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Types of Swim Meets

Age-Group Swim Meets

Age Group meets apply to any swimmer under the age of 19, no matter what their skill level. Most age group meets are grouped by gender, age and ability. Some meets are referred to as mini meets and allow only swimmers who are 10 and under. Most meets use the age groups of 10 and under, 11-12, 13-14, and Open. Open at an age group meet, usually applies to any swimmer over the age of 15. Most often, meets have qualifying times that a swimmer must have attained in order to swim in that particular meet. Some meets, particularly at the beginning of the swim season are called “no time” meets – meaning that anyone can swim in the meet and there are no qualifying times.

Senior Meets

Senior Meets are open to any swimmer, any age, who can meet the qualifying time or time standard, for the events they want to swim. Instead of competing against swimmers of the same age, they are competing against swimmers with the same qualifying times. The Speedo Championship Series, Grand Prix Meets, Junior Championship, National Championship and Olympic Trials are examples of Senior meets.

Championship Meets

Each Spring, Maryland Swimming holds 2 Championship Level Meets that are for Maryland Swimmers only. The 2 meets are The Maryland Swimming Championship Meet (MSCM) and the Junior All Star Meet. Qualifying for the MSCM is the goal of many swimmers in Maryland, when they do their goal setting at the beginning of the season. These 2 meets are swum short course, which actually means they are swum in a 25 yard pool. Most winter competition in Maryland is done in 25 yard pools. Most Summer competition in Maryland is done in 50 meter pools, and that is long course. Maryland also has a Long Course Championship Meet in the summer.

Regional Level Meets

As a swimmer gets faster they will set their goals to qualify for “Zones”. Maryland is a part of the Eastern Zone of United States Swimming – a Regional division of the country for easier travel to faster meets – there are 4 zones in United States Swimming. The Eastern Zone is made up of 13 LSCs from Virginia north to Maine. Each summer a Zone Team is selected to represent Maryland in a competition against all 13 of the LSCs. It is the fastest qualifying age group meet. This is a travel trip for the top Age Group swimmers in Maryland. This meet is a closed meet – LSCs from the Eastern Zone are the only teams allowed to participate, and no team from the Eastern Zone may go to another Zone Meet in another part of the country.

The next step for a developing swimmer, after Zones, is The Speedo Championship Meet (Sectionals). This is a Senior meet – where swimmers of any age compete against other swimmers who have the same qualifying times. The Eastern Zone is divided into 2 Sections. Each holds a Spring short course meet. In the summer the Sections combine and hold a Super Sectional Meet. Sectionals are often Open to teams from other parts of the country, and athletes from our Sections can go to Open Sectional meets anywhere else in the country.

National Level Meets

Junior Nationals is a meet that prepares the fastest athletes for elite National completion. This is a Senior meet that is a mere step from the National Championships and is extremely fast. There is only one Junior Nationals for the entire United States.

Each year United States Swimming holds 2 National Championship Meets, referred to as Nationals. These are world-class, open meets with competition at the highest level. College athletes, some from foreign countries, high school athletes, club team athletes all compete against each other to be the National Champion. This meet is very difficult to qualify for, and it is the goal of many swimmers to “make Nationals”. These meets are used to select athletes who will represent the United States at various meets around the globe…such as the Pan American Team and the Pan Pacific Team.

Olympic Trials are held every 4 years and feature the fastest swimmers in the United States. The swimmers finishing 1^st or 2^nd in each event will automatically represent the United States at the Olympic Games. The Olympic trials features American and World Record holders racing against each other, as well as 14 year old swimmers who have made the incredibly fast qualifying times. To be a member of the USA Olympic Team you must be a member of United States Swimming! Only a precious few will achieve this goal – but each and every one started out as an age group swimmer!

The United States also has an Open Water National Championship, where contestants swim in a lake or a river or the Ocean, usually for very long distances. Open water Swimming is also an Olympic event.

In addition United States Swimming has a National Disability Championships.

United States Swimming sponsors many National and International Level teams, not just the Olympic Team. There is a National Team, National Junior Team, World University Games Team, Pan Am Team and a Pan Pac Team.