Personal Best Points
Award points for every swim, with more points for beating personal bests
Overview
Personal Best Points rewards swimmers for turning up and improving, rather than for being the fastest. Every swim earns points, and beating your own personal best earns more. Points accumulate over a season, and the app keeps a running leaderboard — overall, and by age group and gender.
Because points are based on each swimmer's improvement against their own times, a determined 8-year-old who keeps knocking seconds off can out-score the club's fastest senior. That makes PB Points ideal for participation and most-improved awards — the season pointscore many clubs know as the Pointscore Champion, Improvement Pointscore, or Club Night pointscore.
What You'll Accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll know how to:
- Create a PB Season and choose which meets count
- Understand and customise how points are awarded
- View the leaderboard overall and by age group
- See any swimmer's swim-by-swim points breakdown
- Export the full results to a spreadsheet
Fastest or Most Improved — or Best Results?
PB Points is one of three season awards: Fastest Times finds your quickest swimmer in each event and age group, PB Points finds your most improved and most committed, and Placing Points crowns your age champions on race results. Many clubs present all three at their awards night.
How Points Work
Points are calculated per swimmer, per event, in the order the races were swum:
- The first time a swimmer swims an event in the season, they earn the "first time" points, and that time becomes their personal best for the season.
- Every later swim of the same event is compared to their best time so far this season, and earns points based on how much faster or slower it was.
- If the swim beats their best, it becomes the new benchmark for next time.
The default point values are:
| Swim | Points |
|---|---|
| First time an event is swum (or time trial) | 4 |
| More than 2.5 secs slower than best | 1 |
| Between 1.5 and 2.5 secs slower | 2 |
| Between 0.5 and 1.5 secs slower | 3 |
| Within 0.5 secs of best (slower or faster) | 4 |
| Between 0.5 and 1.5 secs faster | 5 |
| Between 1.5 and 2.5 secs faster | 6 |
| More than 2.5 secs faster | 7 |
Every value is adjustable when you create the season (and later, via Edit). Notice that even a slow day earns at least 1 point — swimmers are always rewarded for racing.
A Worked Example
Sienna swims 25m Freestyle at four club nights, with the default points:
| Meet | Time | Compared to season best | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meet 1 | 26.10 | First time — becomes her season best | 4 |
| Meet 2 | 25.20 | 0.90 faster — new season best | 5 |
| Meet 3 | 25.95 | 0.75 slower than 25.20 | 3 |
| Meet 4 | 24.95 | 0.25 faster — within 0.5 secs, new best | 4 |
Sienna earns 16 points in 25m Freestyle, plus whatever she earns in her other events. Her season total across all events is what appears on the leaderboard.
The Season Starts Fresh
Personal bests are established within the season. Times from previous seasons and seed times aren't used — every swimmer starts from zero and sets their benchmark with their first swim of each event. That keeps things fair for new members who have no history in the app.
Before You Start
What You'll Need
- Club Admin access — only club administrators can create, edit, or export PB Seasons. Switch to your Club Admin role if you have more than one role.
- Completed meets with results — the meets you want to include should have results recorded. You can also create the season at the start of the year and add meets as they're completed.
- A think about point values — the defaults work well for most clubs, but see Choosing Your Point Values if you want to tune them.
Creating a PB Season
Setting up a season is a short wizard — six quick screens, each with one decision. Tap a step to jump to its instructions:
You can move back and forth between the screens without losing your selections — nothing is saved until you tap Save on the final screen.
1Open Personal Best Points and Tap "+ Points"
Tap the Results tab at the bottom of the screen, then tap PERSONAL BEST POINTS (labelled Based on improvement). Any seasons already created for your club appear here, sorted by their most recent meet.
Tap the + Points button at the top right to start a new season.
2Name the Season
The app suggests a name like 2026 PB Season. Rename it to match what the season covers, for example 2026/27 PB Season for a season spanning Term 4 and the following Term 1. Tap Next.
3Choose Visibility
Choose who can view the point calculations:
- Only Admins — the leaderboard is hidden from regular members.
- Everyone — all club members can see the points.
Unlike a fastest-times list you might keep secret until awards night, many clubs make PB Points visible to Everyone all season — a live leaderboard that swimmers can climb is great motivation to keep turning up. You can change this at any time via Edit. Tap Next.
4Set the Age-up Date
The age-up date determines the age group each swimmer appears in on the by-age leaderboards — their age on this date is their age group for the entire season.
The default, 31 December, makes age groups match year of birth: everyone born in the same calendar year competes together all season. Two other conventions some clubs use: the start of the season (swimmers stay in the age group they began in) or the end of the season (trophies match each swimmer's age on presentation night). Any date works — what matters is using the same date in every season type you run (PB Points, Placing Points, Fastest Times) so age groups line up everywhere.
