Resources
Swim tracking resources: PBs, qualifying times and rankings
A growing library of plain-English UK swimming guides, grouped by what you are trying to do. Track PBs and progress, understand County, Regional and National qualifying times and target gaps, decode meet packs and result sheets, keep tracking private, and review a whole season. Written to help, not to add public pressure.
Start here
New to tracking swim progress? Begin with these.
Swimming PBs: how to track PB times
A practical guide to swimming PBs, PB swim times, personal bests, course type and swim progress tracking without spreadsheets.
Read guideSwimming gala terms glossary
A plain-English glossary of UK swimming gala terms, from seed times and heats to splits, DQ and age groups, written for swimmers and swim families.
Read guideWhat makes a good swimming PB tracker?
What to look for in a swimming PB tracker: course separation, per-event history, target context, privacy and a clear progress view, not just a list of times.
Read guidePrivate swimming progress tracking
What private swimming progress tracking means, why it suits developing swimmers and families, and how it differs from public profiles and leaderboards.
Read guidePB tracking and progress
Record clean results and read progress the right way.
What is short course swimming? Short course vs long course times
Understand short course swimming, long course swimming, 25m pools, 50m pools and why short course and long course PBs should be tracked separately.
Read guideWhat to record after a swim meet
A practical checklist of what to log after a swimming gala so every result is comparable later: event, course, time, splits, round and meet details.
Read guideHow to compare swimming times properly
How to compare swimming times fairly: match event and course, mind age group and conditions, and avoid the apples-to-oranges traps that mislead families.
Read guideHow to organise swimming results without spreadsheets
Why swim result spreadsheets get messy, what good organisation looks like by event, course and season, and how to keep a clean history with less effort.
Read guideSwimming PB tracker template and what to record
A simple swimming PB tracker template: the columns to record, why each one matters, and how to set it up so times stay comparable across a season.
Read guideQualifying times and target gaps
Understand County, Regional and National targets and the gap to them.
What is a county qualifying time in swimming?
A clear guide to county qualifying times, how they are used and how to track progress toward them privately.
Read guideSwimming qualifying times: County, Regional and National explained
A UK guide to swimming qualifying times across County, Regional and National pathways, including course, age group, season window and consideration times.
Read guideHow to use swimming target gaps
How to read the gap between a swimmer's PB and a qualifying target, turn seconds into a plan, and keep targets as helpful context rather than pressure.
Read guideQualifying time vs consideration time in swimming
The difference between a qualifying time and a consideration time in UK swimming, how each affects entry and selection, and how to plan around both.
Read guideWhy swimming qualifying times change each season
Why UK swimming qualifying times are updated each season, how age groups and courses affect them, and why last year's table can mislead you.
Read guideWhy your PB might not count for a qualifying time
Common reasons a swimming PB does not count toward a qualifying time: wrong course, outside the window, hand-timed swims, conversions and licence levels.
Read guideHow close am I to County swimming times?
How to work out how close a swimmer is to County qualifying times by event and course, read the gap sensibly, and plan the next realistic step.
Read guideShort course conversions and qualifying times
How short course to long course conversions work, when converted times are accepted for qualifying, and why a converted time is context rather than a raw swim.
Read guideHow to plan around swimming qualifying times
How to build a calm season plan around swimming qualifying times: pick focus events, line up the right meets, mind the window and avoid chasing every target.
Read guideWhy official meet information still matters
Why the official meet pack and published conditions remain the source of truth for entries, even when you track times and targets in an app.
Read guideRace day and meet terms
Make sense of meet packs, result sheets and the language of a gala.
What does age at 31 December mean in swimming?
A clear explanation of age at 31 December, why it appears in swimming entries and how it affects standards and rankings.
Read guideHow to read swim meet results
A practical guide to reading swim meet result sheets, final times, splits, course labels, PBs and manually entered records.
Read guideHow to read a swimming meet pack
A step-by-step guide to reading a UK swimming meet pack: finding your events, warm-up times, session order, withdrawal deadlines and key rules.
Read guideHeat declared winner in swimming explained
What heat declared winner means in swimming, how places are decided on time across heats, and why a swimmer can win their heat without winning the event.
Read guideSeed times, entry times and PBs explained
How seed times and entry times differ from a swimmer's PB, why they decide heats and lanes, and how to choose an entry time when filling in a meet.
Read guideDQ, DNS and DNF in swimming explained
What DQ, DNS and DNF mean on a swimming result sheet, the common reasons for a disqualification by stroke, and how to handle them in a progress record.
