What are Sectionals? Futures?

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If your child happens to develop into a strong & fast swimmer, there is a good chance he/she will be competing at a "bigger stage".  So what are some of these "bigger stage" competitions when it comes to swim meets?  The below "pyramid" is a good visual aid to show a simplistic view of the different levels of swim meets within the US.

Image source: https://reachforthewall.org/2016/04/14/what-are-junior-nationals-and-futures/

The term "Junior Olympics" (JO)** seems to be more of a term that is used in the US West-coast, as I have never encountered that term here in Texas.  The LSC that my kids belong to, Gulf Swimming, hosts the Gulf "Age Group Championships" twice a year (one for Short Course and another for Long Course).  In order to qualify, the swimmer needs to meet the Gulf Age Group Champs Time Standards.  As the name "Age Group" Champs suggests, it is for swimmers who are 14 years or younger.

Although not listed in the pyramid above, there are also State-level Championships.  In Texas, such a meet is called TAGS (Texas Age Group Swimming) and swimmers from all over the State of Texas gather and compete for the State title.  Obviously, you need to meet TAGS Time Standards to qualify & this too is an Age Group (14 years & under) meet.

Texas is part of the Southern "Zone", so there is also a Southern "Zone" Championship.  Do note that each "Zone" will have their own respective Time Standards.  From Zone Championships and above, it is no longer an Age Group meet - so say that your 13-year-old qualifies for a Zone Championship, he/she will be swimming against Senior (15 & over) swimmers.

It is possible that a State Championship may be requiring a faster Time Standard than a Zone Championship.  I've seen some events where the TAGS cut was faster than the Southern Zone Champs cut.  If you also see that in your State, it would just mean that you are in a State where the sport of swimming is quite competitive.

To help put into perspective what kind of Time Standards you need to qualify for the meets listed in the above pyramid, I've made the below summary using the Men's 200M Free as an example.  I've used the 2019 Time Standards for most of the meets, with the exception being the Olympic Trials (the 2020 Summer Olympics got delayed to July 2021 due to COVID-19, hence the US Olympic Trials got pushed out to June 2021).  When you look at these times, it certainly makes you appreciate and respect more swimmers such as Michael Phelps who at the tender young age of 15 not only just made the Olympic Trials cut, but he actually made the US Olympic Team at that young age (i.e. finished in the Top 2 of his event). 

Until next time, keep on cheering for your swimmers! 🏊🏊🏊


** The Rules & Regulations Committee of USA Swimming held its annual House of Delegates meeting on September 24th, 2022 and has announced that they will eliminate the use of the term "Junior Olympics" for Age Group Championship meets.  The full list of items voted can be found here.  Please also refer to the article on swimswam.com


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