One thing to know: meets group swimmers by their age on race night, so a swimmer with a mid-season birthday can appear in one age group on a meet's results screen and another here — see Common Questions. Tap Next.
5Set the Point Values
This screen lists the eight point values — first-time swims, plus the seven bands from "more than 2.5 secs slower" to "more than 2.5 secs faster". Tap any row to change its value.
The defaults (shown in How Points Work) suit most clubs, so it's fine to tap Next and move on. If you want to tune them, see Choosing Your Point Values — and remember you can change values later and the app will recalculate.
6Select the Meets
Tick the meets to include in the points calculation. Use the Search field to find a meet quickly. You must select at least one meet before continuing.
You can create the season early and add meets as the season progresses (via Edit → Meets). Tap Next.
7Exclude Events (Optional) and Save
All events swum at the selected meets are listed here. Tap any events that should not earn points — excluded events show an 'x' next to them. For example, some clubs exclude novelty or relay events.
Tap Save. Your new PB Season now appears in the Seasons list.
Choosing Your Point Values
The defaults reward both participation and improvement, and most clubs can use them as-is. If you want to shape the incentives, here's what each lever does:
The "First Time" Value Sets the Reward for Trying New Events
Every time a swimmer swims an event for the first time in the season, they earn the first-time points. A higher value encourages swimmers to have a go at new strokes and distances; a lower value keeps the focus on improving in events they already swim. The default of 4 (the same as holding steady) is a sensible middle ground.
The Gap Between Bands Sets How Much Improvement Matters
With the defaults (1 through 7), a big PB is worth seven times a bad day. Widening the spread — say making "more than 2.5 secs faster" worth 10 — rewards breakthrough swims more strongly; narrowing it rewards steady attendance. Just keep the ordering sensible: faster bands should never be worth less than slower ones.
Every Band Earning at Least 1 Point Rewards Turning Up
Because even the slowest band earns a point, a swimmer who races every week accumulates points steadily — attendance itself is rewarded. If your club wants points for improvement only, you can set the slower bands to 0, but be aware that swimmers plateauing (as everyone eventually does) will stop scoring, which can be discouraging for the very kids the system is meant to motivate.
Longer Events Can Skew a Season
Swimmers who qualify for longer distances get chances to earn first-time and PB points that swimmers without those events can't access, which can tilt a most-improved race. Two ways to level it: exclude the long-distance events from the season, or — often better — run a second PB Season containing just the distance events, giving you a most-improved distance swimmer award of its own. Seasons are independent, and the same meets can appear in both.
💡 You Can Change Values Mid-Season
Points aren't locked in when a race is swum — they're recalculated from the results whenever the season is viewed. If you adjust a point value via Edit, the whole leaderboard updates to reflect the new scheme, past swims included. Handy for fixing a misjudged setting; just be aware standings can shift, so it's kindest to settle values before swimmers start watching the leaderboard closely.
Viewing the Points
Tap a season card in the Seasons list to open it. The points are shown in three tabs:
- ALL — every swimmer ranked by total points, highest first.
- GIRLS BY AGE — a card per age group, each ranking the girls in that group.
- BOYS BY AGE — the same for boys.
Swim-by-Swim Breakdown
Tap a swimmer to see exactly where their points came from: every swim, grouped by event, showing the date, their season PB at the time, the change, the race time, and the points earned — with subtotals per event and a season total at the bottom.
Parents can view their own children's breakdowns, even without admin access (provided the season is visible to everyone). It's a great answer to "why does my swimmer have 47 points?" — the numbers explain themselves.
Exporting to a Spreadsheet
Open the season and tap Export (top of the season details, admins only). Confirm, and a spreadsheet with the results will be emailed to you.
The spreadsheet contains one row per swim, with the event, date, points earned, previous best, race time, and the change — plus each swimmer's name, gender, and age (calculated on both 31 December and your season's age-up date), and millisecond columns for easy sorting. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets and you can total, filter, or double-check anything before your awards night.
Editing or Deleting a Season
Open the season and tap Edit (admins only). From the Edit screen you can change:
- Name
- Who can see these points (Only admins / Everyone)
- Age-up Date
- All eight point values
- Meets — add or remove meets, e.g. add each meet as the season progresses
- Excluded Events
Tap Save to keep your changes, or Cancel to discard them (you'll be asked to confirm if you've made changes). Any change to meets, point values, or excluded events recalculates the leaderboard automatically.
