1) Florida Age Group and Senior Championships
The first meets swimmers should aim to qualify for are the Florida Swimming Championships. These meets are split into age groups champs (FLAGS) for 14 & unders, and Senior Champs for 15 & Overs. Qualifying times for this meet are based on the swimmers age. There are different standards for 10 & Unders, 11-12s, 13-14s, 15-16s, and 17 & older. As a swimmer ages up, the qualifying times become faster.
Senior Champs Qualifying Times
2) Speedo Sectionals
Speedo Sectionals is the base of the USA Swimming pyramid. This meet has no age brackets, meaning anyone who meets the qualifying time standard can compete. Sectionals meets take place in each region across the US during the summer. Athletes who qualify in one event can enter in a set number of bonus events for that meet. At Speedo Sectionals, bonus events do need to have an official time during the qualification period; while some Sectional meets require actual Bonus qualifying times and other Sectional meets do not. This varies by which Speedo Sectionals you attend.
Speedo Sectionals Qualifying Times
3) Futures Championships
Has faster qualifying times than Sectionals and is also held during the summer. These meets allow swimmers to compete on a larger, faster scale than Sectionals. Only five Futures meets are held throughout the US. How do you know which Futures meet to attend? It all depends on what LSC you belong to. Bonus events at this level do not have time standards. Swimmers older than 18 are allowed to compete at this meet.
Futures Championship Qualifying Times
4) NCSA Spring Junior Nationals
Originally started by a group of club coaches who noticed a void in the USA Swimming meet calendar (before Winter and Summer Juniors existed), this Spring Junior National meet has been a stepping stone for over 80% of our Olympians, including Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Manuel. Time standards generally hover over current Futures cuts.
NCSA Spring Juniors (time standards on last page of info packet)
5) Speedo Winter Junior Championships (Short Course)
The Winter Junior Championship meets take place every December at two sites, East and West. Qualifying times for this meet are faster than for Futures Championships. All athletes must be 18 years or under on the first day of competition. Swimmers may enter a set number of bonus events, as long as they are permitted by the meet’s guidelines. However, all bonus events must meet a separate time standard.
Speedo Winter Junior Championships Qualifying Times
6) Speedo Junior National Championship (Long Course)
The Junior National Championship meet is held in the summer at a single location. Qualifying times for this meet are faster than the time standards for the Winter Junior Championships. All athletes must be 18 years or under on the first day of competition. Swimmers may enter a set number of bonus events, as long as they are permitted by the meet’s guidelines. However, all bonus events must meet a separate time standard.
Speedo Junior National Championship Qualifying Times
7) US Open
This is an international-level meet organized by USA Swimming during the Summer and Winter months. Only swimmers who achieve qualification times are able to participate. Swimmers are able to participate in a set number of bonus events that meet the bonus time standard. Members of Olympic, National, and National Junior Teams may compete in the event as well.
Toyota US Open Qualifying Times
8) National Championship
Swimmers of all ages are able to participate in this meet as long as they meet the time standards. Qualification times for this meet are faster than US Open Cuts. Members of Olympic, National, and National Junior Teams compete in this event. International swimmers may compete in this meet as well.
Phillips 66 National Championship Qualifying Times
9) US Olympic Trials
These happen every four years. Olympic trials are rumored to be just as difficult as the Olympics themselves in the US. Why? The United States has a lot of good swimmers. To put this into reference, there are about ~400,000 registered USA Swimming swimmers and the goal of Olympic Trials is to host about ~1,250 swimmers at meet. This means only about 0.3% of registered USA swimming athletes will earn the right to compete at the Olympic Trials.
US Olympic Trials Qualifying Times
10) US Olympic Team
Of the roughly 400,000 registered USA Swimming swimmers, around 1,250 will qualify for Olympic Trials. Of those that qualify, only 52 swimmers (26 Men and 26 women) will earn the right to represent the USA on the Olympic Swim Team. This means just 4% of swimmers who compete at trials go on to make the Olympic Team.
At Olympic Trials, around 100 - 150 swimmers will compete in each event in prelims. In events 200 meters and shorter, the swimmers who place in the top 16 in each event at prelims will advance to Semi-Finals. At Semi-Finals, they will compete again, with the top 8 finishers advancing to Finals. In events 400 meters and longer, there are no semi-finals, so the top 8 finishers in prelims advance directly to the finals.
At Finals, swimmers will compete one last time and the top two finishers in each event will make the US Olympic team. In the 100 Meter and 200 Meter Freestyle, the top 6 finishers have traditionally been offered a spot on the team so that we can put together our best 4x100 and 4x200 Freestyle Relays. In 2021, the Women's 1500 Meter Freestyle and Men's 800 Meter Freestyle were added to the Olympic event list. This potentially adds two new qualifiers to both the men's and women's team while keeping the roster cap at 26 for both. Due to this addition, instead of the top 6 making the team in the 100 and 200 meter free - we now see more of a guarantee that the top 4 will make the team in these events.
