USA Swimming - time standards question
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Anonymous
| We are new to USA swimming (previously did summer league/local Y group). I am wondering about the time standards because my kid is 8 but the youngest official standards are 10 and under. He is mostly getting “BB” times or close to them, depending on event. It looks, well...not very good, when you see that the time standards go up to AAAA. But, he is winning many races and leading his practice group, so maybe it is okay for an 8 year old? Although, he will be 9 in 3 months and then it will not be so good. Unless he can keep improving, I guess? Just wondering what to expect. I really don’t know what I’m looking at. |
Anonymous
| A BB time for an 8 year old is good, IMO. Keep in mind that as a 10 year old, your kid will be a lot faster and hitting higher standards by then if he continues club swimming. |
Anonymous
| The junior Olympic cuts are in the BB times. AAAA times are like the top 1%. Calm down. Your 8 year old is doing well |
Anonymous
| Don't worry about other kids times. As long as he has fun and improves, that is all that matters. |
Anonymous
JO cuts are not BB times in PVS...maybe somewhere else. JO cuts are usually A-AA times |
Anonymous
| Your kid is 8...please relax. This is a sport that lasts a long time. For boys nothing really matters until 14-15 |
Anonymous
JO cuts vary by LSC and age/gender, they do not strictly follow lettered time standards |
Anonymous
|
They are referred to as motivational time standards, so they are a way to set goals and make steps to faster times.
Some clubs/LSCs use them to determine who goes to which meets or practice groups. Being on the chart at 8 is a good start. They are the 9-10 goal times. They don’t set them for younger to keep the focus on stoke development and such. They are determined by % of best times swam , if you dig around a little, you can find the explanation of how they are determined. Many swimmers (most?) will never get AAAA (maybe even AAA). |
Anonymous
|
Go here:
https://www.usaswimming.org/times/popular-resources/individual-event-rank Put in your child’s name and you can get their rank out of the whole country. |
Anonymous
| Also note, kids improve dramatically in one year at that age just by growing. Often very good 9 year olds can’t achieve A times, but they will as a 10 year old. Aging up and working toward these time standards for 2 years is the bane of the game. If you are getting A times at the bottom of your age group (as a 9 year old), you are doing very well |
Anonymous
|
There aren’t motivational times for 8 year olds, so his BB times are under the 10 year old standards. AA times at 9 are considered regionally competitive.
AAA and AAAA put you at the top regional competition level. Saying that, our area is hugely competitive and has a lot of kids swimming at that level. Also what they do at 8 is not always indicative of future success so just enjoy the fun he is having now. |
Anonymous
| Also curious, how close to the a standard is he? An 8 year swimming a 32 s 50y free is pretty competitive. If he is swimming a 34 s 50y free, not as competitive in the PVS, for example. |
Anonymous
| Just go for PRs and don't worry about it. A lot will change from 8 until 14 (when it matters) |
Anonymous
For 10 and under 50 free scm times for girls is in the BB range. |
Anonymous
There are not SCM times. There are short course yards and long course meters. Only summer league swims short course meters and there are not USA motivational times for that. |