When I started swimming masters a few years ago, I soon found myself wanting some time standards to compare myself against. Sure, tracking my own PRs is motivating, but I also wanted some sort of objective mark to measure myself against.
There is the Top 10 list, of course, but I'm not close enough to those times for them to serve as realistic motivation. Nationals qualifying times provide a slightly lower bar, but these are still out of many masters' reach. It seems like there should be some sort of time standards that are more widely applicable -- like the A, AA, ... motivational times in kids' age group swimming.
I did use those USA Swimming motivational times for a while, but I got tired of comparing myself to 12-year-olds. Eventually I decided to create my own masters' motivational time standards, using the same method that is used for the kids.
I have really enjoyed using these motivational times over the past couple of years, and I'm guessing they might be useful to others as well. Especially for those, like me, who are competitive enough to be motivated by a quantitative benchmark, but not fast enough to aspire to the Top 10 list.
I have just updated the SCY list, and figured I would post it here for others to use.
Please enjoy. I'd also love to hear any feedback.
Draft 2014 Masters Motivational Times
Chris Stevenson wrote,
Someone else could take it up if s/he chooses.
Then Swimosaur (foolishly) wrote,
I think I can do this.
pmccoy insightfully and correctly wrote (including some other key points),
... it kind of feels like a time sink to me.
and Karl_S very usefully wrote (among other very useful points),
... using the exact same base time as the USMS NQTs would be desirable, because AA (or AAA) would then correspond exactly to NQT.
Here they are:
8575
8576
8577
I labelled these versions draft in case they need changes.
Notes:
Motivational times (MTs) are calculated from the base time given in Column X. The algorithm for calculating the base time is similar, but not identical to, the method USMS uses to calculate national qualifying times (NQTs) for the annual SCY national championships.
Most of the time, Column X is
(A) the average of the three previous year’s 10th place times.
However, if there are fewer than three 10th place times over the three previous years, we use, in order,
(B) average of two 10th place times over the three previous years. If there are fewer than two 10th place times,
(C) average of three 5th place times + 4.45%. If there are fewer than three,
(D) average of two 5th place times + 4.45%. If there are fewer than two,
(E) No Time (NT).
If one of the alternatives B-D is used, it’s indicated by a superscript.
The rest of the columns are proportional to Column X as follows,
AAAA = X + 5%
AAA = X + 10%
AA = X + 15%
A = X + 20%
BB = X + 30%
B = X + 40%
For MTs, the same algorithm is used for all three courses, SCY, LCM, and SCM.
Relationship to NQTs. For SCY, as long as Column X is calculated using method A, B, or E, Columns AA and AAA should be exactly the NQTs for sprints and 200+ events respectively. There will be some small differences for methods C and D. For LCM, the MTs should be different from the NQTs in all cases, albeit by a small amount. USMS does not publish NQTs for SCM or for age groups 85+.
Column X. I like to think of Column X as “the moral equivalent of a Top Ten time”. Of course, in any given year, the 10th place time will be faster or slower by some amount than the average of the three previous years, so of course, Column X is not an actual Top Ten time. Too bad, huh? You can also think of it as “the time I need to hit to have about a 50/50 chance.”
Discuss.
Draft 2014 Masters Motivational Times
Column X. I like to think of Column X as “the moral equivalent of a Top Ten time”. Of course, in any given year, the 10th place time will be faster or slower by some amount than the average of the three previous years, so of course, Column X is not an actual Top Ten time. Too bad, huh? You can also think of it as “the time I need to hit to have about a 50/50 chance.”
Discuss.
I am looking for my 1st top ten time(s) this year, and Column X hits right where I thought I should be. Let's hope I can swim that fast. Thanks for putting this together. I think you did a great job! :chug:
I made the mistake of looking at the 2014 SCM times. I found that I can make the B time for 75-79 men in the 50 free as I’m 58 this make it clear that I’m a amazing inefficient swimmer.
So far, so good! Thanks very much! I appreciate it!
Gosh, nobody asked, “Where does 4.45% come from?”
In the National Qualifying Times FAQ, USMS wrote,
SCY times are calculated as follows: 10th place + 15% for sprints and 10th place + 10% for events 200 yards and up … if there are no 10th place times in at least two of the previous three years, we use 5th + 20% for sprints and 5th + 15% for 200+ events.
So, in some sense, USMS is saying that for sprints, the 10th place time +15% is the same as the 5th place time +20%, and for 200+, the 10th place time +10% is the same as the 5th place time +15%. That is, for sprints,
1.15 * T10 = 1.20 * T05
T10 = (1.20/1.15) * T05
T10 = 1.0435 * T05
and for 200+,
1.10 * T10 = 1.15 * T05
T10 = (1.15/1.10) * T05
T10 = 1.0455 * T05
and 1.0445 (that is, 4.45%) is midway between 1.0435 and 1.0455.
That’s why when methods C and D are used, Columns AA and AAA are a little off from the NQTs.
