Well this makes me feel slightly better going into meets next weekend. Kid took time off for Thanksgiving and has been sick. Hoping to get some practice in this week and next.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, I don’t think the PP was implying that their child would approach the swim any differently. What could happen is that the swimmer might forgo swimming that event if they’ve already made the 2023 cut, in favor of trying for a different cut. If the qualifying time then changes - even minimally - and they’re no longer qualified, then they’ve missed out on opportunities to get the time. At this point in the season, for swimmers where it could go either way, it would be nice to have the correct time standards to inform event selection.

There are plenty of meets in January and February, making all this drama totally unnecessary. If the a can’t swim a tenth faster in January or February, they are bound to finish last in March anyway.

Swimmers tapper in December and then in March. They usually don’t drop in January and February meets (they are training, off event meets). PVS should release the times before all of the December meets start.

Just to be clear, what age group are you specifically concerned about?

My swimmer started tapering by 11/12

Most 11/12 kids that are on the fence for JO cuts aren’t tapering. Sometimes they improve consistently, sometimes they plateau, other times they improve at random when you least expect it. Last year for example several of my kids’ friends made big gains in January, after taking a long holiday break, to get their first JO times. They’re still kids, don’t overthink it.

Don't underestimate the power of an extended rest period. Practices 4x or 5x a week can take their toll over time. Hard practices 2-3 days before a meet can affect a swimmer's performance. It's better for swimmers to do light workouts, and possibly just stretching and/or dry land exercises, to give their bodies a chance to recover fully.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/2024-SC-14U-Champs-Qualifying-Times.pdf

The times in red are the ones that are different than last year. All the changes to the girls times were to make them ever so slightly easier, the changes to the boys times made them ever so slightly harder.

As expected, changes are very limited. Unless your kid is aiming for two specific events in the 11-12 age group (100 free and 50 fly) or is a freestyler in the 13-14 age group last year's times still apply. Only two minor tweaks to the boys time standards, over all age groups and events.

BUT changing the cut from 31.99 to 31.89 in 11-12 boys 50 fly means two kids who would have qualified last year now have to swim just a wee bit faster before March. Both are qualified in other events though, so either way it won't crash their dream of making it to the big party.

Anonymous wrote:http://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/2024-SC-14U-Champs-Qualifying-Times.pdf

The times in red are the ones that are different than last year. All the changes to the girls times were to make them ever so slightly easier, the changes to the boys times made them ever so slightly harder.

As expected, changes are very limited. Unless your kid is aiming for two specific events in the 11-12 age group (100 free and 50 fly) or is a freestyler in the 13-14 age group last year's times still apply. Only two minor tweaks to the boys time standards, over all age groups and events.

http://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/2024-SC-14U-Champs-Qualifying-Times.pdf

The times in red are the ones that are different than last year. All the changes to the girls times were to make them ever so slightly easier, the changes to the boys times made them ever so slightly harder.

Check http://www.pvswim.org/newstuff.html

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, I don’t think the PP was implying that their child would approach the swim any differently. What could happen is that the swimmer might forgo swimming that event if they’ve already made the 2023 cut, in favor of trying for a different cut. If the qualifying time then changes - even minimally - and they’re no longer qualified, then they’ve missed out on opportunities to get the time. At this point in the season, for swimmers where it could go either way, it would be nice to have the correct time standards to inform event selection.

NP, here. Thanks to those with thoughtful adds. FWIW, cut times are an imperfect system and always out late due to factors mentioned by other poster (right-sizing meets). So, as a parent who has talked through cuts with my swimmer over the years, my advice is to think about which 6 events your kid may want to swim at a championship meet - that is usually the limit (though I recognize it is not always the case, so again, imperfect system). If your kid is well within the time standard, then forgo swimming that event. My kid often likes that approach bc they usually see a drop if they haven't swam the event in a while, which is a treat. If they are close and def want to swim that event, maybe keep trying. Also, think about length of the event. Times in shorter events are going likely not going to be adjusted by a lot bc there are more swimmers clustered at the same times (but a small adjustment may make a difference), where longer events may seem like the standard could shift a little more bc more deviation with times.

