How Swim Standards Now Ranks Club Rosters
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Previously, this feature was shown as Club Swimmers. We have renamed the component to Club Roster and updated the ranking formula, so this post explains the current roster-ranking method.
Our goal is to rank swimmers using a more complete view of performance, with an emphasis on power points, depth across events, and strength of standards achieved.
What data is used
Club roster rankings are based on swims from the selected season.
We look at swimmers who have at least one USA Swimming motivational standard at the B level or higher during the selected season. For roster ranking, scoring is deduplicated by event, so each event counts only once per swimmer and only that swimmer’s best power-point score for the event is used. Age group and course do not create separate scoring events, which means versions such as 50 Freestyle SCY and 50 Freestyle LCM are treated as the same event for roster scoring.
How swimmers are ranked
Swimmers are ranked by Score, then tie-breakers:
- Score = top 5 power points total
- Tie-breaker 1 = best power point
- Tie-breaker 2 = stronger standards profile
- Final tie-breakers = performance score and total qualified events
What “stronger standards profile” means
If two swimmers have the same Score and best power point, we compare the strength of their standards profile.
A swimmer with more AAAA swims ranks ahead of one with fewer AAAA swims. If that is still tied, we compare AAA swims, then AA, then A, then BB, then B.
This helps reward not just one standout swim, but the overall quality of a swimmer’s event lineup.
Performance Score
As an additional tie-breaker, we calculate a Performance Score:
- AAAA × 7
- AAA × 6
- AA × 5
- A × 4
- BB × 3
- B × 2
This gives extra weight to swimmers who consistently perform at higher standards across multiple events.
Why we changed the method
Our previous club ranking approach relied more heavily on club size and on counting how many events a swimmer achieved within a selected standards range. The new method is more consistent across teams and does a better job highlighting swimmers with stronger overall performance quality.
What you see on club pages
On club roster pages, swimmers are shown in rank order based on this formula. Each swimmer row may include:
- total qualified events
- standards breakdown
- Score
- best power point
This makes it easier to understand both rank and the performance behind it.
Open to improvement
As always, we are open to feedback. Ranking swimmers is not a perfect science, and there are different ways to value depth, versatility, and peak performance. We will continue refining the experience as we learn from swimmers, parents, and coaches.
You can explore club rosters by visiting: https://swimstandards.com/clubs
Note: Viewing the full club roster is available to registered users only. Visitors who are not logged in can see the top 25 swimmers, and a free Swim Standards account is required to unlock the complete roster.
