USA Swimming has unveiled their new Motivational Time Standards for the 2013-2016 seasons. It comes as no surprise, based on what we’ve been seeing as age group swimmers have gotten better-and-better, but the times have been ratcheted up for the upcoming four years as training develops, technique develops, and more of the best athletes are kept in the sport.
These times on some level are arbitrary, as they won’t qualify anybody for a National Championship meet, but they are still very important. Not the least of which is in the name: motivation. Young swimmers who can call themselves an “A” swimmer versus a “BB” swimmer feels a huge upgrade in confidence, and reaching for these times give young athletes an idea of what they should be shooting for.
These times are also used often to determine eligibility for certain local meets, and for determining training groups. The drop will, at least in the short term, shift numbers away from A & Up meets to BB & Under meets, which may not be unintentional.
See the full 2013-2016 time standards here.
See the full 2009-2012 time standards here, to compare.
USA Swimming has done an analysis of how much change there has been between the old standards and the new, specifically at the AAAA (highest) level. Many of these standards have increased in difficulty by over 2%, and most are over 1% (though not every time has changed).
To describe what that means, this year’s 17-18 boys could earn a AAAA time in the 400 yard IM in 4:07.09. Next year, they’ll have to be a 4:02.59. During the 2011-2012 season, 292 17-18 boys nationwide made the AAAA standard in the event. Under the new guidelines that would have been slashed to 160.
Looking at another time, at random, an 11-12 girl would now need a 2:18.19 to make an A time in the 200 yard freestyle. Last year, that would have been a 2:19.89 – almost two seconds slower. 4,971 girls hit that time last year. Under the new standards, that would have been 4274 swimmers, or about 700 fewer.
To see USA Swimming’s full percentage change analysis, click here.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? That probably depends on who you are. Some might argue that faster swimmers should be given more space to navigate at their meets, but others would retort that the overall development in the sport is better when, at the youth levels, athletes have the chance to race against better and tougher competition than themselves.
Either ways, the new times have been installed, and are probably in general a pretty fair progression to the time drops we’ve seen nationwide since the old standards were installed in 2008.
Get ready to step up coaches!
Hi, how are you ? I am 15 years old. I would like to improve my swimming skill. May I know is there any short course on December? Thank you.
I think it’s funny when people complain about the length of the sessions when age group meets and junior prelims are significantly longer. The bed will all be fine no matter what the meet ends up like, they will adapt a succeed.
As for the time standards, zone cuts are the big first stepping stone for most age groupers, it’s the first real taste of upper level competition. Moving to power points are basically the same thing when it comes down to it, just numbers instead of letters in my uneducated opinion.
No there is a big difference between single age group measures and the two year age group used in motivational times….further it is easier to see incremental progress in power points….its like watching a thermometer move versus the motivational times where you have the discrete thresholds….
When it comes to trying to run age group meets, individual age meets are fun but the Zone Meets would need major restructuring and tighter time standards or stay as is in 2 year blocks with the letter system.
You can do the same discrete threshold for the power points as well when it comes meets: 400 minimum entry, 600, 800, etc. It all comes back to times, which both systems are based on. I love the IMX system and it certainly works when it comes to overall score and incremental improvement, intrasquad competition, etc., but again, it all comes back to times. Faster is faster, no matter what system you try and put it in.
I don’t believe this times are really relevant, except for general direction, re Trials. You are looking at very different pool of swimmers. I understand the history, and affection for motivational times, especially at the younger ages but I find the power point system for more useful at pretty much all levels.
For example, it is much easier for a younger swimmer to use the power point calculator to “compare” times for different strokes and different distances of the same stroke. This is very useful in getting them to work on all strokes and understand “potential” at different distances in the same stroke. It’s also easier to measure incremental progress using power point systems.
The motivational times, with… Read more »
I agree that the power points system is a better metric.
The Motivational Time standards evolved in the 1970’s and were based off a percentage of the National Top Ten times. The system is out of date and should be discarded as it is not a true indicator of performance.
The power point system includes single age increments. It is based off the performances of the swimming population and a curve has been developed for each stroke, distance, and age.
I disagree. As an age group swimmer these were really motivating to try to reach for. When you are 9-10 or 11-12 you’re not really looking at sectional/ junior cuts so these were great bench marks you wanted to achieve. One of the happiest moment in my age group swimming was when I got my first AAA. I think getting rid of these standards would be unfair to the current age group swimmers.
Yes I remember the first A, AA, AAA cuts also….but kids these days can learn to feel similar sense of accomplishment with 600, 700, 800 points AND they can compare themselves to Phelps, Lochte, etc………much more easily.
Maybe its not time to do away with Motivational Times but time to put greater emphasis on single age based power point system and educate coaches and swimmer on how to use them as great motivational tools.
but do you really want little 10 & unders comparing themselves to the greatest swimmers in the sport at this young an age? I know as a 10 & under I was more focused on getting my AAA and when I got it I was ecstatic! If someone told me I got points for swimming I wouldn’t really understand the concept- but A, AA, and AAA is an easy concept for a younger swimmer to get- you go faster than the time and you get the AAA.
and when they get the “AAA” time, what do they do next?
Big drops in 50 free for 13-14 and 15-16 boys. Interested (perplexed) that the 15-16 boys AAAA 50 free time ends up faster than the 17-18 in LCM. Could that be a typo? It isn’t the case for SCY.
It’s always a good thing to raise the bar. Just a little story. In 2001 Claude Fauquet, the former chief of french swimming, has decided to change the times swimmers had to do if they wanted to qualify. It was much much harder than before. It was after Atlanta and Sydney where the results had been disastrous. He has send only a few swimmers that year at the world championships in Japan. There has been a message for swimmers. It was that now we go in the big competitions not just to participate but to win medals. More than 10 years after I can say it has been understood, at least on freestyle.
I have to both agree and disagree with Anonymous regarding the trials. I agree that it is a good thing for young swimmers to get to experience the trials. Kara Lynn Joyce did not do well at all at the 2000 Trials and then made the team in 2004. I disagree that having tons of kids at the trials hampers things and that they should emulate the Olympics. This year there were more kids than ever at Trials and our Olympic team ultimately performed fanatastically well. Limiting Trials so the elite swimmers don’t have to hang at the pool very long is only short-sighted. The Trials experience means everything to the future of USA Swimming.
Perhaps mention in the article that the times noted are short course yards (unless I missed it somewhere…, or is it just assumed because age-groupers swim SCY?)…when I saw that 4:02 400IM time I was so confused because it’s faster that the LCM world record!
I wonder how this will affect the olympic trials cut times. One thing I’ve noticed is that young swimmers often succeed at the trials level after having experienced it one time previously (even if there was no realistic chance of making the team). Just simply having the experience of racing in such a public arena as well as watching world-class swimmers race increases the level of motivation in these kids. They then go back home… Read more »
I’m guessing that the 2:18.19 for 11-12 year old girls is for the free and not the “100”??
that should read -200- free and not “100”