USA Swimming Benefits/Information

Potential and New Members

Steps for registration:

1. Create a USA Swimming Account: https://hub.usaswimming.org/landing?retUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fhub.usaswimming.org%2Flanding
2. Once you have created a USA Swimming Account, I will send you a “USA Swimming Registration Invite LINK”
   1. This will take you to a new Log In
   2. Create this ‘NOT FOR PERSON” –
   3. Fill out your childs name and continue to fill out the pages
   4. Payment: There are many options for what you should pay for.
      1. Flex Membership: for Kids 12 and Under- this allows swimmers to do up to 2 USA meets from now until September.
      2. If your child is over 12 years old, they will have to do the Premium Membership which is $80
      3. The annual renewal ends in September. I would recommend the Flex first and in September, when we do more swim meets at the start of that season, we can upgrade to Premium Membership.
3. You should have already created a Team Unify Account:
   1. We will move to communication on Team Unify, along with registration for USA Meets sign ups!
   2. When you click for Events: You will be able to choose the USA Swim Event you want your swimmer to swim. In the description, you will be able to see if your swimmer qualifies for the event (if they reach the time standards) – You can also ask your coach.
   3.  You will either enter what you want your child to swim/sign up for events, or You can email me, [email protected] and I will be able to enter the your swimmer into events. I will be sending your entries and payment to the Meet Host.
   4. As  a YMCA, we are figuring out the payment, most likely, we will be receiving a check from parents, and once all the checks are collected, we will send it into the meet host.
   5. https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/sandiegoimperial/page/home This is a link for SI-Swimming.com. This will be what we go through for our schedule and any documentation that is needed.

Please read through this document and I plan on sending out an invite for a zoom meeting so we can go over all of USA and Team Unify

 

What is the difference between a sanctioned, approved and an observed meet?

• Sanctioned Meets: All participants (including the meet director, athletes, coaches, officials, & clubs) must be members of USA-S, and the meet must be conducted under USA-S technical and administrative rules. All times achieved in a sanctioned meet will be recognized by USA Swimming for inclusion in the SWIMS times database.
• Approved Meets: An athlete is not required to be a member of USA Swimming to participate in the meet; however, the meet is conducted under USA-S technical rules. Upon approval of the meet, all times will be recognized by USA Swimming, and the times for USA Swimming members are eligible for inclusion in the SWIMS database.
• Observed Meets: There are no requirements for USA Swimming athlete membership, and the meet is conducted under technical rules other than those of USA Swimming (for example, high school, college, YMCA, or Masters rules). A request for observation of swims for compliance with USA Swimming rules must be made to the host LSC who determines if observation can be facilitated. Times from observed swims in compliance with USA Swimming technical rules are recognized, and times for USA Swimming members are eligible for inclusion in the SWIMS database.

 

Priorities

• Competitive success with the option of Nationals levels
• Resources to support athletes, coaches and clubs
• Public engagement with swimming
• Recognition as best-in-class NGB

Competition Benefits

            Becoming a USA Swimming Member, your swimmer will have the option of not only competing in YMCA events, but also competing in events against other clubs in San Diego with the option of traveling to meets outside of San Diego. USA Members are  able to have their times recorded on a National Database along with taking their swimming to a more competitive and professional level.

            USA Swimming has officiated and sanctioned meets. There are many different kinds of swim meets that we are able to qualify for. We will go by time standards along with age groups. Some meets, your swimmer will have to reach certain times to qualify for that specific meet and others will be offered for their time standards. We will go over time standards later in this document.

Academic Success

USA Swimming celebrates good grades with the Scholastic All-America Team. To be a part of this honor swimmers must:

• Have completed 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, or 12^th grade
• Maintain 3.5 GPA while on the team

Learn more here: https://www.usaswimming.org/times/popular-resources/scholastic-all-america

Social Benefits

Joining a swimming club can provide your child with lifelong social skills.

• Connecting with kids their age over a common interest
• Connecting with the community through volunteering events
• Understanding what being a part of a team means
• Leadership skills can be developed as confidence grows.
• Gaining time management skills while balancing family/friend commitments, school, practice, meets, etc.
• Learning how to be adaptable to change and things out of their control.
• Being able to interact with children outside of their age group.
• Overcoming obstacles and hurdles

Community Benefits

Joining USA Swimming allows your child to connect with the community.

