Swimming is a weird sport because you're constantly fighting two things at once: the person in the next lane and a giant digital clock that never lies. For parents and kids just starting out in club swimming, the "motivational times" chart looks like a confusing wall of numbers. It’s basically a massive spreadsheet that tells you exactly where you stand compared to every other kid in the country.
Honestly, it can be a lot to take in. You’ve got B, BB, A, AA, AAA, and the legendary AAAA. It sounds like a grading system from a dystopian school, but in the world of USA Swimming, these are the bread and butter of goal setting. These aren’t just random numbers some coach pulled out of a hat. They’re calculated every four years based on real performance data from the previous quad.
The current 2024-2028 standards are now the law of the land. If you’re staring at a heat sheet and wondering why your 11-year-old is suddenly a "BB" swimmer instead of an "A" swimmer after their birthday, you’re not alone. The jumps between age groups are brutal.
Understanding the Motivational Times USA Swimming Hierarchy
Let’s break down what these letters actually mean. Most people think "B" stands for "Beginner." It doesn't.
A B time actually means you’re in the top 55% of all USA Swimming athletes in that specific event and age group. That’s already better than half the competitive swimmers in the U.S.
Then you move to BB, which is the top 35%. This is usually the "sweet spot" where many dedicated club swimmers live. It’s fast enough to be competitive at local meets but still leaves plenty of room to grow.
The Elite "A" Tiers
Once you hit the "A" standards, the air gets a bit thinner.
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- A: Top 15% (The goal for most regional championship qualifiers).
- AA: Top 8%.
- AAA: Top 6%.
- AAAA: Top 2%.
If a kid hits a AAAA time, they’re basically a phenom. We’re talking about the top 2% of the entire country. But here’s the kicker: being a AAAA 10-year-old doesn't guarantee you’ll be a AAAA 17-year-old. In fact, statistics from USA Swimming show that only about 11% of kids who are ranked in the Top 16 as 10-and-under athletes are still ranked that high by the time they hit the 17-18 age group.
Growth spurts matter. Puberty is the great equalizer. Some kids get tall early, and some kids don't hit their stride until junior year of high school.
Why the Jumps Between Age Groups Feel So Mean
Every time a swimmer has a birthday that puts them in a new bracket—moving from 10-under to 11-12, or 12 to 13-14—the motivational times USA swimming standards get significantly faster.
It’s discouraging. You’ve spent a year chasing an "AA" time, you finally get it, and then two weeks later you turn 13 and suddenly your "AA" time is barely a "BB."
Coaches call this "aging up." It’s basically the sport's way of telling you that the bar just got raised. The jump from 12 to 13 is particularly notorious because that’s when the distances change and the physical gap between kids who have hit puberty and those who haven't becomes a canyon.
How These Times Dictate Your Season
These standards aren't just for ego; they’re for logistics. Meet directors use them to cap entries.
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You’ll see "A Meets" or "BB/B Meets." If you don’t have the time, you don't get in the pool. It’s that simple. On the flip side, some "C" meets are designed specifically for newer swimmers to get their first official times without the pressure of the "A" crowd breathing down their necks.
The Math Behind the Magic
USA Swimming doesn't just guess these. They use a formula based on the 16th-place time from the National Top 16 list. They take that baseline and then add percentages to create the tiers.
Because the "fastest" kids in the country keep getting faster—thanks to better tech suits, better underwater work, and more scientific training—the motivational times usually get a little faster every four years when the new "quad" standards come out.
The Mental Trap of the Bag Tag
You’ve probably seen the bag tags. Those little plastic cards kids hang on their backpacks that show the time standards. They’re great for motivation, but they can be a double-edged sword.
I’ve seen kids cry over missing an "A" cut by a tenth of a second. It's heartbreaking. But as a parent or coach, it’s vital to remember that these are benchmarks, not destinies.
A swimmer might be a "B" in the 100 Breaststroke but an "AA" in the 500 Free. That’s normal. Specialization is a late-stage game. If a 9-year-old is only swimming the 50 Free because they have an "A" time in it and ignoring the 200 IM because they’re a "C" in it, they’re setting themselves up for burnout.
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Real Talk on Progress
Progress in swimming isn't a straight line. It's a jagged staircase.
You might go six months without dropping a second, then suddenly drop five seconds in one weekend. The motivational times USA swimming chart is a long-distance map, not a GPS. You can't let the "C" or "B" next to a time define the athlete's worth.
I once knew a kid who didn't get his first "A" time until he was 14. He ended up swimming D1. Conversely, I knew a 10-year-old girl who broke state records and quit by 13 because the pressure of maintaining "AAAA" status was too much.
Actionable Steps for Using Motivational Times Effectively
If you want to use these numbers without losing your mind, here’s a better way to look at them:
- Focus on the "Next Step" Only: If you have a "B" time, don't even look at the "AA" column. Focus on the "BB." Small wins build the momentum needed for the big ones.
- Track the Percentage of Improvement: Sometimes a swimmer "ages up" and loses their status (like dropping from A to BB). Instead of looking at the letter, look at the time. Did they go faster than their previous personal best? If yes, that's a win.
- Diversify the Strokes: Use the chart to identify where the swimmer is weakest. If they are "A" in everything but Backstroke, that's a signal to work on their rotation and underwater kicks during practice.
- The 4-Year Quad Rule: Remember that the standards change every four years. If you’re looking at an old chart from 2022, you’re looking at the wrong numbers. Make sure you have the 2024-2028 sheet.
- Don't Compare to the Kid in Lane 4: Every kid grows at a different rate. Comparison is the thief of joy, especially in a sport where one kid might grow six inches in a summer while another stays the same size for two years.
The most important thing to remember is that the "M" in these standards stands for Motivational. They are meant to pull you forward, not push you down. If the clock becomes a source of dread rather than a challenge, it’s time to take a step back and remember why the kid started swimming in the first place: because being in the water is fun.
To get the most out of this, download the official USA Swimming 2024-2028 Motivational Time Standards PDF and highlight the times that are within reach for the current season. Focus on one or two specific goals per meet rather than trying to overhaul the entire backpack of tags at once.