Quick answer
World Aquatics points (formerly FINA points) score any swim from 0 to about 1000: points = 1000 × (base time ÷ your time)³, where the base time is set by World Aquatics from the world record for that event, gender and pool. A 53.50 in the men's 100 free long course is 652 points. Type a time in the free calculator below; it uses the same 2026 base times as the Gophin app.
Free tool
World Aquatics points calculator
Same base times the Gophin app uses: World Aquatics 2026 table for long course, 2026-27 for short course. World Aquatics does not publish base times for yards (SCY).
The calculator also shows the time needed for the next hundred points, which is often the more useful number for a swimmer: a goal, not just a grade.
What are World Aquatics points?
World Aquatics points turn a time into a single number that means the same thing in every event. A 50 free and a 400 IM produce completely different times, but two swims that both score 650 points are at the same level relative to the best in the world.
The system was created by FINA, the international federation. When FINA renamed itself World Aquatics in December 2022, the points were renamed with it. A "FINA points calculator" and a "World Aquatics points calculator" do the same calculation.
That is why you see points in rankings, meet results, national team selection documents and college recruiting profiles: they let you say which of a swimmer's events is the strongest, and compare swimmers who do different events.
How World Aquatics points are calculated
Points = 1000 × (Base time ÷ Your time)³
- Base time: the reference time World Aquatics sets for each event, gender and pool (short course 25 m or long course 50 m), taken from the world records. Matching it scores 1000.
- Your time: in seconds (1:05.32 = 65.32).
- The cube (³): makes every hundredth count more as a swimmer gets faster. Going from 500 to 600 points takes a smaller time drop than going from 400 to 500 in seconds, but it is harder to do.
- Rounding: the result is rounded down to a whole number, as the Gophin app does.
Worked example
A man swims 53.50 in the 100 free, long course. The 2026 long course base time for that event is 46.40.
- 46.40 ÷ 53.50 = 0.8673
- 0.8673³ = 0.6524
- 0.6524 × 1000 = 652 points
The same 53.50 swum in a 25-meter pool scores only 588 points, because the short course base time is faster (44.84). Each pool is scored against its own table.
What time do you need for 500, 600 or 700 points?
The formula works backwards too: time = base time ÷ ∛(points ÷ 1000). Here is the 100 free in both pools, with the base times used by the calculator:
| Points | Men 100 free LCM | Women 100 free LCM | Men 100 free SCM | Women 100 free SCM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | 1:02.97 | 1:10.18 | 1:00.85 | 1:07.76 |
| 500 | 58.46 | 1:05.15 | 56.49 | 1:02.90 |
| 600 | 55.01 | 1:01.30 | 53.16 | 59.19 |
| 700 | 52.25 | 58.23 | 50.50 | 56.23 |
| 800 | 49.98 | 55.70 | 48.30 | 53.78 |
| 900 | 48.05 | 53.55 | 46.44 | 51.71 |
For any other event, use the calculator above: it shows the time for the next hundred points as soon as you type a time.
What is a good World Aquatics points score?
Instead of guessing labels like "club level" or "elite", here is what real qualifying times are worth. We scored the long course standards stored in Gophin with the 2026 base times:
| Event (LCM) | USA Sectionals (max. standard) | USA Junior Nationals | Canadian Trials (senior) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men 100 free | 54.79 = 607 | 51.99 = 710 | 51.09 = 749 |
| Women 100 free | 1:00.69 = 618 | 57.69 = 720 | 56.79 = 754 |
| Men 200 free | 2:00.49 = 606 | 1:54.09 = 714 | 1:53.00 = 735 |
| Women 200 free | 2:10.99 = 628 | 2:04.99 = 723 | 2:03.73 = 746 |
| Men 100 back | 1:01.99 = 576 | 58.19 = 697 | 57.91 = 707 |
| Women 100 back | 1:07.89 = 595 | 1:04.29 = 701 | 1:03.80 = 718 |
| Men 100 breast | 1:09.69 = 543 | 1:05.09 = 667 | 1:04.42 = 688 |
| Women 100 breast | 1:17.19 = 573 | 1:13.29 = 669 | 1:12.46 = 693 |
| Men 100 fly | 59.59 = 571 | 55.89 = 692 | 55.28 = 715 |
| Women 100 fly | 1:05.79 = 571 | 1:02.49 = 667 | 1:02.26 = 674 |
| Men 200 IM | 2:15.19 = 579 | 2:07.99 = 682 | 2:07.63 = 688 |
| Women 200 IM | 2:28.49 = 606 | 2:21.29 = 704 | 2:19.92 = 725 |
Standards: USA Swimming time standards (Sectionals maximum standards and the 2026 Junior National standards) and Swimming Canada's 2026-2028 standards (Trials, senior).
So, roughly: about 540 to 630 points is a Sectionals-level swim in the US, about 670 to 720 is a Junior Nationals cut, and about 670 to 750 reaches the Canadian Trials senior standard. Notice that breaststroke and butterfly cuts are worth fewer points than freestyle cuts at the same meet: points are not perfectly fair between strokes, so compare a swimmer's points across events with that in mind.
Age matters too. 600 points at 13 and 600 points at 20 are very different stories. Points are best for comparing a swimmer's own events, and their own progress, over time.
SCM vs LCM: different tables, and no yards
World Aquatics publishes one table for long course (50 m) and one for short course meters (25 m), because each pool has its own world records. Always score a time against the table of the pool it was swum in.
There is no World Aquatics table for yards (SCY). World Aquatics does not publish yards base times, so no official points exist for a 100-yard swim. If you want an idea for a yards swimmer, convert the time to meters first with the swim time converter, and remember the result is an estimate on top of an estimate.
Base times change once a year
World Aquatics updates the base times every year, so the same time can score a few points differently next season when world records fall. The calculator uses the newest tables in the Gophin app: the 2026 long course table (valid 1 January to 31 December 2026) and the 2026-27 short course table (valid 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027).
Why points matter for swim families
- Which event is my swimmer's best? Raw times cannot tell you whether a 29.10 in the 50 fly is better than a 2:25 in the 200 back. Points can.
- Progress over a season. A 100 back that went from 520 to 575 points is a clear story, even for someone who does not memorize times.
- College recruiting. Coaches recruit from yards and meters backgrounds. Points in meters give a common language for the long course and SCM part of a swimmer's résumé.
- Relays and team decisions. Coaches use points to compare swimmers who swim different events.
Points for every swim, automatically
The calculator is perfect for one swim. In Gophin, every official long course and short course meters time in your swimmer's history already shows its World Aquatics points, next to the time, and results come in from official meets on their own. You can see at a glance which event is strongest and whether the points are going up.
See your swimmer's World Aquatics points (free)
Bottom line
World Aquatics points = 1000 × (base time ÷ time)³, against a base time per event, gender and pool. Around 600 points is a Sectionals-level swim in the US, around 700 a Junior Nationals cut, and 1000 the world record. Use the calculator for a quick score and the next goal; let Gophin keep score for the whole season.
Follow your swimmer's points in Gophin: every meet shows the points of each swim and the swimmer's average. Free.
Sources: base times from World Aquatics, Points Base times SCM and LCM 2026 (long course valid through 31 December 2026, short course valid 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027), as stored in the Gophin app; standards from USA Swimming and Swimming Canada, as stored in the Gophin database.
