Quick answer
The 2026 Speedo Winter Junior Championships cuts are out, and they are the same as 2025. Girls need 23.29 in the 50 Free SCY (26.89 LCM). Boys need 20.49 SCY (24.09 LCM). Swims count from November 1, 2025 until the entry deadline. The meet is December 9 to 12, 2026, in short course yards. Full tables for both courses are below.
Winter Juniors is the first national meet a lot of families ever travel to. It is also the one parents search for most in the fall: does my swimmer have the cut, and how much is left?
This page answers that in one place. It gives every individual cut for girls and boys in SCY and LCM, the bonus cuts, the relay cuts, and the rules on how a time counts. Every number was checked line by line against the official USA Swimming 2026 PDF.
See the results in Gophin. Every Winter Juniors result goes into Gophin, with all times, heats and finals. Last year's meets are already there: Winter Juniors 2025 East and Winter Juniors 2025 West. After December 12, search for the 2026 meet in Gophin's meet results to see every swim. If you are not signed in, Gophin asks you to sign in (free) and takes you back to the meet.
2026 Winter Juniors at a glance
| Meet | 2026 Speedo Winter Junior Championships |
| Dates | December 9 to 12, 2026 |
| Course | Short course yards (SCY) |
| Sites | Listed as "location TBD" on the USA Swimming events calendar as of September 22, 2026 |
| Qualifying window | November 1, 2025 through the entry deadline |
| Age | 18 and under on the first day of the meet (2025 rule) |
| Cuts vs 2025 | Identical, event by event |
Sources: 2026 time standards (PDF), USA Swimming events calendar, 2025 meet information (PDF).
The meet swims in yards, but the cuts are published in both SCY and LCM. A long course swim from last summer can get your swimmer in.
Girls: 2026 Winter Juniors cuts
| Event | SCY (yards) | LCM (metres) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Free | 23.29 | 26.89 |
| 100 Free | 50.39 | 58.19 |
| 200 Free | 1:49.09 | 2:04.99 |
| 500 Free (SCY) / 400 Free (LCM) | 4:53.59 | 4:26.69 |
| 1000 Free (SCY) / 800 Free (LCM) | 10:11.49 | 9:06.79 |
| 1650 Free (SCY) / 1500 Free (LCM) | 17:02.19 | 17:26.79 |
| 100 Back | 55.09 | 1:04.79 |
| 200 Back | 1:59.39 | 2:19.59 |
| 100 Breast | 1:03.09 | 1:13.79 |
| 200 Breast | 2:17.19 | 2:38.59 |
| 100 Fly | 54.69 | 1:02.69 |
| 200 Fly | 2:01.69 | 2:18.39 |
| 200 IM | 2:02.19 | 2:22.09 |
| 400 IM | 4:21.69 | 5:00.29 |
Source: USA Swimming, 2026 Speedo Winter Junior Championships time standards.
Boys: 2026 Winter Juniors cuts
| Event | SCY (yards) | LCM (metres) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Free | 20.49 | 24.09 |
| 100 Free | 44.89 | 52.59 |
| 200 Free | 1:38.39 | 1:55.29 |
| 500 Free (SCY) / 400 Free (LCM) | 4:28.79 | 4:04.99 |
| 1000 Free (SCY) / 800 Free (LCM) | 9:22.69 | 8:28.19 |
| 1650 Free (SCY) / 1500 Free (LCM) | 15:40.39 | 16:14.79 |
| 100 Back | 49.19 | 58.79 |
| 200 Back | 1:47.79 | 2:08.29 |
| 100 Breast | 55.49 | 1:05.89 |
| 200 Breast | 2:01.59 | 2:24.09 |
| 100 Fly | 48.69 | 56.49 |
| 200 Fly | 1:49.09 | 2:06.39 |
| 200 IM | 1:49.59 | 2:09.29 |
| 400 IM | 3:56.49 | 4:35.89 |
Source: USA Swimming, 2026 Speedo Winter Junior Championships time standards.
There are no 50 Back, 50 Breast or 50 Fly cuts on the Winter Juniors sheet. Those 50s of stroke are on the summer Junior Nationals sheet.
Bonus cuts (2026)
Bonus cuts are slower. They only matter once your swimmer has a full cut in at least one individual event. In 2025, a swimmer with one or more cuts could add up to two bonus events that met these standards.
Girls, bonus
| Event | SCY | LCM |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Free | 23.89 | 27.39 |
| 100 Free | 51.89 | 59.29 |
| 200 Free | 1:52.29 | 2:07.79 |
| 500 / 400 Free | 5:02.59 | 4:28.79 |
| 1000 / 800 Free | 10:20.49 | 9:13.79 |
| 1650 / 1500 Free | 17:14.39 | 17:40.19 |
| 100 Back | 57.09 | 1:06.79 |
| 200 Back | 2:04.19 | 2:23.99 |
| 100 Breast | 1:05.49 | 1:15.99 |
| 200 Breast | 2:22.69 | 2:43.39 |
| 100 Fly | 56.59 | 1:04.69 |
| 200 Fly | 2:05.39 | 2:21.89 |
| 200 IM | 2:06.39 | 2:26.19 |
| 400 IM | 4:30.69 | 5:07.29 |
Boys, bonus
| Event | SCY | LCM |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Free | 21.29 | 24.59 |
| 100 Free | 46.39 | 53.59 |
| 200 Free | 1:41.59 | 1:57.79 |
| 500 / 400 Free | 4:37.09 | 4:09.99 |
| 1000 / 800 Free | 9:34.29 | 8:40.69 |
| 1650 / 1500 Free | 16:05.49 | 16:38.99 |
| 100 Back | 51.49 | 1:00.59 |
| 200 Back | 1:52.79 | 2:11.89 |
| 100 Breast | 57.99 | 1:08.19 |
| 200 Breast | 2:07.99 | 2:29.09 |
| 100 Fly | 50.59 | 57.99 |
| 200 Fly | 1:53.69 | 2:10.19 |
| 200 IM | 1:53.89 | 2:12.79 |
| 400 IM | 4:06.99 | 4:42.39 |
Source: USA Swimming, 2026 Speedo Winter Junior Championships bonus standards (page 2 of the PDF).
