Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 08:31     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
My kid doesn't even have BB times. He's having fun and learning to be a better swimmer. It's fine! You just need a club that coaches the slow kids too.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 22:12     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
You are misapplying the standards. USA Swinming does not publish motivational times for children 9&under for a reason. The standards do not apply to your kid. Come back here once she is 10+.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 21:35     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
My swimmer, currently D1 swimming did not make B times when he was 9 either.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 18:27     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
B is by definition better than average. So this is far from abnormal.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 14:06     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
I mean, so what? My 12 yo has been swimming competitively for several years and is not fast. Probably never will be. But she gets exercise, improves on her own times and technique, and enjoys the sport (including the social aspect).
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2026 10:21     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:B times are not easy to get, they may not be the top swim times, but they are not guaranteed just from club practice. I have a swimmer who consistently falls mostly into the B, BB time range and they love swimming, consider it their “main sport” and have participated in lots of meets where they finish 1st in their heat. Your child has so much growing to do, so I wouldn’t stress at all about those motivational times. There are so many positive things about swimming, the racing part is only a fraction of what’s important, and I think using their own times as measurement and motivation is the best approach regardless.


Agree. The fitness obtained is so valuable. If they do any other sports, it will show, even they are part timing the other sports. And its valuable just for general well being first and foremost. Also, kids vary and if they keep at it, they might (or might not) be achieving A, AA, etc. by the time they are teens.


Redditors are so mean sometimes.

My son made nary a B time his first year and qualified for city championships with an A time his second. There's a big difference between the years in the 2-year buckets at that age, FWIW.

Also, what this person said: you can be an "average" swimmer and qualify for nothing. Pulling points for your team is fundamentally what matters competitively which you can do without going to state. And, of course, enjoying it, which it sounds like your daughter does.
Anonymous
Post 04/03/2026 20:10     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
Anonymous wrote:B times are not easy to get, they may not be the top swim times, but they are not guaranteed just from club practice. I have a swimmer who consistently falls mostly into the B, BB time range and they love swimming, consider it their “main sport” and have participated in lots of meets where they finish 1st in their heat. Your child has so much growing to do, so I wouldn’t stress at all about those motivational times. There are so many positive things about swimming, the racing part is only a fraction of what’s important, and I think using their own times as measurement and motivation is the best approach regardless.


Agree. The fitness obtained is so valuable. If they do any other sports, it will show, even they are part timing the other sports. And its valuable just for general well being first and foremost. Also, kids vary and if they keep at it, they might (or might not) be achieving A, AA, etc. by the time they are teens.
Anonymous
Post 04/03/2026 18:12     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
B times are not easy to get, they may not be the top swim times, but they are not guaranteed just from club practice. I have a swimmer who consistently falls mostly into the B, BB time range and they love swimming, consider it their “main sport” and have participated in lots of meets where they finish 1st in their heat. Your child has so much growing to do, so I wouldn’t stress at all about those motivational times. There are so many positive things about swimming, the racing part is only a fraction of what’s important, and I think using their own times as measurement and motivation is the best approach regardless.
Anonymous
Post 04/03/2026 18:08     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
Anonymous wrote:My 9 yo DC did her first year of club swimming this year. She missed B times by a few seconds in every stroke. I'm seeing some people on reddit saying B times are the minimum of what any decent swimmer should have their first year of club swimming. Now I feel discouraged for her. She enjoys swimming so it doesn't matter, but just wondering if there's hope for her to get better.


"Some people on reddit" are idiots.
Anonymous
Post 04/03/2026 17:44     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
Anonymous wrote:Are you looking at the single age motivational times? There's quite a jump between 9 and 10.

https://websitedevsa.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/timesdocuments/time-standards/2025/2028-motivational-standards-single-age.pdf


Yes that's what I was looking at. They don't have one for 9 year olds, just 10 and under. So maybe I should feel good that she's already close to B time for 10 year olds. And anyway others on this thread have made me feel better that it's nothing to worry about. I had never even heard of "B times" until I saw an email about a swim camp only available to kids with "B times" and up. I had to do some googling to even figure out what it means.
Anonymous
Post 04/03/2026 15:25     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
She’s 9, she’ll be fine.
Anonymous
Post 04/03/2026 07:40     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
Anonymous wrote:My 9 yo DC did her first year of club swimming this year. She missed B times by a few seconds in every stroke. I'm seeing some people on reddit saying B times are the minimum of what any decent swimmer should have their first year of club swimming. Now I feel discouraged for her. She enjoys swimming so it doesn't matter, but just wondering if there's hope for her to get better.



I wouldn’t worry about it if she’s enjoying it AND there’s continuing improvement in technique and times. At some point enjoyment and “success” become correlated. See what happens next season.
Anonymous
Post 04/03/2026 06:20     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
Are you looking at the single age motivational times? There's quite a jump between 9 and 10.

https://websitedevsa.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/timesdocuments/time-standards/2025/2028-motivational-standards-single-age.pdf
Anonymous
Post 04/02/2026 23:16     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
She’s only 9 and it’s her first year. Look for improvement next year.
Anonymous
Post 04/02/2026 23:09     Subject: DC did not make B times first year of club swimming
My 9 yo DC did her first year of club swimming this year. She missed B times by a few seconds in every stroke. I'm seeing some people on reddit saying B times are the minimum of what any decent swimmer should have their first year of club swimming. Now I feel discouraged for her. She enjoys swimming so it doesn't matter, but just wondering if there's hope for her to get better.