• We give back to the community through volunteering, donations, etc.
• Learn more about how your club gives back on their website or by asking a coach!

 

 

The Pyramid

The USA Swimming pyramid is a visual manifestation of the organization’s priority to be recognized as a best-in-class NGB. Not only should USA Swimming be world class for its own members, but we should also be a positive influence and make significant contributions to the sport of swimming across the entire country.

 

As the preeminent organization for the sport of swimming in the U.S., we have the opportunity to influence and architect the development of the sport for all swimmers. We should, and we will, embrace the responsibility to grow the sport. We recognize the importance of each level of the pyramid and continue to search for ways to strengthen areas that aren’t directly governed by USA Swimming.

 

Clubs/Teams are the heart of USA Swimming. Without a strong club system, USA Swimming would not be able to develop our athletes to reach their highest potential. We have over 3,100 clubs, servicing 400,000+ members.

LSCS

Local Swim Communities (LSCs) are groups that act as representatives for specific swimming communities throughout the country. There are 59 LSCs with defined boundaries that are unique to an area of the country. LSCs are tasked with registering members, scheduling competitions and leading clubs on behalf of USA Swimming.  Rancho Rays LSC is San Diego Imperial Swimming.

 

ZONES

There are four Zones that divide up the United States: Western, Central, Eastern and Southern. Each Zone’s responsibility is to represent the LSCs in their regional area, as well as conduct Zone-level championship meets. 

 

 

Advantages of USA Swimming Membership for YMCA Swim Teams

USA Swimming membership doesn’t change your YMCA identity, it can enhance it.

Our YMCA program structure, leadership, meet schedule, and practice schedule remains the same. USA Swimming has special offerings for YMCA teams, recognizing the unique aspects of competitive swimming at a local YMCA. This also gives us more competitive opportunities for recognized meets in the area.

USA Swimming membership offers many opportunities, not restrictions.

Swimmers may participate in different competition formats in addition to their YMCA meet schedule. They can also be included in several motivational programs and challenges such as the National Age Group rankings and times database, the IM Xtreme Challenge, the Virtual Club Championships, the Select Camp programs, the Club Recognition program, and the Club Excellence program and California State Games!

USA Swimming membership provides many benefits and resources, not requirements.

The resources available to USA Swimming member athletes, coaches, parents and volunteers are available to all, regardless of affiliation, team size or level of competitive achievement. Information and consultants are available in several areas including:

• Facility Development
• Team Development
• Sport Performance
• Coaches’ Education
• Parents’ Education
• Diversity
• Fundraising
• Learn to Swim

In addition, members receive Splash magazine, a bi-monthly publication designed for swimmers to share what is happening in the world of competitive swimming and to motivate young athletes toward their goals. Member teams receive a yearly highlight video with race footage and other materials to motivate athletes and potential team members. Member coaches receive a credential indicating that their safety certifications and background screens are current. These cards are recognized at YMCA and USA Swimming meets alike.

 

 

 

Benefits of USA Swimming Membership for the YMCA Community

USA Swimming offers many potential benefits to the YMCA. Acclaimed as one of the most successful sports governing bodies in the Olympic movement, USA Swimming’s core objectives of “Build the Base, Promote the Sport and Achieve Competitive Success” are perfectly in tune with the YMCA. At the grassroots level, USA Swimming is most concerned with “Building the Base” by encouraging participation and involvement in a healthy lifetime activity. Following is a listing of the potential benefits to the YMCA leadership and its membership.

 

Athletes

1. Access to competition in sanctioned, officiated swim meets that are generally organized by level to provide equitable competitive opportunities for swimmers of all ages and abilities.

2. All performances in sanctioned meets are recorded automatically in the USA Swimming national times database.

3. All members receive Splash Magazine bi-monthly.

4. Ability to create a “My USA Swimming Page” personal account that allows swimmers to track personal performances and rankings in the SWIMS database.

5. Participation in the Top 10 Times Program (formerly Top 16).

6. Participation in the IM Xtreme Program, an online pentathlon-type event. USA Swimming will have a YMCA-only IMX ranking.