Relay cuts (2026)
| Relay | Girls SCY | Girls LCM | Boys SCY | Boys LCM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4x100 Free | 3:27.49 | 3:58.09 | 3:05.79 | 3:35.79 |
| 4x200 Free | 7:32.79 | 8:35.09 | 6:49.59 | 7:52.39 |
| 4x100 Medley | 3:47.79 | 4:24.19 | 3:23.39 | 3:58.69 |
The 4x50 relays have no cut of their own. A team qualifies with the matching 4x100 time. In 2025, relay-only swimmers were not allowed, and a team needed at least four individually qualified swimmers to enter relays.
Want to know how far off your swimmer is?
Reading a table is fine for one event. For a swimmer with eight events in two courses, the math gets old fast. In Gophin you open Comparisons â Standards, pick the USA Swimming Winter Junior Championships set, and every event shows the gap in seconds, using your swimmer's official meet times. It is free. The 2026 cuts are the same numbers as 2025, so the 2025 set in the app is exactly what your swimmer needs to beat.
Check your swimmer against the Winter Juniors cuts
How a time counts
A few rules decide whether a swim on the table actually gets your swimmer in. The first two come from the 2026 standards sheet. The rest come from the 2025 meet information. USA Swimming usually repeats these rules each year, but check the 2026 meet information when it comes out.
- The window opens November 1, 2025. A swim from October 2025 does not count, even if it is faster than the cut.
- Either course works. An LCM swim meets the LCM column. A SCY swim meets the SCY column. You do not convert one to the other.
- Distance free has a shortcut (2025 rule). A swimmer could enter the 1000 or the 1650 with either the 800/1000 cut or the 1500/1650 cut.
- There was a late window (2025 rule). A first-time cut made in the few days after the entry deadline could still be entered as a "new qualifying swim".
- The swimmer must be 18 or under on the first day of the meet. College swimmers who fit that age can swim.
Winter Juniors East vs West
Winter Juniors has been run as two identical meets on the same dates. In 2025 it was East at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis and West at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, both December 10 to 13 (East, West).
You do not choose your side. A swimmer swims at the site assigned to the LSC they are registered in, following a boundary map in the meet information. Both sites use the same cuts.
For 2026, the USA Swimming calendar lists December 9 to 12, short course yards, with the location still to be announced. Confirm the sites there before you book travel.
How Winter Juniors cuts compare to Summer Juniors
Winter cuts are a little slower than the summer Junior National cuts, so for many swimmers Winter Juniors is the first national cut.
| Event (SCY) | Winter Juniors 2026 | Junior Nationals 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Girls 50 Free | 23.29 | 22.99 |
| Girls 100 Free | 50.39 | 49.99 |
| Girls 200 IM | 2:02.19 | 2:01.09 |
| Boys 50 Free | 20.49 | 20.39 |
| Boys 100 Free | 44.89 | 44.39 |
| Boys 200 IM | 1:49.59 | 1:48.49 |
Sources: USA Swimming 2026 Winter Junior and 2026 Junior National time standards.
For where these cuts sit next to Futures, Sectionals and the age group A and AA cuts, see the USA Swimming time standards guide. For the summer meet, the dates and the what-to-watch side, see Speedo Junior Nationals 2026: what to know.
What to do with a close time
- Within a few tenths? That is a normal taper drop at a championship meet. Talk to the coach about which fall meet is the best shot.
- Short in SCY but close in LCM? Look at the LCM column from last summer before you give up.
- Has one cut? Check the bonus table. One cut can open up to two more events.
- Far off this year? Use the table as next season's goal, not this December's.
The cuts did not move from 2025 to 2026. That makes this a clean target for a whole season.
See your swimmer's gap to every Winter Juniors cut
Sources
- USA Swimming. 2026 Speedo Winter Junior Championships time standards (PDF). Individual, bonus and relay cuts, SCY and LCM, qualifying from November 1, 2025.
- USA Swimming. 2025 Speedo Winter Junior Championships time standards (PDF). Used to confirm the 2026 cuts are unchanged.
- USA Swimming. Events calendar. 2026 dates and course.
- USA Swimming. 2025 Speedo Winter Junior Championships meet information (PDF). East/West assignment, age, bonus, relay and distance rules.
- USA Swimming. 2026 Speedo Junior National Championships time standards (PDF). Summer comparison.
