Results to 10 Nov 2026

New Zealand

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Key figures (4)2026 so far

6,417

swimmers* raced this year: about 450 fewer than in the same months of 2019, before COVID, and about 780 more than in 2020, the fewest

18+

years old: the age at which only 44 in 100 swimmers swam faster than a year before, by their best points (nearly 19 in 20 at 13 and under)

7 in 10

swimmers from the same months of 2025 raced again this year, about as in every year since 2022

1 in 3

swimmers aged 13 to 16 swam faster than a 2026 NZ Age Group qualifying time for their age

* Swimmers are those who raced at a meet in Swimming New Zealand’s results; club members who did not race are not counted.

01Biggest meets

What were the biggest meets lately?

The biggest was the North Island Showdown 2026 - (Formely CNI), 23–25 Oct 2026, with 291 swimmers from 23 clubs.

The meets with the most swimmers that began between 10 Oct and 8 Nov 2026, the latest 30 days with results.

North Island Showdown 2026 - (Formely CNI)23–25 Oct 2026 · SC · 23 clubs291 swimmers 2026 Aquagym Challenge Meet31 Oct – 1 Nov 2026 · LC · 13 clubs256 swimmers 2026 Aquagym Challenge31 Oct – 1 Nov 2026 · LC · 12 clubs254 swimmers 2026 SW Junior Championships17–18 Oct 2026 · SC · 20 clubs220 swimmers Tawa PCA NQ Meet - 7 Nov 20267 Nov 2026 · LC · 10 clubs184 swimmers

Every meet, month by month

02Guess first

Did more people race for New Zealand clubs this year than in the same months of 2019, before COVID?

Guess first, then see the figure. Question 1 of 4; picking at random gets 1 in 3 right.

03Over the years2016 to 2026

How has swimming changed since 2016?

6,417 swimmers raced in 2026 so far (1 Jan to 10 Nov): 5% fewer than in the same months of 2016 and 14% more than in 2020, the fewest; 2% fewer than in 2025; the most were in 2017 (7,042).

Swimmers with at least one race for a club from 1 Jan to 10 Nov of each year.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov of every year 2016 to 2026

04Ages2026 so far

How old are the swimmers?

Nearly 2 in 3 swimmers are 10 to 14 years old.

Number of swimmers by age at their last race in 2026 so far; 4,184 of the 6,417 are 10 to 14 years old.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2026 · n = 6,417 swimmers

05Year on year2026 so far

Do they get faster?

Nearly 19 in 20 swimmers aged 13 and under who also raced in the same months of 2025 scored higher this year; of those aged 16 and over, nearly 3 in 5.

Swimmers whose best race was worth more World Aquatics points* than in the same months of 2025, per 100 swimmers of each age; only those who raced in both years.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2026 against the same months of 2025 · n = 4,401 swimmers

06Top level2016 to 2026

How many swim at the top level?

28 swimmers had a race worth 800 points or more in the same months of 2026 (1 Jan to 10 Nov); 32 in 2025, and 42 in 2016, the most of any year. That is about 14 in every 1,000 club swimmers aged 14 and over (19 in 2016).

800 World Aquatics points is a 100 Freestyle LC in about 55.7 s for women, 50.0 s for men; 1,000 is world-record speed.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov of every year 2016 to 2026

07Top ten2026 so far

What time makes the country’s top ten?

This year so far, the tenth fastest woman swam the 100 Freestyle LC in 57.40, the tenth fastest man in 50.75.

The best time of the tenth fastest swimmer in each event, all ages together; under it, how many swam the event.

The top ten’s time, LC

Event	Women	Men
50 Freestyle	26.18of 1,282	23.05of 1,132
100 Freestyle	57.40of 1,116	50.75of 1,006
200 Freestyle	2:06.17of 709	1:53.07of 587
400 Freestyle	4:28.75of 336	4:05.72of 314
800 Freestyle	9:20.01of 193	8:41.02of 151
1500 Freestyle	17:45.04of 108	16:51.45of 78
50 Backstroke	29.88of 1,015	26.42of 813
100 Backstroke	1:04.14of 756	57.45of 627
200 Backstroke	2:20.28of 379	2:08.73of 304
50 Breaststroke	33.99of 923	29.35of 754
100 Breaststroke	1:14.20of 734	1:05.40of 564
200 Breaststroke	2:42.82of 388	2:25.94of 318
50 Butterfly	28.11of 938	24.92of 807
100 Butterfly	1:02.40of 378	55.87of 375
200 Butterfly	2:24.62of 87	2:08.23of 113
200 Individual Medley	2:25.61of 641	2:10.31of 530
400 Individual Medley	5:09.57of 155	4:44.21of 143

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2026

08Returning2026 so far

Who keeps racing?

69 in 100 swimmers from the same months of 2025 raced again this year; of those who were 16 and over, nearly 3 in 5.

Swimmers of 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2025, per 100: whether they raced in the same months of 2026.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2025 and 2026 · n = 6,543 swimmers of 2025

09Still racing2016 to 2026

Who is still racing years later?

Of the swimmers aged 11 in a year, 72 in 100 raced the next year, 54 in 100 two years on and 29 in 100 four years on.

Swimmers of each year since 2016 (1 Jan to 10 Nov): the share with a club race one, two, three… years on, in the same months.