FWIW, it is the less popular events where I can remember big shifts. Age group LC 200 fly for example has shifted around as much as any event I have seen bc so few kids swim it and PVS has moved the standard around to try and get the number of entries up.

Again, imperfect system with different constraints and competing interests. Everyone is doing the best they can.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, I don’t think the PP was implying that their child would approach the swim any differently. What could happen is that the swimmer might forgo swimming that event if they’ve already made the 2023 cut, in favor of trying for a different cut. If the qualifying time then changes - even minimally - and they’re no longer qualified, then they’ve missed out on opportunities to get the time. At this point in the season, for swimmers where it could go either way, it would be nice to have the correct time standards to inform event selection.

There are plenty of meets in January and February, making all this drama totally unnecessary. If the a can’t swim a tenth faster in January or February, they are bound to finish last in March anyway.

Swimmers tapper in December and then in March. They usually don’t drop in January and February meets (they are training, off event meets). PVS should release the times before all of the December meets start.

Just to be clear, what age group are you specifically concerned about?

My swimmer started tapering by 11/12

Most 11/12 kids that are on the fence for JO cuts aren’t tapering. Sometimes they improve consistently, sometimes they plateau, other times they improve at random when you least expect it. Last year for example several of my kids’ friends made big gains in January, after taking a long holiday break, to get their first JO times. They’re still kids, don’t overthink it.

PVS Board meets tonight. They have the link up.

https://www.pvswim.org/meetings.html

Anonymous wrote:PVS could also legitimately say that they wait to set the standards so they can right-size the March meets. By December the combo of current season data and historical data provides a good indication of how many swimmers will make each cut. If that analysis suggests too many participants, they raise the bar (lower the time); too few, just the opposite. If you follow PVS meeting minutes you’ll see discussions along these lines related to the 12&u LC meet a few years ago. They don’t want champs meets to be too large or too small. The concern at the time was that the 12&u LC champs meet was too small.

Thank you! This was informative!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, I don’t think the PP was implying that their child would approach the swim any differently. What could happen is that the swimmer might forgo swimming that event if they’ve already made the 2023 cut, in favor of trying for a different cut. If the qualifying time then changes - even minimally - and they’re no longer qualified, then they’ve missed out on opportunities to get the time. At this point in the season, for swimmers where it could go either way, it would be nice to have the correct time standards to inform event selection.

There are plenty of meets in January and February, making all this drama totally unnecessary. If the a can’t swim a tenth faster in January or February, they are bound to finish last in March anyway.

Swimmers tapper in December and then in March. They usually don’t drop in January and February meets (they are training, off event meets). PVS should release the times before all of the December meets start.

Just to be clear, what age group are you specifically concerned about?

My swimmer started tapering by 11/12

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, I don’t think the PP was implying that their child would approach the swim any differently. What could happen is that the swimmer might forgo swimming that event if they’ve already made the 2023 cut, in favor of trying for a different cut. If the qualifying time then changes - even minimally - and they’re no longer qualified, then they’ve missed out on opportunities to get the time. At this point in the season, for swimmers where it could go either way, it would be nice to have the correct time standards to inform event selection.

There are plenty of meets in January and February, making all this drama totally unnecessary. If the a can’t swim a tenth faster in January or February, they are bound to finish last in March anyway.

Swimmers tapper in December and then in March. They usually don’t drop in January and February meets (they are training, off event meets). PVS should release the times before all of the December meets start.

Just to be clear, what age group are you specifically concerned about?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, I don’t think the PP was implying that their child would approach the swim any differently. What could happen is that the swimmer might forgo swimming that event if they’ve already made the 2023 cut, in favor of trying for a different cut. If the qualifying time then changes - even minimally - and they’re no longer qualified, then they’ve missed out on opportunities to get the time. At this point in the season, for swimmers where it could go either way, it would be nice to have the correct time standards to inform event selection.

There are plenty of meets in January and February, making all this drama totally unnecessary. If the a can’t swim a tenth faster in January or February, they are bound to finish last in March anyway.

Swimmers tapper in December and then in March. They usually don’t drop in January and February meets (they are training, off event meets). PVS should release the times before all of the December meets start.