In D1, A cuts are meaningful. A handful of swimmers make the A cut in each event and they are automatically in the NCAA meet. In D3, the A cuts are meaningless on a practical basis because they represent the winning times or faster as you pointed out in the 500 free example. The two times that are meaningful are the B cuts and the invited times from the previous year(s). If you get below that invited time by enough, you are, in theory “safe” and can train through your conference meet without resting/shaving and focus on NCAAs or your parents can make non-refundable hotel reservations in Greensboro. I recently had a conversation with a swimmer who was a full second under the 2024 200 breast invited time. He said it is hard to imagine the invited time this year being a full second faster so he felt his chances are pretty solid. This is the practical side of the cuts. I talked to a relay swimmer who was on a relay that had a solid shot at being in NCAAs but she only had one B cut so she was going to a last chance meet to try for 2 more B cuts. I rarely hear anything about A cuts and swimmers like NYUs Kaley McIntyre don’t even have to think about the A cuts because she knows she’s going to NCAAs anyway and is focused on that right from the start of the season. The only times that matter are the B cuts and the invited times. And you might want to check the invited times. I checked a few of them and found what was actually invited last year was not the same as the time in the chart. For example, the women’s 1650 is listed as 17:18 for the invited time when it was actually 17:15.15. There is also the number invited per event. Last year it was 25 for the women and 16 or 17 for the men. That can change the situation too.
Thanks for this really helpful comment. I think your observations are valuable.
The invite times on the chart are the invite times reported by the NCAA. We have been warning readers for some time that there is a real difference between the reported 'invite time' and the time of the last person invited. See for example:
Great post! Back in my heyday, I missed the 2010 D3 NCAA's by 0.05 in the 100 Fly. Meanwhile, I continued training for nearly a month not knowing. (The selection process seemed mysterious like a Papal Conclave.)
But hey! I went the local State meet for USA Swimming and ticked off a bunch of high schoolers. Didn't want to waste that taper...
In D1, A cuts are meaningful. A handful of swimmers make the A cut in each event and they are automatically in the NCAA meet. In D3, the A cuts are meaningless on a practical basis because they represent the winning times or faster as you pointed out in the 500 free example. The two times that are meaningful are the B cuts and the invited times from the previous year(s). If you get below that invited time by enough, you are, in theory “safe” and can train through your conference meet without resting/shaving and focus on NCAAs or your parents can make non-refundable hotel reservations in Greensboro. I recently had a conversation with a swimmer who was a full second under the 2024 200 breast invited time. He said it is hard to imagine the invited time this year being a full second faster so he felt his chances are pretty solid. This is the practical side of the cuts. I talked to a relay swimmer who was on a relay that had a solid shot at being in NCAAs but she only had one B cut so she was going to a last chance meet to try for 2 more B cuts. I rarely hear anything about A cuts and swimmers like NYUs Kaley McIntyre don’t even have to think about the A cuts because she knows she’s going to NCAAs anyway and is focused on that right from the start of the season. The only times that matter are the B cuts and the invited times. And you might want to check the invited times. I checked a few of them and found what was actually invited last year was not the same as the time in the chart. For example, the women’s 1650 is listed as 17:18 for the invited time when it was actually 17:15.15. There is also the number invited per event. Last year it was 25 for the women and 16 or 17 for the men. That can change the situation too.
Thanks for this really helpful comment. I think your observations are valuable.
The invite times on the chart are the invite times reported by the NCAA. We have been warning readers for some time that there is a real difference between the reported 'invite time' and the time of the last person invited. See for example:
https://d3so.substack.com/p/what-if-invite-times-werent
https://d3so.substack.com/p/reliable-invite-times-from-last-years
https://d3so.substack.com/p/and-your-point-is-what
So we are on the same page on this little issue...
Great post! Back in my heyday, I missed the 2010 D3 NCAA's by 0.05 in the 100 Fly. Meanwhile, I continued training for nearly a month not knowing. (The selection process seemed mysterious like a Papal Conclave.)
But hey! I went the local State meet for USA Swimming and ticked off a bunch of high schoolers. Didn't want to waste that taper...