7. Participation in the Scholastic All America program.

8. For swimmers who meet the selection criteria, participation in the USA Swimming camp program including LSC Camps, Zone Select Camps, National Select Camp, Open Water Select Camp, and the Diversity Select Camp.

9. For qualified athletes, travel support to attend national level meets.

10. Access to educational information on a wide range of topics including personal nutrition, stroke analysis and biomechanics, race analysis, and doping control information. The Nutrition Tracker feature on the website is a great, easy-to-use teaching tool for young athletes and their parents.

 

Parents
1. Access to ongoing parent education programs including the award-winning Successful Sports Parenting CD.

2. In-person educational presentations presented by USA Swimming’s field service consultants.

3. Collaborative officials’ education and training programs.

4. Participation in the USA Swimming Swimposium program and training workshops for
volunteers and club leaders

 

How are age group motivational standards determined?
Answer:
· All swimmers are ranked according to their best achieved time in each event.
· A swimmer must swim an event at a sanctioned meet for the time to be official.
· A swim must be performed legally to be accepted. (No disqualified times will be
accepted.)
· All swimmers legal times from each meet are then loaded up to the USA Swimming
national database.

 

Swimming Time Standards Explained

USA Swimming Top-16 Based Time Standards –
B, BB, A, AA, AAA, AAAA

USA Swimming publishes sets of time standards for various reasons. One of the reasons behind
standards is their usefulness for setting goals. They are also used to control the size of swim
meets, as each higher or faster level in the standards has fewer swimmers - as the standards
get faster, a smaller number of swimmers achieve them. Almost every swimming federation in
the world uses some form of stepped standards within their system.

Standards can also be used to offer swimmers a general idea how they match up with other
swimmers in their age group and between age-groups, but raw times work better within age-
groups. In a general sense, they can be used to compare swimmers in different age-groups with
each other, but just because a swimmer has "AAA" times as a 9-10 year old does not mean that
same swimmer will get "AAA" times as a 13-14 year old. There are several reasons for this,
including differing maturation rates, changing interests, and even injuries.

 

How are age group motivational standards determined?
Time Standards by Percentile

• AAAA 98% This standard means your swimmer is ranked in the top 2% of swimmers their age-group, their same sex, in that stroke and distance.
• AAA 94% This standard means your swimmer is ranked in the top 6% of swimmers their
  age-group, their same sex, in that stroke and distance.
• AA 92% This standard means your swimmer is ranked in the top 8% of swimmers their
  age-group, their same sex, in that stroke and distance.
   
• A 85% This standard means your swimmer is ranked in the top 15% of swimmers their
  age-group, their same sex, in that stroke and distance.
   
• BB 65% This standard means your swimmer is ranked in the top 35% of swimmers their
  age-group, their same sex, in that stroke and distance.
   
• B 45% This standard means your swimmer is ranked in the top 55% of swimmers their
  age-group, their same sex, in that stroke and distance.
   
• C This standard is for all swimmers with times below the "B" standard.
   

Everything from 0.00 up to the "B" standard is a "C" time.

Notes: It is very normal for your swimmer to have different time standards for
different strokes. They may even have different standards for the same stroke
but different distances. As your swimmer matures their best stroke and distances may change. A swimmer should not specialize until they have completed physical
maturation.

Swimming all the strokes and all the distances will only improve
your swimmers physical and mental development throughout their career.
Bottom line - Time standards are great for goal setting and should be used to motivate your
swimmer, but while improvement is desired it should not be required. Be patient and let your
athlete improve at their own pace. P.S. Never compare your swimmers success to another
swimmer. All swimmers are individuals with unique abilities and each will develop at their own
rate.

 

The world of competitive swimming has changed a lot over the last 20 years, and now – there are multiple new levels of competition here in the United States. Some of these new levels have been added as recently as the last 5 years! Our goal today is to answer some of your questions and cut down on the amount of time that you need to spend researching. So here’s our short-list on the USA Swimming Competitive Swimming Pyramid!

Let’s get started!

Why did all these competitive swimming levels and new meets get created? 

