Understanding the ORCA Awards Rankings

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What Are the ORCA Awards?

The ORCA Awards, presented by ISCA, recognize outstanding athletes, coaches, clubs, and contributors who help grow the sport of swimming. One of the featured honors is the Age Group Swimmer of the Year, which recognizes exceptional performances and achievements by age group swimmers throughout the calendar year.

Swim Standards is proud to support the ORCA Awards by providing data analysis and independent rankings to help identify top candidates in each age group.

The ORCA rankings published by Swim Standards are unofficial and are based solely on meet results available in the Swim Standards database. While we strive to provide complete and accurate data, some meet results may not yet be available or may be corrected after publication. The official ORCA Award finalists and winners are selected by ISCA.

Calendar Year, Not Swim Season

The ORCA Awards are based on the calendar year (January 1 – December 31), not the USA Swimming season.

For example, the 2026 awards include swims achieved between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026.

Age Groups

Each swimmer is evaluated in one of the following age categories:

• 9 & Under
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• 14
• 15–16
• 17–18 (Senior)

Swimmers are ranked separately within each age category. When a swimmer ages up during the calendar year, they retain eligibility for their previous age and then gain eligibility for the next age group. This means that a high majority of swimmers will have dual eligibility in two different ages each calendar year (often referred to as upper and lower eligibility).

Rankings for the older age group are based primarily on swims achieved after aging up. However, if a swimmer did not have an opportunity to compete in a particular eligible event after their birthday, their best time from the previous age group may be carried forward for that event. This helps ensure swimmers are not disadvantaged simply because of the timing of their birthdate.

This carry-forward applies only when moving to an older age group. Times achieved after aging up are never counted toward the younger age group’s rankings.

How the Scoring Works

The rankings are based on each swimmer’s best time in every eligible event with USA Swimming Motivational Standards during the calendar year.

Within each age group, gender, course (both SCY and LCM), and eligible events, a swimmer receives points based on their placement on the nation leaderboards. The higher the ranking, the more points received. Bonus points are awarded for any National Age Group Records held at the end of the calendar year.

At the conclusion of the calendar year, an annual TOP 10 Leaderboard will be published for both genders and for each age category. The TOP 10 will then be rescored within their leaderboard so that 5 FINALISTS are named for every category. These 5 finalists will be submitted to an established voting committee where each AGE GROUP SWIMMER OF THE YEAR will be announced at the annual ORCA Awards in April.

More Than Just Speed

The point rankings are designed to identify the leading candidates, but they do not determine the ORCA Award winners by themselves.

After the preliminary finalists are identified, ISCA also considers accomplishments such as:

• State Championship titles
• Senior State Championship titles
• Open Water achievements
• Zones results
• Junior or National Team selections
• Other notable accomplishments throughout the year

These achievements help distinguish the final winners from the top-ranked candidates.

Quarterly Rankings

Beginning in 2026, Swim Standards publishes quarterly ORCA leaderboards throughout the year, allowing swimmers, families, and coaches to follow the race for the ORCA Awards as the season progresses.

Current schedule:

• Q1: January 1 – March 31 (Published)
• Q2: April 1 – June 30
• Q3: July 1 – September 30
• Q4: October 1 – December 31

These quarterly leaderboards recognize the top-performing swimmers at each checkpoint of the year. The annual January–December rankings will be used to help identify the finalists for the ORCA Age Group Swimmer of the Year Awards.

Annual Final Rankings

At the end of the calendar year, Swim Standards will publish the complete January–December rankings.

Our goal is to provide a transparent and objective scoring system that recognizes outstanding age group performances while supporting the ORCA Awards selection process.

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For more information about the ORCA Awards and ISCA, visit the official ORCA Awards page.

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Disclaimer

The ORCA rankings published by Swim Standards are unofficial and are intended for informational purposes only. They are calculated using the scoring methodology described above and are based solely on meet results available in the Swim Standards database at the time of publication.

Because additional meet results or corrections may become available, rankings may change over time. The official ORCA Award finalists and winners are selected by ISCA using its complete review process, which includes both performance data and non-scoring criteria.