Niagara LSC & USA Swimming
Time Standards

[revised January 20, 2010]

Quick Reference | Time Standards Explained

Quick Reference

 

Standards Explained

The current standards Have been updated and will be good throught the Spring of 2010.

The time standards used for Niagara LSC swim meets have historically been an area of confusion for Niagara swimmers. Several years ago, the Technical Planning Committee began to standardize the times from the older antiquated system, to a more stable and less confusing one. After a several year migration, the standards for the Niagara LSC are now completely generated from the USA Swimming Motivational Time Standards charts.

We urge you to familiarize yourself with these charts, as having an basic understanding of them will allow you to easily understand and adjust to the various standards used for almost all Niagara meets. Pay particular attention to the top of each of the 3 pages for the motivational standards. Page 1 is for Long Course Meters - 50 M pool times (primarily for summer meets), page 2 is for Short Course Yards - 25 yards pools (the one we most often use), and page 3 is for SCM - 25 Meter pools (rarely used). Below is a further breakdown between seasons.

Short Course Standards:
As a general rule, these standards are used for district level competitions contested in 25 yard pools. Any exceptions to them will be noted as appropriate. We historically have used Gold, Silver and Bronze designations for short course meets, but starting in the fall of 2009, we will use the designations found in the motivational charts.

  • "A" (old Gold) - The" A" standard is equal or the "A" time listed in the Motivational Charts in all cases except the 13 & over 50, 100 and 200 Freestyle events where the "AA" time is used to reflect our strengths in those events.
  • "BB" - The silver times are equal to the "BB" time listed in the Motivational Charts
  • "BB Qualifyer: - The bronze times are SLOWER THAN the "BB" standard in the Motivational Charts

Single-Age Standards:
Niagara runs two Short Course meets (generally in the fall) known as the Power Point series. These events use single age standards that are SIMILAR, but not the exact same, as the regular standards. Single age standards are based off Hy-Tek's POWER POINT system. This allows for individual cut times for each age off-age bracket (i.e. 11y/o girls, 11y/o boys, 13 y/o girls, ect....) as opposed to traditional "age groups" as found in the motivational charts. Many of our meets will follow this format to allow these off-aged swimmers to have a better opportunity to qualify and compete at higher levels. For meets using these standards (listed in the MEET PACKETS), odd age swimmers can use the applicable charts to determine eligibility. One word of note is that all "A" qualifying times are the same within an age group (ex. an 9 y/o 50 Fr "A" cut is equal to a 10 y/o 50 Fr "A" cut).

**IMPORTANT NOTE** please note that the POWER POINT series uses a different Hy-tek downloadable standards file on the main page then the standard Niagara Standards file. Make sure that you use the correct file (Single-age) for the Power Point series in the fall.

Long Course Standards:
Long course standards are handled somewhat differently then short course. Primarily, you can use times from any of the three formats (LCM, SCM or SCY) to qualify for long course meets. Secondly, the standards are applied on a "per meet" basis, not across the whole season. For invitational's listed as Gold, Silver, Bronze, unless otherwise specified by the meet host, the same formula as short course standards would apply. For the Niagara LC meets, the following standards apply;

  • Niagara Long Course Classic - The standards listed in the meet packet are equal to the 15-16 y/o "A" standards in the Motivational Charts.
  • Niagara Long Course JO Champs- The standards listed in the meet packet are equal to the "BB" for 12 & under swimmers and "A" for swimmer 13 and over. Once again, the 50, 100, & 200 Freestyle for swimmer 13 & over will be equal to the "AA" standards. A reference chart for the LONG COURSE JO CHAMPS STANDARDS[updated May 2, 2009] has been posted as well.

National Meet Standards:
Standards for national meet are developed outside Niagara LSC by the zone or national offices and do not necessarily follow the above formats. We have included the standards for many of the national level competitions

We hope you have found the above information helpful and if you still have any questions about standards for a particular meet, contact the meet host or the Niagara LSC Technical Planning Committee.

Created: June 23, 2008
Updated: May, 2, 2009