Years on, per 100 swimmers of the start year.

Share still racing, per 100, by age in the start year
Age	one year on	two years on	three years on	four years on	five years on	six years on	seven years on	eight years on	nine years on	ten years on
aged 9	75	62	52	41	31	23	16	11	6	4
aged 11	72	54	39	29	22	14	8	4	2	1
aged 13	68	49	35	23	12	6	4	3	2	2

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov of every year 2016 to 2026 · n = 63,843 swimmer-years of every age one year on

10By level2016 to 2026

Do faster swimmers keep racing longer?

Of the swimmers aged 11 in the slowest quarter of their age, 10 in 100 were still racing five years later; in the fastest quarter, 40 in 100, and in the fastest tenth, 48 in 100.

Swimmers aged 11 at their last club race of a year, in quarters by their best points among swimmers of the same age and gender that year; those with a club race five years later. Every start year from 2016 with a year that far on, together, in the same months.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov of every year 2016 to 2026 · n = 5,894 swimmer-years

11The fastest at 162021 to 2026

Where did the fastest 16-year-olds come from?

Of the fastest quarter of 16-year-olds, 57 in 100 were already in the fastest quarter at 11; 13 in 100 were in the third quarter, 7 in 100 in the slower half, and 23 in 100 had not raced at 11.

The fastest quarter of the 16-year-olds of 2021 to 2026 by their best points, and where each stood at 11, five years before, among swimmers of the same age and gender.

In the fastest tenth34 in 100

Rest of the fastest quarter23 in 100

Third quarter13 in 100

Slower half7 in 100

Not racing at 1123 in 100

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov of every year 2016 to 2026 · n = 512 swimmers

12New swimmers2026 so far

How many are new?

27 in 100 swimmers this year did not race at all in 2025; among those aged 8 and under, nearly 7 in 10.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 2025 and 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2026 · n = 6,417 swimmers of 2026

13Races2026 so far

How often do they race?

A typical swimmer raced 17 times, at 4 meets, but 36 in 100 raced 10 times or fewer.

Number of swimmers by the number of races they swam in 2026 so far; typical is the median.

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2026 · n = 6,417 swimmers

14The year2026 so far

When does New Zealand race?

The busiest day in 2026 so far was 15 Feb, with 4,803 races; all told, 154,797 races and about 18,000 km of racing.

Each cell is a week of 2026, from the first of January; the darker, the more races. Empty cells are weeks without a race; the outline fades for weeks still to come.

Races each week of 2026
Week	Races
1	82
2	376
3	1,156
4	4,136
5	6,198
6	2,601
7	8,043
8	4,201
9	7,943
10	1,621
11	7,868
12	2,775
13	5,502
14	598
15	2,796
16	3,319
17	1,430
18	3,699
19	4,078
20	2,238
21	4,233
22	4,144
23	2,690
24	5,205
25	2,347
26	5,232
27	3,981
28	568
29	5,012
30	2,273
31	50
32	4,146
33	6,935
34	2,705
35	5,973
36	1,003
37	4,359
38	2,175
39	3,922
40	830
41	2,349
42	3,074
43	2,989
44	4,513
45	3,429

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2026 · n = 154,797 races

15Pacing2026 so far

How much slower is the second half?

Girls typically swim the second 100 of a 200 freestyle 7 to 8% slower than the first, at every age from 10 to 18 and over.

Percent slower than the first half. Typical is the median, each swimmer counted once by their typical race. The first half holds the start, so even an evenly swum race has a slower second half.

200 Freestyle, SC, girls: the second half against the first
Age	Swimmers	Typical first half	Typical second half	Slower by (typical)
10	74	1:27.06	1:33.80	7%
11	127	1:23.18	1:29.16	7%
12	173	1:17.74	1:22.73	8%
13	128	1:12.37	1:18.56	7%
14	141	1:09.86	1:15.41	8%
15	86	1:08.88	1:14.16	8%
16	77	1:06.04	1:11.78	8%
17	32	1:05.67	1:10.22	8%
18 and over	42	1:01.56	1:06.74	7%

Source: Swimming New Zealand results, 1 Jan to 10 Nov 2026 · girls who swam this event with the halfway split recorded, ages with 30 or more of them · n = 880

Swimmers of 2025	Per 100
Raced for the same club	65
Raced for another club	4
No race this year	31

Races	Swimmers
1 to 10	2,323
11 to 20	1,234
21 to 30	899
31 to 40	667
41 to 50	463
51 or more	831

Year	Swimmers
2016	6,749
2017	7,042
2018	6,861
2019	6,869
2020	5,642
2021	5,702
2022	5,859
2023	6,112
2024	6,464
2025	6,543
2026	6,417

Age	Swimmers
8 and under	344
9	528
10	813
11	1,059
12	976
13	765
14	571
15	446
16	349
17	210
18 and over	356

Level	Still racing
Slowest quarter	10
Second quarter	15
Third quarter	23
Fastest quarter	40
of them, the fastest tenth	48

Swimmers who scored higher than a year before, per 100
Age	Per 100	Swimmers
8 and under	97	57
9	94	201
10	95	381
11	93	660
12	95	722
13	94	632
14	89	513
15	83	406
16	72	326
17	60	193
18 and over	44	310