By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
2026 Short Course World Trials
October 28-31, 2026 Westmont, IL — FMC Natatorium SCM (25 Meters) Meet Central Selection Criteria Psych SheetsAnticipation is starting to build for the first-of-its-kind U.S. Short Course World Championship Trials, as American swimmers will vie for a spot on the SC Worlds roster next week in Westmont.
The selection criteria for the competition is relatively straightforward, though we figured we’d give it a quick run through so there aren’t any lingering questions once the meet begins next Wednesday.
Similar to other selection meets, it will be a simple win and you’re in concept at Trials, provided you meet the ‘B’ qualifying standard.
Simplified Selection Process
Selected in Priority 1-7 order (see in ‘Selection Priorities’ section)
The top-two finishers in each event will be selected to the team in that event—provided they’ve both hit the ‘A’ qualifying standard. If the winner of an event does not hit the ‘A’ qualifying time, but does hit the ‘B’ cut, the winner will qualify for the team in that event, but the 2nd-place finisher will not. If the winner of an event hits the ‘A’ qualifying time but the 2nd-place finisher does not, and the 2nd-place finisher has not achieved the ‘A’ cut at any sanctioned meet from July 27, 2025 through October 31, 2026, then only the winner in the event will be selected to the team and not the runner-up. Beyond individual selection, the top four finishers in the 100 and 200 freestyle will be named to the team, provided the roster doesn’t exceed capacity (see priorities below).In the case of the women’s 1500 freestyle, where there is only one entrant, Katie McCarthy, all she has to do is reach the ‘B’ qualifying time (16:37.32) and she’ll earn a spot on the team.
See the full selection criteria here.Selection Priorities
The top two finishing swimmers in the 100 and 200 free The top finishing swimmer in every event other than the 100 and 200 free The 2nd finishing swimmer in every event other than the 100 and 200 free The 3rd finishing swimmer in the 100 free The 3rd finishing swimmer in the 200 free The 4th finishing swimmer in the 100 free The 4th finishing swimmer in the 200 freeThe U.S. roster will be capped at 40 swimmers—20 men and 20 women.
If the roster exceeds capacity after adding all swimmers from Priority 2, then the swimmers in Priority 2 will be named to the team in order of the highest percentage of the ‘A’ Standard in the event in which they qualified. The same goes if the roster exceeds capacity after adding swimmers from Priority 3, 4, 5, etc.
TIME STANDARDS
Event Women ‘B’ (+3.5% of ‘A’) Women ‘A’ Men ‘A’ Men ‘B’ (+3.5% of ‘A’) 50 Freestyle 25.18 24.33 21.19 21.93 100 Freestyle 54.88 53.02 46.89 48.53 200 Freestyle 1:59.65 1:55.60 1:43.48 1:47.10 400 Freestyle 4:14.89 4:06.27 3:42.18 3:49.96 800 Freestyle 8:44.98 8:27.23 7:42.39 7:58.57 1500 Freestyle 16:37.32 16:03.59 14:49.29 15:20.42 50 Backstroke 27.47 26.54 23.37 24.19 100 Backstroke 59.53 57.52 50.81 52.59 200 Backstroke 2:09.93 2:05.54 1:52.11 1:56.03 50 Breaststroke 31.27 30.21 26.25 27.17 100 Breaststroke 1:07.24 1:04.97 57.38 59.39 200 Breaststroke 2:26.88 2:21.91 2:06.23 2:10.65 50 Butterfly 26.62 25.72 22.43 23.22 100 Butterfly 59.41 57.40 50.15 51.91 200 Butterfly 2:13.36 2:08.85 1:53.19 1:57.15 100 Individual Medley 1:01.74 59.65 52.98 54.83 200 Individual Medley 2:13.90 2:09.37 1:55.25 1:59.28 400 Individual Medley 4:47.17 4:37.46 4:08.87 4:17.58Note that the 40-swimmer maximum does not include the wild card qualifiers from the World Cup, which were Luke Barr, Carson Foster and either Shaine Casas or Anna Peplowski for the U.S.
It wasn’t clear if Casas or Peplowski got the third U.S. wild card spot, given that the event in which Casas scored more points than Peplowski was the men’s 200 IM, an event in which he scored lower than Barr, and the wild card system only allows one swimmer per country per event. However, what wasn’t clear was whether or not Casas still earned the wild card spot, but just couldn’t race the 200 IM at SC Worlds, or if his 200 IM score was eliminated overall, therefore giving the spot to Peplowski.
We’ve reached out to World Aquatics for clarification on this, though it’s worth noting that Peplowski has entered Trials, while Casas has not.
If Foster or Barr opted out of SC Worlds, their wild card spot would not go to the fourth-ranked swimmer.
In terms of which events the wild card qualifiers can swim, they can race any event in which they finished on the podium (top three) at one of the World Cup stops and were under the ‘A’ cut – see the full list here. This is the case even if there are two qualifiers in the event at Trials. So for example, the United States could field Barr, and the top two finishers from Trials, say Van Mathias and Brian Benzing, in the men’s 100 breaststroke at Worlds.
Wild card qualifiers can also swim additional events at SC Worlds if they either have the ‘B’ cut and their country has no entrants, or they have the ‘A’ cut and their country only has one entrant.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: How U.S. Swimmers Can Earn A Berth On The Short Course Worlds Roster At Next Week’s Trials
Hence then, the article about how u s swimmers can earn a berth on the short course worlds roster at next week s trials was published today ( ) and is available on swimswam ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( How U.S. Swimmers Can Earn A Berth On The Short Course Worlds Roster At Next Week’s Trials )
Also on site :