Deleting a Season
To delete a season, open the Edit screen, scroll down, and tap Delete Season. You'll be asked to confirm — deletion is permanent.
Your Results Are Safe
Deleting a PB Season only removes the points calculation. It does not affect any meet results or swimmer times.
Tips for Awards Nights
Most Improved, Solved
The classic awards-night question — "who was our most improved swimmer?" — is what the by-age leaderboards answer objectively. Clubs give this award different names — Most Improved, Pointscore Champion, Improvement Pointscore, Club Night Star, Best and Fairest — but the calculation is the same: the top of each age group card, backed by a swim-by-swim breakdown you can show anyone who asks.
If your club defines Most Improved differently — say, total seconds improved across the season — the export gives you every time and every change, so you can calculate it your club's way in a spreadsheet.
Pair It with Fastest Times
Run a Fastest Times group over the same meets with the same age-up date, and you can award both your fastest swimmers and your most improved in each age group — recognising speed and effort side by side.
One Season, Whole Season
PB Points works best over a full season rather than per term — the longer the run, the more the leaderboard reflects sustained effort, and the more swims each swimmer has to improve against. Create the season at the start of Term 4, add meets as they happen, and it's ready for your end-of-season presentation.
Consider a Live Leaderboard
Setting visibility to Everyone during the season lets swimmers and parents watch the points race unfold — often a bigger motivator than the trophy itself. If you'd rather keep the winners a surprise, leave it Only Admins and flip it after the awards.
Troubleshooting
I can't see the "+ Points" button
- Make sure you're using your Club Admin role — regular members and race starters can't create PB Seasons
- Update to the latest version of the app
A swimmer's points look too low
- Check all the season's meets are ticked in Edit → Meets — a missing meet means missing swims
- Check Edit → Excluded Events — excluded events earn no points
- Check the swims have official race times recorded — swims without a recorded time can't earn points
- Tap the swimmer to see their breakdown — it shows exactly which swims earned what
A swimmer is in the wrong age group
- Check the season's age-up date — a swimmer's age group is their age on that date, not on race day
- Check the swimmer's date of birth in their profile
The leaderboard changed after I edited the season
- That's expected — points are recalculated from the results whenever the season is viewed, so changing point values, meets, or excluded events updates all standings, including for past swims
Members can't see the points
- Check the season's visibility — if it's Only Admins, regular members won't see it. Change it to Everyone via Edit
The export email hasn't arrived
- Check your spam or junk folder
- Wait a few minutes and check again
- Still nothing? Email us at ad***@*************ct.com
Common Questions
Who can create PB Seasons?
Only club administrators. Members can view seasons that admins have made visible to everyone, and parents can open their own children's swim-by-swim breakdowns.
Do points use last season's personal bests?
No. Personal bests are established fresh within each season — a swimmer's first swim of an event sets their benchmark, and seed times and previous seasons are ignored. Everyone starts the season on zero.
What happens if I change the point values mid-season?
The whole leaderboard is recalculated using the new values, including swims already completed. Points are always computed from the results and the current settings, never locked in.
Does a swimmer earn first-time points for every event?
Yes — the first swim of each event in the season earns the first-time points. A swimmer who tries five different events earns first-time points five times. That's by design (it rewards having a go), and you can tune the first-time value if you want to dampen or amplify it.
Do relays or disqualified swims earn points?
No. Relays are team events, so they're ignored automatically — you don't need to exclude them. Disqualified swims and swims without a recorded official time also earn no points.
Why does a swimmer's age group here differ from the meet results screen?
Meets group swimmers by their age on race night, while a PB Season uses one fixed age-up date so each swimmer stays in a single age group for the whole season. A swimmer with a mid-season birthday can therefore appear in different age groups on the two screens. Their points aren't affected — PB points measure improvement against their own times — it's only the by-age leaderboard grouping that differs.
Can swimmers see their own points?
If the season is visible to everyone, all members can see the leaderboards, and parents can tap into their own children's detailed breakdowns.
What about swimmers who have left the club?
Points swum while representing your club still count and the swimmer still appears in the leaderboard, even if they've since moved to another club.
Can I run more than one PB Season?
Yes — seasons are independent, each with its own meets, point values, and settings, and the same meet can appear in more than one season.
Does creating or deleting a season change any results?
No. PB Seasons only read your existing meet results — creating, editing, or deleting a season never changes any recorded times.
Still Need Help?
If you're having trouble with Personal Best Points or have questions not covered in this guide:
- Email us: ad***@*************ct.com
- Include: Your name, club name, and the PB Season you're working with
- Response time: We typically respond within 24 hours
We're here to help make your awards night a success!