is faster than the three-year average.
• The “Qualifying Standard” for relay events is calculated using the three-year average of the 16th-best time on the championship finals performance list unless the current “Qualifying Standard” is faster than the three-year average.
• The “Provisional Standard” for relay events is calculated using the three-year average of the 24th-best time on the championship finals performance list unless the current “Provisional Standard” is faster than the three-year average.

The 2023 NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships for women will be hosted in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee for the first time, running from March 15-18. The men’s meet will be hosted at the University of Minnesota from March 22-25.

The Virginia women are the two-time defending champions, while Cal won last year’s men’s title.