Swimming time standards are a benchmark or set of target times that swimmers aim to achieve in their events. These standards are typically established by swim organizations and are based on age group, competition category, and event. They serve as a way to classify swimmers by skill level and are often used as qualifying times for certain competitions. Time standards help swimmers and coaches set goals, track progress, and provide motivation for improvement.
With SwimTopia, setting up Time Standards for your team is easier than ever! Create your own customized Time Standard Sets with clear qualifying times for each swim event—or use sets shared by your league to ensure consistency across teams. Design your standards with custom labels for every level, from fastest to slowest, tailored to each group or meet. Plus, our platform supports short course yards (Y), short course meters (S), and long course meters (L), so you’re covered for any setup you need. Dive into SwimTopia and make qualifying time management a breeze!
- Team Management (SwimTopia)
- Meet Management (Meet Maestro)
- Additional Resources
Accessing Time Standards
Time Standards are managed from the Schedule > Time Standards tab in the “Admin” console. By default, only active standards are displayed based on the date range set during creation. To view past standards, toggle the “Show Inactive” option.
Creating Time Standards
SwimTopia offers several ways to set up Time Standard Sets. Each option allows teams to build standards efficiently based on available data and requirements.
Option A: Import an EV3 file containing Qualifying Times (and “Save as Time Standard Set”)
If you have the qualifying times as part of an EV3 file, you can create a new placeholder meet on your schedule using the EV3 file.
Select Import Meet Event File from the Add Swim Meet menu on your Schedule > All Meets & Events page and upload your file. This will create the meet, all the events, qualifying times, and any rules included in the Meet Events file.
Choose the correct EV3 file to import:
After creating your placeholder meet from the EV3 import, go to the Meet Setup > Events tab and select “Save as Time Standard Set” from the Actions menu.
Complete all the required Time Standard settings before Saving to create your Time Standard.
If you don’t need this meet on your schedule at the creation time, you can delete the placeholder meet by clicking the Remove button.
You can also edit the qualifying times (as needed) directly on the meet.
Option B: Save Qualifying Times from a Meet Template or Past Meet as a Time Standard Set
If the qualifying times are the same or similar in a previous season’s meet template or meet, you can expedite the process by saving the Qualifying Times as a Time Standard Set.
Select a previous meet from your Team Schedule and go to the Events tab of the meet (or Meet Template).
Then, just as you did in Option A, select “Save as Time Standard Set” from the Actions menu and fill in all of the Time Standard settings before saving to create.
Option C: Manually Create a Time Standard Set
Select the + Add Time Standard Set button from the Schedule > Time Standards screen and enter the Name, Description, Date Range, and Labels (4 characters max) for the Time Standard Set:
- Date Range: These Time Standard Sets are typically only valid for a certain range of dates. Sometimes, this can span multiple years, but more often, it is valid for a single season.
- Labels: Each Time Standard Set must have at least one Time Standard and at least one Label. This UI allows input of multiple Time Standard labels as a comma-separated list. The order is important; thus, Fastest to Slowest is indicated.
Add Events
When a new Time Standard Set is created, the Event List will be empty. If you have Meet Templates created, we’ve provided a time-saving option to Copy Events from Template to create your event list quickly:
Or, you can manually create each individual and relay event:
Enter Qualifying Times
Once you have added the events to your time standard, select the Edit Time Standards button to add your qualifying times. Note: If a particular course does not apply, leave it blank. This is not configurable to display/hide at this time.
If you see a yellow highlight in the box, this is an indicator that the qualifying time may not be accurate. Hovering over will provide more information:
If you need to include Time Standards in long course meters, you will first need to check the box “Enable reporting options for Long Course Meters (50m pool length)” under Settings > Team Information if it has not been enabled already.
When you are finished entering all times, select Return to Time Standard Events.
Option D: Copy a League Shared Time Standard Set
If your league has shared a Time Standard Set with your team that contains qualifying times similar to a meet your team participates in, you can Copy the Shared Time Standard Set to create your own.
To Copy this Time Standard Set, click on the Copy Time Standard Set button. You can change the details at this time or edit them later.
If qualifying times need to be changed for this new Time Standard Set, select the Edit Time Standards button to make the changes.
If a particular course does not apply, leave it blank.
Customizing and Managing Time Standard Labels
Time Standard Sets require labels for each level, ranging from fastest to slowest. Many teams use abbreviations such as “CHMP” for “Champs Meet” or “ALST” for “All-Star.” Labels can be rearranged and edited within the Time Standards section, making it easy to reflect updates or changes.
Depending on your preference, you can create ONE Time Standard set and add all three labels or three separate sets—one for each.
Edit Time Standard Sets
SwimTopia’s intuitive editing interface allows admins to adjust details of existing Time Standard Sets. You can modify labels, event details, and qualifying times to stay up-to-date with changing competition requirements.
Change the name of the Time Standard set or the active date by selecting the Edit Pencil next to the Time Standard name:
Change the times of the standards themselves by selecting Edit Time Standards:
You can change the labels’ names by clicking the Edit Pencil next to their names, or you can use the arrows on the left to change the order of the standards (fastest to slowest).
