How Does Scoring Work In Swimming?

In swimming, scoring is determined based on which athlete can cover a specified distance in the least amount of time relative to their competition. Swim meets are divided into different events, which require athletes to cover a range of distances. Scoring is based upon an athlete's final placement within their event, with first place going to the athlete who took the least amount of time to finish the race, second place going to the athlete who took the second least amount of time to finish the race, and so on.

Swim Events

There are two main types of events in swim meets, individual events, where athletes complete the entire event on their own, and relay events, where a group of four athletes from the same team take turns competing in the same event, each covering ¼ of the total distance of the race.

For most individual events, there are two rounds of races, a preliminary round, and a final round. In the preliminary round, all athletes entered into each event compete for the opportunity to qualify for the final round so that they may contend for top placement in their event. The number of athletes permitted to progress from the preliminary round to the final round varies depending on the level of competition.

NCAA (College) Swim Scoring

In college swim meets, success is based on both individual and team scoring. Individual success is calculated based on each athlete's position in relation to other swimmers in their event at the end of the race. Meanwhile, team success is measured by tallying up the collective points earned by each team member at the end of the meet. The individual athletes who finish their events first win their race, and the team that holds the most cumulative points at the end of the competition wins the meet.

In college swim meets, individual events and relay events are scored differently.

Individual Events

In individual events, the top 16 finishers in the preliminary race progress to finals, with placements 1-8 entering the main final, and placements 9-16 entering the consolation final. Athletes then race in their respective finals, with competitors in the main bracket swimming to establish their final ranking among positions 1-8.

Athletes in the consolation bracket swim to establish their final ranking among positions 9-16. Athletes in the consolation final are not eligible to place any higher than 9th and athletes in the main final are not eligible to place any lower than 8th. A specified point value is assigned to each final ranking.

Relay Events

Relay event scoring is similar to individual event scoring in the sense that the top 16 relay teams are awarded point values based on their performance. The primary difference between relay and individual event scoring is that relays have no preliminary round. Athletes only race one time, and that attempt is their final, scored round. In relay events, the point values awarded for final placement are double the points awarded in individual events.

FINA Swim Scoring

FINA, now known as World Aquatics, is the organization that oversees and regulates international swimming events such as the World Aquatics Championships, the Olympics, and many more. In events administered by World Aquatics, athletes compete for individual success by accumulating points in each meet respectively and for cumulative success by combining their team’s meet points to form a total at the end of the event. Since FINA competitions are professional, international events, athlete performances are rewarded monetarily.

Individual Meet Scores

For each individual meet in the series, athletes compete in multiple events to earn individual points. Their top three performances, those that were awarded the highest point values, are combined at the end of each meet, resulting in their meet total. The top 20 female and the top 20 male athletes who have the greatest meet total at the end of each competition are given monetary rewards.

Overall Meet Scores

After the entire series of meets has concluded, the meet totals accumulated by each athlete are combined to form their cumulative series total. The top eight male and female athletes who hold the highest series totals are the champions of the entire FINA competition and are rewarded higher-value monetary prizes.

Olympic Swim Scoring

In the Olympic swim event, scoring is not point-based, and athletes instead compete to score a position on the winners' podium. In Olympic swimming, individual and relay events are scored the same way, and there is no consolation final. Only the top eight fastest performances from the preliminary round progress to the finals and become eligible to compete for a medal, and only the top three performances in each final are rewarded.

After each event, the three athletes or relay teams who completed the race in the shortest amount of time are awarded Olympic medals, with bronze going to third place, silver going to second place, and gold going to first place.

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