Swimming is a sport of personal best times and goals.

At Toronto Swim Club, from the Academy Program right through to our National Group, our swimmers do not stop learning and do not stop improving on technique. But with every sport competition is usually the name of the game. As much as your child might want to compete with other swimmers in his or her group or other clubs, the best competition is always the clock. Beating a previous best time is the goal. There will always be someone faster or someone slower, so the focus should be on self-improvement. Improvements can happen suddenly, but it can also be a gradual climb. Every swimmer progresses at a different pace, which is why our coaches put so much emphasis on personal goals.

The relative importance of Time Standards or comparing your swimmer with others:

As your swimmer moves into the competitive stream, time standards play an important role in setting goals, not only to qualify for specific meets, but to also move up the group ladder. However time standards should not be leveraged as a measure of a swimmer’s success. Success depends solely on self-improvement and hard work.

How are Time Standards set?

Central Regions
TSC is situated within a geographic area of Ontario labeled the Central Region by Swim Ontario. Swim Ontario prepares a "map" of time standards based on performance in previous years and these times standards remain in place through a quadrennial Olympic cycle (ie. 2024-2028). Qualifying swimmers from clubs in the Central Region are invited to meets based on performance in accordance with the Swim Ontario map times.  A summary of the change in standards starting in the 2024-25 season from our TSC coaches is available - click here.  

Provincial Meets
Swim Ontario also has specific standards for participation in province-wide meets for Ontario Age Groups. Qualifying swimmers from clubs throughout the province are invited to participate.

Click here to see the Swim Ontario Time Standards for both long and short course.   

National Meets
Swimming Canada (SNC) sets standards for all SNC designated meets such as the Canadian Open and all International Games Trials (ie. World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and Olympic Trials).

Click here for Swimming Canada Standards – Trials / Canadian Open / Canadian Swimming Championships