Chose Add Event to add more events to your Time Standard set at any time. You can reorder your event list by clicking the squares on the left and dragging an event to its new position.
You can edit event information by selecting the Edit Pencil next to each individual event, or you can remove the event completely by selecting Delete.
You may also use the Copy Time Standard button to create a duplicate and edit without changing the original. This feature can update your standards from season to season, allowing your older standards to remain visible in the Inactive view.
Applying Time Standards to Meets and Meet Templates
Time Standards can be directly applied to Meets and Meet Templates, streamlining meet creation each season. Configuring Entry Rules in SwimTopia allows teams to establish qualification criteria, ensuring only athletes meeting the designated time thresholds participate in events. Qualification settings can include options for “Faster Than,” “Slower Than,” and “Bonus Entry” times, providing various criteria to accommodate different meet formats.
If your league has created shared Time Standard Sets, you can select them from the drop-down menus along with your own sets on the Meet Template and/or Swim Meets’ Entry Rules screen.
Navigate to the Entry Rules tab from either a meet on your schedule or a Meet Template. You can choose to require entry times to be “faster” or “slower” (or both).
Individual Events – Allow bonus entries:
Teams have the option of requiring bonus entry times to be faster than or equal to the “Bonus Entry” time for the event, which enables per-event “Bonus Entry” times.
Track Which Athletes Have Qualified for a Meet
If the meet has qualifying times assigned to it, these times will display on the Meet Entry Matrix. Only those athletes who have achieved qualifying times will be eligible for entry. Events they are ineligible for will be greyed out.
Run a Qualifiers Report found under Entries > Reports > Qualifiers
Here you can sort the Qualifiers by name or Age Group and send a Message to the Qualifiers via Communications by clicking the Compose Email button.
Adding Time Standards to Your Meet
When running a meet using our meet management software, Meet Maestro, teams can add and track Time Standard achievements live during the meeting and on applicable reports.
To add a Time Standard to the meet, click the Add Time Standard button and select the Time Standard(s) you want to add.
No Time Standards Available
The availability of a Time Standard set depends on whether the league has created and shared these Time Standard Sets or the team has created their own Time Standard Sets by the meet’s start date. If none have been shared or created at that time, a message will display, as seen below. Check your team and league site to be sure your meet date falls within the active dates of the Time Standard set.
Here, the meet date is 11-15-2024, and the Time Standard was only active until 11-01-2024:
Eligible Teams and Visibility Configuration
By default, all teams competing in the meet will be selected as eligible for the Time Standard Set(s) added to the meet. If a team should not be included, they can be easily excluded by clicking the pencil icon and de-selecting the appropriate team.
In addition, if a selected Time Standard should no longer be included on the meeting after it has been added, you can uncheck the “Visible” box.
Viewing Time Standards in the Meet Maestro Time Entry Interface
The selected Time Standards will be displayed in the Benchmarks section of the meet (top right) (click the book icon to switch from scores to benchmark view). As the meet progresses, when a Time Standard is achieved, the applicable Time Standard label will display next to the Official Time.
Time Standards in Reports
Time Standards added to the meet from the Benchmarks under Meet Maestro Settings can be included in your Heat Sheets, Psych Sheets, and Results reports. A Time Standards Labels report is also available.
Heat Sheet
Psych Sheet
Results
Time Standard Labels
Upcoming Feature: Division Scoring by Time Standard
SwimTopia is developing a new feature for scoring by division based on time standards. This beta feature allows teams to automatically assign divisions to athletes based on their entry or final times, with options to customize scoring rules.
Division-based scoring will be displayed on the Time Entry Interface:
A division filter will be available in reports, enabling teams to evaluate performance using designated benchmarks and recognize top performers.
Heat Sheet (for Entry type Division assignment)
Psych Sheet (for Entry type Division assignment)
Team Scores
Results
Award Labels
High Scorers
For more detailed guidance, explore SwimTopia’s Help Center article: Scoring by Division.
Additional Resources:
Setting and managing swimming time standards is essential for fostering growth, setting goals, and preparing swimmers for competition. SwimTopia streamlines this process, providing teams with easy-to-use tools to establish, customize, and apply time standards within one cohesive platform. With SwimTopia, you can seamlessly highlight each swimmer’s achievements and empower your athletes to reach their full potential—one benchmark at a time!
You may also find the following information helpful:
- Overview – Time Standards & Qualifying Times
- Time Standards – Team Setup and Management
- Qualifying Times
- Meet Setup: Entry Rules
- Meet Maestro Settings – Benchmarks (Records & Time Standards)
- Meet Maestro Post-Meet Reports: Time Standards Labels
- Meet Maestro: Scoring by Division (Coming Soon)
Published 11/03/2024. SwimTopia regularly releases new features, enhancements, and updates. Please visit our Help Center for the latest information on MEET MAESTRO™ – RUN YOUR MEETS and Benchmarks (Records & Time Standards)
