Qualifying vs Consideration Times: a Swim Ireland Parent Guide

Three buckets, not a report card

These words show up when the gala is no longer “everyone in.” Swim Ireland’s domestic plan is blunt: a qualifying time, within that meet’s conditions, and they are accepted. A consideration time, and they will be considered — managers cut off per event. Neither, and they are not considered. The short version sits on Swim Ireland gala levels. This is the parent explainer.

A QT is not a medal. A CT that does not get accepted is a full session, not a character reference.

Qualifying time — in, if the other conditions are met

Parent English: they have the time. Swim Ireland English: equal to or faster than the published qualifying standard, inside that meet’s parameters. Performance writes the times for nationals. Each region writes its own. I will not paste this season’s table. The PDF changes.

“Other conditions” is the bit WhatsApp skips. The time has to be in the right course — or a conversion the pack allows. It has to sit inside the qualification window. It has to come from a licensed meet that counts — often Level 3 on the island for nationals, sometimes Level 2 for regional short course. Age is usually 31 December of the competition year. Some packs exclude distance events from the “QT means guaranteed” rule, or treat identical QT and CT as one guaranteed line. Read the sentence, not the group chat.

Consideration time — they might be in

A consideration time is slower than the QT and still inside the published band. Managers fill from the fastest CTs and cut off per event — and, at nationals, often age by age — to fit the timeline. It is not a guaranteed swim. Regional packs I have read (Connacht and Leinster LC 2026) say QTs are guaranteed except for distance events, and CTs depend on volume. Where QT and CT are identical, that time is usually a guaranteed place. One region, one year. Until accepted entries exist, “we’re on consideration” means “we are in the queue.”

Missed both — not considered

If they have not achieved a qualifying or consideration time within that meet’s conditions, they will not be considered for that event. Regional packs say entries outside the limits will be rejected, and No Times are automatically excluded. Do not enter hoping the host is kind. Pick another event they actually have, or another meet. A first licensed 50 still counts as a swim; it does not count as a national QT. No official time inside the standard means no entry, not a late heat. The heat-sheet version of a blank is what NT means.

Course matters as much as the clock

Short course is 25 metres. Long course is 50. Extra turns make the 25m clock faster. Irish sheets write SC or LC because they are different races. A December 100 free does not “beat” a March 100 free in a 50-metre pool. Swim Ireland’s 2025–26 year ran 25m through 31 December, then 50m from 1 January. Regional SC and Irish Winter live on short course. Irish Open, regional LC, and Summer Nationals live on long course. The cut is a course. If the pack says long-course only, a beautiful short-course PB is the wrong exam. The deep dive is short course vs long course.

The window is a date, not a vibe

Every championship publishes a qualification period. A legal time outside that window is still the wrong time. Windows move. As a 2025–26 illustration only: Irish Open sat in a long-course window from late June 2025 into March 2026 — the event guide and the domestic-plan notes did not even print the same end date. Summer Nationals 2026 used 1 January to 8 June. Winter ran from the previous December into late November. Regional LC packs I read asked for times since 1 May 2025. Copy the dates from this PDF.

The time also has to be on the books. Times do not hit the national database until the host files the paperwork. Only those times are accepted for national entries. A scoreboard screenshot is not a QT while the file is still on someone’s laptop. Finzy does not connect to that database. You log the swim and keep official versus unofficial honest in your own house.

Level 1 usually has neither

First Level 1 days almost never publish a QT or a CT. The time is real in the hall. It is not a championship cut. Intra-club and inter-club have no standard. Club invitationals often recommend CTs to keep session limits. Future Challenger is usually open except specified events (200 breast, 400 free). Aspiring Champions often uses CTs. Regionals and nationals are where QT and CT become the front page. Licence levels: Swim Ireland gala levels. If nobody printed a cut, there is no cut.

Converted times — maybe, depending on the pack

Hy-Tek can turn a 25m time into a 50m guess, or the other way around. That number is a seed or an entry tool, not a personal best. Some Irish championships accept it. Some refuse it. Believe the PDF for that championship.

Patterns from 2025–26 packs, which may not survive the next rewrite: Irish Open and Summer Youth/Senior typically want long-course only — no short-course conversions. Summer Age Group has accepted converted short-course for younger ages (the 2026 PDF said 12–14 only). Winter typically takes short-course or converted long-course, and tells clubs not to convert by hand. Regional SC often allows SC or converted LC from Level 2; regional LC often allows LC or conversions from Level 3. If the pack disagrees, the pack wins.

Regionals, Irish Age, Irish Open — typical language, not this year’s table

I am not reprinting Swim Ireland’s qualifying-time tables. They differ by age and event, and they are rewritten. This is how the words usually work. Read this season’s pack for the numbers.

Irish Open confuses people: the pathway says “qualifying times,” and some event guides still mention consideration language and a one-QT-plus-related-event rule. Treat it as a long-course qualifying meet until the pack says otherwise. Winter is the consideration-time national. Irish Age typically prints both columns and fills leftover lanes from the fastest CTs. Regionals print both, written locally.

The other conditions nobody puts in the WhatsApp

The time is only one gate. Age on 31 December. The right region for a closed championship. Para lines in the conditions. Irish-club times for Summer Nationals usually have to be achieved on the island. Distance events are sometimes not QT-guaranteed. If two licence codes appear, match the session. The board is a first draft; the results file is the time. That split is PB vs official time.

Read this season’s pack — not last year’s screenshot

The pack is the meet information or conditions PDF. Team Manager drops it on WhatsApp. Open it. The chat summary is not the document.

• ✓Find QT versus CT for their age and event, plus the window. A time outside the dates does not count.
• ✓Find SC or LC, and the sentence on conversions. If it says LC only, believe it.
• ✓Find the licence level required — often Level 3 on the island for nationals.
• ✓Find the exceptions: distance events, identical QT/CT, extra event if they have one QT, para lines, NT exclusion.
• ✓If two regions or two licence numbers appear, match the session and the club.

Then wait for accepted entries before you book the hotel. A CT is a maybe until that list exists.

Set the cut as a Finzy goal

Once you have copied the number, stop treating it as folklore. Write the event, the course, and the cut. After each licensed meet, look at the gap. I built Finzy so you can set a time goal and keep SC and LC apart — a 25m drop cannot masquerade as a 50m cut. Put the pack number into the goal. Log the official swims. Watch the gap shrink meet by meet. Finzy does not know the published Swim Ireland cuts and does not import them. You type the number. How to make a time goal that survives October: goal setting for swimmers.

FAQ