Put swimply, it was a series of events that created the need for more levels in the pyramid. The number of people swimming increased. Coaches got better at coaching swimmers to swim faster. Qualifying meets reached capacity and pushed qualifying times to get faster and faster. This created a gap in ability and competition available to swimmers. Location, amateur status, number of meets, and age were used to break up the numbers of people at meets and continue to encourage a high level of competition. Gradually introducing these components also allows swimmers to gain experience at varying levels of competition regardless of their age.

Competitive Swimming Pyramid Structure at USA Swimming

Let’s start with the base of the competitive swimming pyramid and work our way up. 

1.) Speedo Sectionals

The base of our pyramid has no age brackets and is meant for competition between swimmers that achieve designated qualifying times. 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 actually Bonus qualifying times and other Sectional meets do not. This varies by which Speedo Sectionals you attend.

2.) Futures

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 four 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.

3.) Speedo Junior National Championship

Qualifying times for these East and West Championship meets have faster cuts than Futures and are held during the Summer and Winter. This is an international level meet. All athletes must be 18 years old and 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. 

4.) US Open (or Senior Nationals)

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 Junior National Teams may compete in the event as well. A common nickname for this meet is Senior Nationals. From this level on, there is only one meet of its kind held throughout the US. 

5.) Philips 66 National Championships

Swimmers of all ages are able to participate in this meet as long as they meet the time standards. What’s the difference between this meet and the US Open? Qualification times for this meet are FASTER.  

6.) 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 each registered USA Swimming Swimmer has about a 0.3% chance of making the Olympic Trials meet.

7.) US Olympic Team

The top two finishers in each event at Olympic Trials make up the US Olympic team. The Women’s 1500m Free and Men’s 800m Free were added to the Olympic event list back in 2021, so instead of top 6 potentially making the team in the 200m Free and 100m Freestyle events – we now see more of a guarantee of the top 4 making the team in those slots. There are only 26 spots on both the men’s and women’s side for the Olympic Team – putting the total Olympic Team size at 52 swimmers. This gives each swimmer a 4% chance of making the team that competes at trials.

 

USA Swimming sanctioned meets that are Sectionals and above. We are going to look at all the meets that happen around the US from Sectionals on down. We want to help you better understand the age group swimming competition levels, as it is easier to answer what the higher-level athletes are doing.

So if you’re new to competitive swimming or within your first few years of competing, we hope to answer what meets you should be aspiring to and help you better understand how these all build up to the biggest swimming competition in the US: Olympic Trials.

 

 

 

Age Group Swimming: From the Bottom of the Pyramid Up

Non-qualification Meets

Swim Meet in Islamorada, FL

If you just started swimming, chances are you will start with some non-qualification meets – and you’ll probably be getting nervous! Nerves or “butterflies” are normal at every level of competition.

Non-qualification meets allow any registered USA Swimming swimmer to compete. Why should swimmers compete? Well, competition is like performing. Swimmers work hard to hone and develop their skills. Just like performers and athletes from other sports, they need a place and space to show what they’ve been working on. A skill isn’t quite learned or mastered unless it can be performed under pressure. Swim meets provide that pressurized environment. These swim meets are held close to or at the pool a swimmer practices at and normally are very relaxed, which makes them a great first step into the competition pyramid.

Local Qualification Meets

Swim Meet in Islamorada, FL

Swimming is a popular sport. Each swim team in USA swimming belongs to a LSCs or local swimming committee. LSCs are designated committees of volunteers who are passionate about swimming who help organize competitions for swimmers in set geographical areas. Throughout the US there are 59 LSCs. Yes, there are more LSCs than states in the United States as some states have so many swimmers (or very large geographical areas) they are divided into multiple LSCs. LSC committees are important because they help organize, regulate, and facilitate swim competition and that meets the needs of swimmers in their area. When a certain locale has a lot of swimmers, LSCs can allow teams to host qualification meets. In order to participate in qualification swim meets, swimmers must meet designated time standards. 

The name of these meets vary depending on where in the US you are competing. Also, how they are structured, quickness of their time standards, and time of year all vary too. Your club swim team will have some of these meets already built into their meet schedule at the beginning of each new season.

