When you’ll see it
The two settings only show when altitude matters for your team:
- your LSC is Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Sierra Nevada, Arizona or Snake River, or
- your team swam a meet at a pool 3,000 ft or higher in the last 13 months, or
- one of the settings is already on.
Sea-level teams don’t see any of it.
How much time comes off
Each swim is adjusted by the altitude of the pool it was swum in, using USA Swimming’s table. Pools under 3,000 ft, 50s and 100s are never adjusted.
| Event | 3,000–4,250 ft | 4,251–6,500 ft | 6,501 ft and up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200s (any stroke) | 0.50 | 1.20 | 1.60 |
| 400s and 500s | 2.50 | 5.00 | 7.00 |
| 800s and 1000s | 5.00 | 10.00 | 15.00 |
| 1500s and 1650s | 11.00 | 23.00 | 32.50 |
| 800 Free Relay (typed seed) | 2.00 | 4.80 | 6.40 |
Step by step
Turn it on for a meet
- Open the meet and click Info & Settings.
- In Entry rules, under Times, check Altitude-adjusted entry times, then click Save.
- A summary shows how many meets count since your Times since date, how many are at altitude and how many are unknown. Click Review to open Pool altitudes.
- Unknown pools are listed first. Pick the right band for each: Under 3,000, 3,000–4,250, 4,251–6,500 or 6,501+. Each pick saves right away. Use detected puts back the altitude Commit found on its own. Click Done.
What changes on entries
- Each swimmer enters with their best adjusted time. A 500 from altitude can beat a sea-level 500 that looks faster on paper.
- Adjusted times show a small A on swimmer cards and in the entries grid. Hover it to see the time as swum, the pool’s altitude and the adjustment.
- Cut checks, seeding and the entry file all use the adjusted times. Families who enter their own swimmers get them too.
- The Entry report prints A after adjusted times, with a legend. Its Altitude view lists every adjusted entry: swimmer, event, date swum, pool and elevation, actual time, adjustment and entry time. Download it as CSV or PDF. The PDF has a coach signature line for the meet host.
800 Free Relays
- With the setting on, each leg of an 800 Free Relay uses the swimmer’s best adjusted 200 (a flat start or a lead-off split). Hover the relay’s A to see every leg as swum and as adjusted.
- Typing a seed yourself? Click the relay’s seed time. Type it under Seed time, pick the pool under Swum at altitude? and check the preview before you Save.
- Other relays keep their actual times.
Check time standards with adjusted times
- Go to Settings → Advanced → Time standards.
- Check Check standards with altitude-adjusted times.
- A swimmer’s time standards, the Qualification & Standards report and Team Standards Summary now use adjusted times. A cut earned that way is marked A (or Alt).
Fix a pool’s altitude
Once your team uses altitude, a results meet at 3,000 ft or higher shows its pool altitude as a chip (open it under Meets → Results). Coaches can click it to pick a different band. The fix counts for everyone who swam in that pool.
Commit Swimming - Team The Commit app has the same Altitude-adjusted entry times checkbox in the meet’s settings, under Entry rules, and entries show the same A marks. Pool altitudes opens as a sheet.
Common questions
Do results or records change? No. Official times stay as swum. Results, records, Top Times and your website never use adjustments.
Why wasn’t a swim adjusted? It’s a 50 or 100, the pool is under 3,000 ft, or the pool’s altitude is unknown. Unknown pools are never adjusted, so set them in Pool altitudes.
Where do pool altitudes come from? The results file when it has one, then another meet in the same city, then the city’s elevation. A coach can always correct it.
Will the meet host take adjusted times? Ask the host. The PDF from the Altitude view lists every adjustment, with a line for your signature.
Does it work with time standards on the meet? Yes. When the meet uses a time standard instead of its own cuts, swimmers qualify with their adjusted times.