Competition information
Understanding Your Times
How Qualification Works
Understanding Your Times
PERSONAL BEST (PB)
Your fastest swim
A Personal Best (PB) is your swimmer’s fastest official time in an event. PBs are recorded from Licensed Meets and are the best measure of long-term progress and development.
QUALIFYING TIME (QT)
Minimum entry standard
A Qualifying Time is the time a swimmer must already have achieved to enter a competition. The swimmer must be faster than the published time, and it must usually have been achieved at a Licensed Meet.
CONSIDERATION TIME (CT)
Entry, not guarantee
A Consideration Time allows a swimmer to enter a competition but does not guarantee a place. If the event is oversubscribed, the slowest entered swimmers may be scratched.
COUNTY TIME
Yorkshire standard
The qualifying time required to compete at the Yorkshire County Championships. Times must be achieved within the published qualification window and at a Licensed Meet.
REGIONAL TIME
North East standard
A higher qualifying standard than County Times, required for the North East Regional Championships. These competitions are typically held in Long Course (50m) pools.
CUT-OFF TIME
Alternative term for UTL
Cut-Off Time is another term for Upper Time Limit. It refers to the slowest time permitted for entry into an event.
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER
Key competition rules
Only times from Licensed Meets are valid for qualification.
Short Course (25m) and Long Course (50m) times are recorded separately.
Qualification windows apply, meaning older times may not count.