NISCA Updates High School Power Points Tables for First Time in a Decade

The National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches’ Association (NISCA), an organization that acts as a trade group for high school coaches and does a lot of record-keeping for the sport, like awarding high school All-American honors, has updated its Power Point tables for the first time in a decade.

For the new standards, the highest-possible earning for individual swims, 200 points, would be close to or, in many cases, faster than the fastest-ever time in those events.

• Boys – 2014 version
• Boys – 2023 version
• Girls – 2014 version
• Girls – 2023 version
• Boys – 1999 version (just for fun)

These Power Point tables are used for dozens of different purposes across the country, some official and some unofficial. A list of ways they’re used from NISCA:

Team 

• National Dual Meet Rankings
• Create season bests and school records for the most points earned in a single dual meet. Can also create an all-time top 10 (or 25, or ?)
• Can create team records for most power points scored in league/conference/district/regional/sectional meet and state meet.
• New Jersey uses season dual meet power point bests to determine the eight teams in each class/division that will participate in their dual meet team state championship competition.
• Some coaches use them to determine “break points” between the varsity and JV teams.
• Can be used to compare the girls to the boys teams. C
• Could have an e-mail PP meet with team in another state (for old timers a variation on the old postal meets).
• Set PP goals for an event (total for 3 swimmers).

Individual

• State Swimmer of the Year
• Rank swimmers by how many points they can total by adding their best swim in each of the 8 individual swimming events or include diving. Can rank by season and “all-time” and can have “overall” rankings plus rankings and records by grade level.
• Create season and/or “all-time” lists for highest scoring effort in any individual event including diving. These lists could also be done by grade level.
• Create a 100 Point Club for a season list and 125 Point Club for an all-time list. Some coaches may want lower or higher standards based on their philosophy and/or the quality of swimmers/divers in their program.
• Some coaches make power points a part of their lettering criteria. The tables allow the coach to set a standard that is equal for each event.
• Use them as a criterion or the criterion in determining the swimmer of the week.
• Can be used as a factor in determining “most improved” swimmer/diver.
• Use as “a” criteria or “the” criterion to determine league or district or state “swimmer of the year.”

While almost every scale got faster in the latest revision, the updates were not universal:

• Diving events did not change
• A few events got slower scales in certain places, like the boys’ 200 free relay and 100 back

The table below uses the NISCA Public High School Records as a demonstration for places where times tapered off: