USMS Motivational Times Explained: Tiers, Age Groups & How to Read Them
USMS Motivational Times are voluntary performance standards U.S. Masters Swimming publishes each year for every event, age group, sex, and course. They sort times into six tiers — B, BB, A, AA, AAA, and AAAA — so you can see how a swim measures up and set a concrete next goal.
The six tiers
Motivational Times define six achievement tiers. B is the most accessible standard and AAAA is the most elite, with BB, A, AA, and AAA in between. Traditional Motivational Times are computed by adding a fixed percentage to each event’s National Qualifying Time (NQT): the smaller the added percentage, the faster and more selective the tier.
Each tier is a specific time for a given event, age group, sex, and course, so a swim either meets a tier’s cutoff or it does not. Reaching the next tier up is a clear, measurable goal.
| Tier | Standing |
|---|---|
| B | Entry standard |
| BB | Above entry |
| A | Solid competitive |
| AA | Strong competitive |
| AAA | Highly competitive |
| AAAA | Most elite standard |
How age groups work
U.S. Masters Swimming uses five-year age groups — 18–24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39, and up. Standards are published separately for each age group because expected times change with age, so a AAAA time for a 30-year-old differs from a AAAA time for a 65-year-old.
Motivational Times are also split by sex and by course, so you read the table for your event using your sex, your age group, and the course you swam (Short Course Yards or Long Course Meters).
How to read the table
Find your event, then your age group and sex, then read across the tier columns. Times get faster from B toward AAAA, so your result lands in the highest tier whose cutoff it beats. If a time is faster than the B cutoff but slower than BB, it is a B-tier swim.
Using them to set goals
The practical use is goal-setting: find the tier your current time falls in, then look one column over for the next cutoff to chase. For a ranking-based view instead — where each tier is defined by the percentage of swimmers you would beat rather than a percentage over the NQT — see the USMS Percentile-based Times page.
Openlane is an independent analytics project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by U.S. Masters Swimming.
Frequently asked questions
What do the USMS tiers B, BB, A, AA, AAA, and AAAA mean?
They are the six USMS Motivational Time achievement standards, from B (the entry standard) up to AAAA (the most elite). Each is a specific cutoff time for a given event, age group, sex, and course, computed by adding a fixed percentage to the event’s National Qualifying Time.
How are Motivational Times different from Percentile-based Times?
Traditional Motivational Times add a fixed percentage to the National Qualifying Time to set each tier. Percentile-based Times instead define each tier by where a swimmer ranks within their age group — for example, AAAA as roughly the top 2 percent. Openlane publishes both.
How often are USMS Motivational Times updated?
USMS publishes new Motivational Times each calendar year. Openlane’s tables reflect the 2026 USMS Motivational Times.