Read guideSwimming splits explained
What swimming splits are, how to read them, what even and negative splits show about pacing, and how to use them without adding pressure.
Read guideWhat is a swimming meet pack?
What a swimming meet pack is, the sections it usually contains, and why it is the official source for entry times, sessions and rules for that gala.
Read guidePrivacy and private tracking
Track progress privately, without public profiles or leaderboards.
UK swimming rankings: guide to individual rankings
A practical guide to Swim England rankings, ASA rankings, individual ranking context, age groups, courses and private progress tracking.
Read guidePublic rankings vs private swimming progress tracking
How public swimming rankings and private progress tracking differ, what each is good for, and why private tracking often suits developing and younger swimmers.
Read guideHow to track swimming progress without public leaderboards
A practical way to track swimming progress privately: use the swimmer's own PB history, pacing and targets instead of a public leaderboard.
Read guideSwimming data privacy for families
What swimming data families hold, why data minimisation matters for children, and sensible questions to ask of any tool that stores swimmer information.
Read guideWhy private swimmer profiles matter
Why private swimmer profiles matter for children and developing swimmers, covering pressure, safeguarding-minded design and keeping progress personal.
Read guideReports and season review
Step back and see the whole season, not just one swim.
How to review a swimming season
A calm, practical method for reviewing a swimming season: gather results, find real progress, note the setbacks and set a small focus for next season.
Read guideUnderstanding swimming progress beyond one PB
Why swimming progress is more than a single PB: consistency, pacing, range of events, course differences and the effect of growth and age.
Read guideWhy swimming times plateau
Common reasons swimming times plateau, from growth and technique to event changes and normal development, and how to read a plateau without panic.
Read guideSwimming progress reports explained
What a swimming progress report is, what season highlights it can show, and how to use it as a private planning summary rather than a verdict.
Read guideWhat to look for after a swimming race
How to read a single swimming race well: PB or not, how it was paced, the context around it and how to talk about it without piling on pressure.
Read guideStroke and event tracking
Track PBs stroke by stroke, plus relay legs.
How to track freestyle PBs
How to track freestyle PBs across the full range from 50m to 1500m, keep sprint and distance separate, and read progress by event and course.
Read guideHow to track backstroke PBs
How to track backstroke PBs across 50m, 100m and 200m, what makes backstroke distinct from the start to the finish, and how to read progress.
Read guideHow to track breaststroke PBs
How to track breaststroke PBs across 50m, 100m and 200m, why it is the most technical stroke for disqualifications, and how to log progress and DQs honestly.
Read guideHow to track butterfly PBs
How to track butterfly PBs across 50m, 100m and 200m, why pacing and fatigue dominate the stroke, and how to read progress including the underwater phase.
Read guideHow to track individual medley PBs
How to track individual medley PBs, why per-stroke splits reveal strengths and weaknesses, and how the IM brings all four strokes into one event.
Read guideHow to track relay splits
How to track relay splits honestly: why a lead-off leg can count as an individual time while flying-start legs cannot, and how to record each fairly.
Read guideKnowledge base
Search 232+ quick answers and glossary terms.
Use the knowledge base for fast answers, then move into the deeper resource guides when you want more context.
Search the knowledge baseGetting Started
Club swimming, galas, squads and practical early questions.
PBs And Progress
Personal bests, season bests, splits and private progress tracking.
Race Results
Entry times, seed times, DQ, DNS, DNF, HDW and result quality.
Short Course And Long Course
25m and 50m racing, conversions and why courses should stay separate.
Events, Strokes And Distances
Stroke names, event distances, medleys, relays and specialisation.
Age Groups And Eligibility
Age at 31 December, age on day, open age groups and meet conditions.
Qualifying Times And Target Gaps
Qualifying times, consideration times, target gaps and missing targets.
County, Regional And National
How competition levels differ and why families must check meet packs.
Meet Mode And Race Day
Race-day planning, heat and lane notes, sessions and post-meet review.
Reports And Season Review
Season reviews, progress reports, trends and swimmer conversations.
AI Insights
Responsible use of AI-assisted progress summaries and data context.
Privacy And Swimmer Data
Private accounts, public sharing, safeguarding and data rights.
See the guides in context.
The demo shows how PBs, recent results, Standards Pathway target context and Smart Result Entry can fit together in a private swimmer dashboard.
Standards Pathway shows selected qualifying-time context where source data exists. Coverage varies by county, region, season and course. Always check official meet information before entering.
Privacy-first by design
PB Pathway is private by default and does not create public swimmer profiles, public swimmer leaderboards, social feeds or public report links.