Q: Why does a swimmer with a time close to a AAA cut only have a power point score of 562?
A: AAA cuts are based on percentiles, typically representing the top ~6-7% of swimmers in an age group. Power points, however, are calculated differently:
Power points compare times to the fastest historical performances ever recorded, not just recent years.
They don’t reset every four years like AAA times, so older, exceptionally fast swims continue to impact the benchmarks.
Different events have different scoring scales—longer races often require larger time drops to significantly increase power points.
For example, in a distance event like the 500 Free, small time drops may not lead to major power point increases because the top historical times are extremely fast. That’s why a AAA time doesn’t always translate to a high power point score.
Q: How often does USA Swimming update power points?
A: USA Swimming doesn’t officially disclose how frequently they update power points, but they are based on historical all-time data, rather than just the past four years like AAA, AA, and other time standards.
