Swimming times?

[beachmom]

Can somebody explain swimming times: AAA, A, BB, etc? I have a friend that throws these terms around and I can't follow what she's saying. What's a good time for a potential college swimmer (in the A range only)? I'm listening to these conversations and I'm confused.

[Lolly]

They are from a motivational chart for swimmers. AAAA are the fastest. Some swim meets may have cut-offs based on these times. For example, when we first started swimming, I took the kids to a B meet where fast swimmers weren't allowed to swim.:D It was great! They also can be used to eliminate the slower swimmers from high level meets. Mostly, they are just so that kids can make a goal to take it up to the next level. As far as college swimmers go, that is really going to depend on the college! I'd say definitely in the A range. For a more competitive school, more like AAA or AAAA. I don't think colleges actually look at the letters though.

 

This is the USA chart with all the times. Make sure you are looking at the right pool length! Right now, you would want the short course yard times for most meets/pools.

 

http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/828b6b41-63b0-4a6a-9362-9ccaddff94d9/2012MotivationalTimes-Top16.pdf

Edited October 19, 2010 by Lolly

[mcconnellboys]

That sort of depends on the state/area you live in as some states/regions are faster than others. Also, what level college team are you looking at joining, Division I (which are waaaay more serious and a lot faster, in general)? or Div. III (which are slower, but they can't offer sports scholarships)?

 

Do you have a swimmer doing USA or other club swimming currently? If so, you can look up the qualifying times for this year for your state. The times vary a little from year to year.

 

Also, if you're interested in particular schools, you can go to their swim web page and look up their last year's times for their swimmers to get a feel for what the team is doing....

[In The Great White North]

That sort of depends on the state/area you live in as some states/regions are faster than others.

 

The times (AA, AAA, AAAA, etc) are the same for the whole country. What they do with them varies by LSC (state or region). In New England, they are practically useless and never mentioned. When I grew up in Michigan, all meets were for particular (AA, A, B, C, etc) swimmers, and you could only swim in events for which you had appropriate times.

 

 

As far as college swimmers go, that is really going to depend on the college!

 

:iagree: You can definitely swim in college. College teams range from "just shy of going to the Olympics" to practically "learn to swim programs." Scholarships tend toward the "just shy of the Olympics" programs, but partial scholarships can be found for us mere mortals as well.

[mcconnellboys]

Well, in this state, there are *state* times and then there are national times. I know some of the states around us have this, too. I have no idea if the entire country does this or not. Both vary from year to year.

[beachmom]

I don't have any swimmers. I just wanted to understand some of the lingo I hear so I can maybe be a part of the conversation.

[plansrme]

And you probably know this already, but the times are written AAAA, AAA, etc., but are usually called "Quad A," "Triple A," "Double A" and "A," with Quad A being the fastest.

 

I would think that a potential scholarship collegiate swimmer would have an assortment of Triple and Quad A times, but older swimmers mostly rank themselves by whether they make Sectionals or Nationals, or a "Trials time," which is one that qualifies you to compete in the Olympic trials.

 

My experience is that younger swimmers are generally considered college-track if they have some AAA and AAAA A times, always with the understanding that progress can slow, swimmers stall out, they burn out, etc.

 

Terri