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Competition Levels

Minnetonka Swim Club is committed to introducing competitive swimming to children of all ages and adults in a positive and enthusiastic manner.

levels of Competition

There are seven different age group classifications recognized by Minnesota Swimming, Inc.: 8-and-under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18, and Senior/Open. The Senior/Open classification includes any registered swimmer who has achieved the qualifying time for the event.

Not all age group classifications are offered at every swim meet. A swimmer’s age on day one of any meet is the age he or she swims for the entire meet.
Within each age group there are different state recognized levels of achievement based on times. All swimmers begin as “C” swimmers. As they improve, they advance from “C” to “B”, “A”, “Champ”, and “Zones”. The times required for each ability level are published each year by MSI. This permits fair, yet challenging competition for all levels. A copy of the current MSI time standards can be found on the MSI website or from the coaches. In many cases, swimmers will have different level times for different events. For example, an “A” breaststroker may have a “C” freestyle or “B” individual medley.
Some swim meets set certain qualification standards. To swim an event at the meet, those standards must be met or surpassed in advance.

Types or Levels of Swim Meets

1. C/Pre-C/Novice Meets—These meets are for swimmers who have achieved “C” times or have no time in an event. They are held especially for swimmers with little or no meet experience.

2. Level Specific Meets—These meets are only for swimmers with a specified level of time. The most common meets are A/B, B/C “open”, or A/B/C. Occasionally there are A+ meets. Swimmers can swim in the meet if they have times at the specified level. They can swim only the events for which they have the specified times. Swimmers can, however, swim different levels at the same meet. For example, at an A/B/C meet, a swimmer could swim “A” freestyle, “B” breaststroke, and “C” butterfly. See current time standards for more information.

3. C Finals—This is a championship-style meet for swimmers who have achieved a “C” qualifying time at a sanctioned meet. It is held at the end of the season as a final chance at advancing to a higher level and serves as a conclusion to the end of the season.

4. A/B Finals—Also called A/B Min/Max, this meet serves two purposes. It is a championship-style meet for anyone who has achieved a minimum of a “B” time, but with a maximum qualifying “A” time (no champ times may be entered). Swimmers can only swim events for which they fall within this parameter. In addition, the meet serves as a last-chance qualifying meet for the State Championships.

5. State Championships—At the end of each season, a State Championship is hosted. Scheduled each March and July/August, the state meets host swimmers who have achieved a “champ” time. In addition, each club in the state may enter a relay team for each gender and age group. The March State meet will be split into Age Group State one weekend, followed by Senior State (13 and older) the following weekend.

6. Zone Championships—After the summer State Championships, qualified swimmers are invited to participate in Zones. Team Minnesota swims against the best swimmers from other Midwest LSC’s. Team Minnesota generally travels, eats, and lodges together for this meet.