Abstract

The normative data provide a range of standards for classifying swimmers’ levels. No established swimming normative data is available to compare young swimmers’ performance between swimming strokes and race distances. Therefore, this study aimed to develop normative data for young swimmers in long-course swimming events. The results from the 57th and 58th MILO/MAS Malaysia Invitational Age Group Swimming Championship yielded a total of 8428 data points, while 8063 race results were extracted. The race results involved all swimming events (excluding the 4x50m medley) of each age group (≤10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-17, and 18-25) by sex. The results were converted to FINA swim points and reclassified into sex-age. The establishment of normative data using a spreadsheet program is achieved through the utilization of a regression-based approach. Adjusted mean and standard deviation were calculated to develop five tiers of standard (Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average, and Poor) for each sex-age category. Normative data revealed that higher age groups have higher performance. Female swimmers perform better in age groups of 10 and under, 11 to 12 and 13 to 14, while male swimmers were closer to performance potential in relative to females in the 15-17 years old and above age group. Swimming performance increases as swimmers age, and the degree of improvement differs between males and females. It provides insights into the growth impact and training specification on swimming performance. This performance standard was compatible with the regional competitive swimmers, particularly Thailand and Malaysia swimmers at a national championship.