Age Group Championships

Riverside Aquatic Club Swimmers

Each LSC in USA Swimming hosts at least one Age Group Championship meet. Age Group Championship information varies from LSC to LSC. While that may make understanding the pyramid of competition difficult to understand, there are also advantages to this structure because each LSC is able to offer end of season Age Group Championships according to their locale’s needs. 

Age Group Championships usually occur twice a year, once for the short course yards season, and once for long course meters. Sometime, these meets are called State Championships and other times they are just structured as a Championship Meet. All these meets typically have a prelims and finals format for set age groups.

For some states and LSCs that do not have large numbers of swimmers or are geographically spread out, Age Group Championships is their first USA Swim meet that requires qualifying times. States with higher swimmer population densities often have other meets that require qualifying times according to the USA Swimming time standards. The qualifying time on this time standard is set by the LSC. Some LSCs always allow bonus events up to a set maximum number. Other states only allow bonus events if there is enough space in the meet. Still other states do not allow bonus events, meaning a swimmer must meet time standards for every event they wish to compete in.

LSCs structure Age Group Championships to support all kinds of swimmers in their community. It is up to these committees to decide things like if 8 and unders will be recognized as a point scoring age group separate from 10 and unders or if they need to “swim up”, if there will be only one age group championship meet, and more. The timing of Age Group Championship meets varies based on where you live, but typically falls around the beginning of March and August and that marks the beginning of “Championship Season”. 

It is important as you continue to climb the USA Swimming Pyramid that a swimmer remembers why they started swimming in the first place. Swimming is a very honest and hard sport, so if you’re starting to see your swimmer really excel at an Age Group Championship level – have them read this to help set them up for future success.

Age Group Zones

Kentucky House of Delegates Swim Camp

This meet typically takes place shortly after Age Group Championship Meets and follows a similar preliminaries and finals format. Each LSC belongs to a Zone. There are 4 Zones: Eastern, Central, Southern, and Western. At Zones swim meets, swimmers get to represent their LSC and compete against teams from other LSCs that belong to the same zone. LSC teams can be comprised of up to 48 men and 48 women. The selection process for swimmers varies by LSC and is meant to encourage a higher level of competition for age group swimmers. Normally most Age Group Zone Meets are 14 and under – some include 10 and unders and some don’t. The selection process for zones varies by LSC. Some LSCs use time cuts; others use a combination of power points and time standards. For a breakout on each zone and its’ selection process, read below:

Map of the USA Swimming Zones

Eastern Zone:

The Eastern Zone does have a Short Course and Long Course Zone meet. It includes time standards for both. 10 and unders are included and the meet caps at the 13 and 14 age group.

Southern Zone:

The Southern Zone does not have a Short Course Zone meet. There is a Long Course Zones though. This meet is selected like an All-Start Team, which the selection process is all run by the LSC. For example, the selection process for Kentucky Swimming is based on team manager’s powerpoint system. If you get a time that is top 8 from a the previous year’s results, you are automatically selected to the team.

The Western Zone:

The Western Zone mirrors the Southern Zone and only has a Long Course Zone meet. This meet is a selection based meet that includes 10 and unders up to 13/14s.

Central Zone:

The Central Zone does the same as Western and Southern and only provides a Long Course Zone Meet. There are time standards for the zone meet that correlate to about AAA time standards. There are no bonus events included and it is a prelim/finals meet. You can swim up to 6 events total and the meet spans 3 days – you can swim no more than 3 events per day either.

Conclusion

A lot of swimming competition is structured and facilitated by LSCs. Some LSCs work with other LSCs to offer more levels of competition opportunities for their swimmers that fall before and after Zones. Like for example in the Central Zone, they ran a Mega Zones meet which includes 16-20 different LSCs and this meet takes place about every four years. As to be expected though, there are many swimmers who do not compete at the Sectional level and that is okay. When a season ends, it’s natural for swimmers to have big emotions about their results – some good and some bad.

If you’re new to swimming keep having fun at the local meets and continue to look for all the opportunities your LSC has to offer. Swimming is a lifelong sport that is full of many life lessons – it doesn’t have to be you aiming for the Olympics to make you a successful swimmer!

 

 

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