In competitive swimming, age groups are categories used to group swimmers by their age, so they can compete against others at a similar developmental level. These age groups can vary slightly depending on the country and organization (like USA Swimming, FINA, etc.), but here’s a general breakdown commonly used:
🏊♂️ Common Swimming Age Groups
- 8 & Under (8U) – Youngest swimmers, just starting competitive swimming.
- 7–10 – Often grouped together in lower-level competitions.
- 11–12 – Middle childhood, usually a big jump in training and technique.
- 13–14 – Start of teen years, competition gets more serious.
- 15–16 – High school-level swimmers, often split out in some meets.
- 17–18 – Upper high school to pre-college level.
- Open – Any age, but usually includes older teens and adults. Often the most competitive field.
- Masters – Adults, usually 18+ or 25+, broken into 5-year increments (25–29, 30–34, etc.)
Some meets will combine age groups (e.g., 11–14) or have time standards instead of age limits for higher-level events.
