During the course of a season, swimmers set goals and practice to achieve them. Goals for the most part are physical, mental, nutritional, and almost every goal should be measurable. The ultimate measurable goal in swimming is how fast you can swim. As swimmers mature and master technique, goals are readjusted to meet their individual potential. Championship meets usually have qualifying standards that swimmers need to meet or surpass in order to participate. But before you can set your sights on a championship qualifying standard you must set intermediate goals along the way. For this reason USA Swimming has established motivational times to assist age group swimmers in their quest for championship standards.

UMLY Swimming put this page together in order to help swimmers reach their goals. Whether you are an 'B/C' swimmer striving to become more competitive on your team or an 'A' swimmer looking to qualify for the next championship level, you need to set time specific goals for yourself. Listed below are links to YMCA, USA and High School Swimming motivational, championship and recognition time standards. Please take the opportunity to look through these times and determine where you are and where you would like to be. Keep in mind that you need to establish short term (in-season) goals, long term (post-season) goals and dream (career) goals. The best place to start is with the Top 16 Based Motivational time standards. Once you achieve a 'BB' level or higher you should set your sites on YMCA Swimming standards.

Motivational Time Standards