Quick answer
A cut is an official time: a motivational level (B, BB, A, AA in USA Swimming) or the entry time for a named meet. Your swimmer made it if their official time, swum in the same pool type, is equal to or faster than the published cut. In Gophin (free), open Compare → Standards, pick the swimmer and the standard, and every event shows the gap in seconds. You do not type times in.
The heat sheet says 1:02.19. Someone in the stands asks, "Did she make it?" Make what? B? AA? Sectionals? Juniors? Without the matching standard and the matching pool, the number is just a number.
What "made the cut" actually means
There are two kinds of cuts:
- Motivational standards mark a level for your child's age. In USA Swimming they run B, BB, A, AA, AAA and AAAA. Canada does not use that ladder: its cuts are provincial and national meet standards.
- Championship cuts decide who can enter a named meet: Sectionals, Futures, Junior Nationals, Nationals, or a provincial championship.
Both kinds are in Gophin, from USA Swimming, Swimming Canada, provincial federations and Brazil. Our USA Swimming time standards guide explains the US ladder, and the Swimming Canada standards guide covers the Canadian path.
Always match the pool. A 100 Free in yards (SCY) does not prove a long course (LCM) cut. Many meets list cuts per pool type, and a converted time is only an estimate unless the meet says it accepts conversions.
Check a cut in Gophin, step by step
- Sign in at gophin.app. Create a free account if you do not have one.
- Open Compare, then Standards. On a computer the menu is called Comparisons.
- Pick the swimmer. Swimmers you follow appear first. For anyone else, type at least 3 letters of the name as it appears in official results.
- Pick the standard and the category. For example, USA Swimming Motivational Single Age and your child's age, or a championship such as Junior Nationals. Gender and season filters are there too.
- Read the count under the standard. Below the standard's name, Gophin counts the cuts already met in each pool, for example SCM 12 of 17 cuts.
- Scan the rows. Each event shows the best time, the standard and the gap in seconds, so you see at a glance which cut is closest.
Sign in free and open Compare → Standards
Want every filter explained? Read the standards comparison tutorial. Inside the app, the Compare → Standards wiki guide walks through the screen.
If the swimmer does not appear
Try the name as it is printed on the heat sheet, not a nickname. If your child has not swum a sanctioned meet yet, there is no official time to compare. Once their first meet results are published, the profile shows up on its own.
The bottom line
Made the cut means the official time, in that pool type, is at least as fast as the published standard. Gophin lines up every best time against the standard you pick, so you can answer "did she make it?" from the stands.
