Age Group Zones · Southern Zone

North Carolina Swimming Zone Team 2027

How North Carolina Swimming picks its team for the Southern Zone Age Group Championships, who's on track right now, and where your swimmer ranks.

Southern Zone Age Group Championships
summer 2027 (not announced; 2026 was July 29–August 1) · not announced (Orlando, Florida in 2026) · long course
Ages 11-12 and 13-14. Each LSC sends up to 12 girls and 12 boys per age group.

How North Carolina Swimming picks its team

Scored, then coaches fill some spots

Zone Points = 1000 × (base time ÷ swim time)³, where the base time is the three-year average 8th-place prelim time at Southern Zones. A swimmer's best 6 long course events are added; the top 8 are automatic and coaches add 4.

Team size: 12 girls and 12 boys per age group.

From North Carolina Swimming's 2025 selection document. LSCs post their 2027 rules in the spring; we update this page when they do.

Where does your swimmer rank right now?

Search any 14 & under swimmer for their rank on the MySwimApp Power Score in their age group and how far they are from the 12-swimmer line.

Who's on track: the Power Score top 3

Every North Carolina Swimming swimmer ranked by their best 6 USA Swimming Power Points across the Zones events, either course, last 12 months. How the Power Score works. North Carolina Swimming doesn't pick its team by a score, so this is a readiness ranking, not a team prediction.

This board is being built and will appear within a week.

Questions parents ask

How is the North Carolina Swimming Zone team picked?
Zone Points = 1000 × (base time ÷ swim time)³, where the base time is the three-year average 8th-place prelim time at Southern Zones. A swimmer's best 6 long course events are added; the top 8 are automatic and coaches add 4. Team size: 12 girls and 12 boys per age group.
When and where is Age Group Zones in 2027?
The Southern Zone Age Group Championships is summer 2027 (not announced; 2026 was July 29–August 1), not announced (Orlando, Florida in 2026). It's long course, for ages 11-12 and 13-14. Each LSC sends up to 12 girls and 12 boys per age group.
What time do you need for Zones?
There is no zone qualifying time. A swimmer can't enter an event in which they hold a Summer Junior National cut. For North Carolina Swimming, a cut may not be enough on its own, because the team is partly chosen once swimmers qualify.
What is the MySwimApp Power Score?
The sum of a swimmer's best 6 USA Swimming Power Points across the Zones events, in either course, over the last 12 months. Power Points put a 50 free and a 400 IM on one scale and adjust for age, so it ranks everyone in an age group the way most scored Zones selections do.

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