What Is a Good Time for Masters Swimmers?
There is no single good time in Masters swimming, because expected times change with age, event, sex, and course. The practical way to judge a time is to compare it to a standard built for your age group. USMS Motivational Times sort every event into six tiers from B to AAAA, and percentile-based times show what fraction of swimmers you would beat. As a rule of thumb, reaching the A tier, or the top 15 percent for your age group and event, is a solid, competitive Masters time.
Why a good time depends on your age group
Masters swimming is for adult swimmers of every age, from 18 through 100 and older, so a time that is fast for a 60-year-old and a time that is fast for a 25-year-old are very different. U.S. Masters Swimming uses five-year age groups, and every standard is published separately for each one, because expected times naturally slow with age.
That is why a good time is always relative to your own age group, event, sex, and course. Comparing your 50 freestyle to another swimmer in a different age band tells you little. Comparing it to the standard for your band tells you exactly where you stand.
Use motivational tiers as a benchmark
The simplest benchmark is the USMS Motivational Time tier your swim falls in. Each event, age group, sex, and course has six cutoffs, from B at the entry end up to AAAA at the elite end. Find the highest cutoff your time beats and that is your tier. Landing in the A or AA range is generally a good, competitive time; AAA and AAAA are highly competitive to elite.
| Tier | What it signals |
|---|---|
| B | Entry standard, a good starting benchmark |
| BB | Above the entry standard |
| A | Solid, competitive time for the age group |
| AA | Strong competitive time |
| AAA | Highly competitive |
| AAAA | Most elite standard |
Use percentiles for an exact read
Where a tier tells you which band you are in, a percentile tells you precisely where you stand within your age group. Percentile-based times define each tier by ranking: AAAA is the top 2 percent of swimmers in that event and age group, AAA the top 6 percent, AA the top 8 percent, A the top 15 percent, BB the top 35 percent, and B the top 55 percent.
A common way to read this: if your time lands in the top half you are ahead of the typical field, the top 15 percent is a genuinely competitive time, and the top 2 percent is elite for your age group. Percentiles are the clearest single answer to whether a Masters time is good.
Good times differ by event and course
A good time also depends on the course you swam. Short Course Yards (25-yard pool) times are fastest, Short Course Meters (25-meter pool) are slower, and Long Course Meters (50-meter pool) are slowest, so a time that clears the A cutoff in yards may not clear it in meters. Most U.S. Masters meets are Short Course Yards, so that is the course most swimmers benchmark against first.
To compare a time you swam in one course against a standard in another, convert it first with the Openlane Time Converter, then read the tier or percentile for the target course.
How to find your own good time on Openlane
Rather than guess, look your time up against the real standards. Enter a USMS Member ID on Openlane to see your meet history with each swim placed in its motivational tier and percentile automatically. If you are not a USMS member, use Find Swimmers Like You to type in a time and see the percentile it lands in for your age group, or open the USMS Motivational Times and Percentile-based Times pages and read the cutoffs for your event directly.
Openlane is an independent analytics project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by U.S. Masters Swimming.
| Benchmark | What it answers | Where on Openlane |
|---|---|---|
| Motivational tier | Which B to AAAA band the swim falls in | Motivational Times |
| Percentile rank | What fraction of the age group you beat | Percentile-based Times |
| Similar swimmers | Who swims near your speed | Find Swimmers Like You |
| Top 10 context | How the time ranks nationally | Compare with USMS Top 10 |
Frequently asked questions
What is a good time for a Masters swimmer?
A good Masters swim time is one that clears a competitive standard for your age group, event, sex, and course. Using USMS Motivational Times, reaching the A or AA tier is a solid, competitive time. Using percentile-based times, landing in the top 15 percent of your age group is competitive and the top 2 percent is elite.
What is considered a good swim time for adult swimmers by age?
Because expected times slow with age, U.S. Masters Swimming publishes separate standards for each five-year age group. A good time is judged within your own band: find your event, age group, sex, and course in the USMS Motivational Times or Percentile-based Times and see which tier or percentile your time reaches, rather than comparing across age groups.
How do I know if my Masters swim time is competitive?
Compare it to a standard instead of relying on gut feel. USMS Motivational Times place a swim in a tier from B to AAAA, and percentile-based times show exactly where it ranks within your age group. A time in the A tier or the top 15 percent for your event and age group is competitive; higher tiers are strong to elite.
Where can I look up good times for my event and age group?
Openlane publishes the USMS Motivational Times and Percentile-based Times for every event, age group, sex, and course in Short Course Yards, Short Course Meters, and Long Course Meters. Enter a USMS Member ID to see your own times placed in their tier and percentile, or use Find Swimmers Like You to check a time without an account.