Taper: one of the few words in the English language that trumps an all-you-can-eat buffet to set a swimmer’s heart aflutter. Swimmers have their own taper superstitions and rituals. Coaches have their own taper secrets and stories of that huge unexpected time drop. The legendary Eddie Reese says that taper is an art no one really understands.
Everyone knows tapered swimmers go faster, but by how much?
To answer the question I grabbed every time swum in the NCAA over the last three seasons and defined a tapered time as a swimmer’s best time in an event between their conference and national meets.* Division 1 men and women are an average of 2% and 1.3% faster, respectively, at season-ending taper meets than their previous season best time. This comparison is useful when reading top times lists and big meet psych sheets to try and guess how swimmers will perform. But it doesn’t really describe a taper. Many teams taper for mid season meets, so comparing in season best times to taper times doesn’t really capture the effect. There are occasional cases of teams going slower than their in-season best times. One example is the Arizona men in 2014. After their coach resigned mid season, they were .2% slower than their in-season best times at Pac 12’s and D1 Championships.
Median times are a better baseline. A swimmer’s median time during the season should represent their typical unrested swim. At end of season meets, D1 swimmers’ median in season times drop an average of 4.2% (22,061 tapered events since 2014) for men and 3.6%. (32,839) for women. Division 3 swimmers drop substantially more time from their median in season times. D3 men drop 4.8% (27,208) and women drop 4.1% (30,395). Division 2 swimmers land in the middle. D2 men drop 4.3% (10,135) and women drop 3.8% (12,811).
There is a lot of variability between teams and within-teams year to year. Here are the time drops from median in season times by three D1 women’s teams over the last three years:
| 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | |
| California | 4.0% | 4.8% | 3.9% |
| USC | 1.7% | 2.9% | 2.6% |
| Wisconsin | 4.1% | 3.4% | 2.0% |
Comparing end of season times to in season times can give some insight into a team’s training cycle and style. D1 swimmers are the most broken down in October and January, and swim fast at meets in November and December. Here’s the average difference between D1 swimmers’ median time each month and their tapered times over the last 3 years:
| October | November | December | January | |
| Women | 4.6% | 2.7% | 2.1% | 4.4% |
| Men | 5.4% | 3.6% | 2.5% | 4.9% |
Swimmers drop the least time in freestyle. The smallest drops of any event come in the mile where swimmers only drop 2.5% for men and 1.8% for women. The largest freestyle time drops are in the 500 free at 4.1% for men and 3.5% for women. Here’s the full list of event by event time drops from median in season time by D1 swimmers since 2014:
| Women | Men | |
| 50 Free | 3.4% | 3.6% |
| 100 Free | 3.4% | 3.8% |
| 200 Free | 3.2% | 3.7% |
| 500 Free | 3.5% | 4.1% |
| 1650 Free | 1.8% | 2.5% |
| 100 Back | 4.2% | 4.5% |
| 200 Back | 4.1% | 4.8% |
| 100 Breast | 4.3% | 4.8% |
| 200 Breast | 4.0% | 5.4% |
| 100 Fly | 4.0% | 4.3% |
| 200 Fly | 3.4% | 4.2% |
| 200 IM | 3.8% | 4.6% |
| 400 IM | 2.8% | 3.9% |
D1 Women 2016 Taper Time vs Best In Season Time, Median In Season Time and Median Time in October, November, December, and January
| Best Time | Median Time | October | November | December | January | |
| Illinois | 0.3% | 3.9% | 3.8% | 1.0% | 4.0% | |
| Indiana | 0.7% | 4.3% | 5.2% | 4.3% | 1.8% | 4.5% |
| Iowa | -0.5% | 3.5% | 3.7% | 3.8% | -0.1% | 3.4% |
| Michigan | 2.1% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| Michigan St | 0.7% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 3.5% |
| Minnesota | 1.3% | 2.1% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 2.4% | 3.4% |
| Nebraska | 0.6% | 2.6% | 6.0% | 1.1% | 2.0% | 5.1% |
| Northwestern | 1.9% | 5.4% | 4.5% | 3.4% | 5.1% | 3.6% |
| Ohio St | 1.3% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 3.2% |
| Penn St | 0.4% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 0.5% | 4.0% |
| Purdue | 0.6% | 3.4% | 3.8% | 1.1% | 3.5% | |
| Rutgers | 0.3% | 4.4% | 4.7% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 5.1% |
| Wisconsin | 0.3% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 3.9% | 0.8% | 2.8% |
| Boston College | -0.6% | 4.8% | 4.4% | 0.0% | 1.9% | 4.7% |
| Duke | 0.4% | 2.7% | 3.1% | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3.4% |
| Florida St | 0.0% | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.0% | 0.3% | 3.8% |
| Georgia Tech | 1.1% | 4.8% | 4.4% | 2.4% | 4.8% | 4.1% |
| Louisville | 1.0% | 4.4% | 5.0% | 2.6% | 4.3% | |
| Miami FL | 0.5% | 2.0% | 3.6% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 3.4% |
| NC State | 2.1% | 4.0% | 4.3% | 3.3% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Notre Dame | 0.5% | 2.9% | 4.0% | 1.0% | 2.2% | 3.3% |
| Pittsburgh | -0.1% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 2.2% | 0.2% | 3.9% |
| UNC | 2.3% | 4.3% | 3.3% | 3.0% | 4.0% | |
| Virginia | 0.6% | 2.4% | 3.8% | 4.0% | 0.7% | 4.1% |
| Virginia Tech | 1.1% | 3.8% | 4.8% | 2.8% | 4.1% | |
| Alabama | 0.9% | 4.3% | 3.3% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 4.7% |
| Arkansas | 0.2% | 3.0% | 4.6% | 1.1% | 3.0% | 3.9% |
| Auburn | 0.3% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 2.6% | 0.7% | 3.4% |
| Florida | 0.3% | 1.9% | 4.5% | 1.5% | 4.0% | |
| Georgia | 0.6% | 3.5% | 4.6% | 3.4% | 0.9% | 3.4% |
| Kentucky | 0.7% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 2.2% | 4.6% | |
| LSU | 0.8% | 3.9% | 4.9% | 2.3% | 2.9% | |
| Missouri | 0.6% | 5.6% | 4.5% | 2.9% | 3.3% | |
| South Carolina | 0.9% | 3.5% | 4.3% | 1.8% | 4.4% | |
| Tennessee | 1.1% | 4.9% | 4.4% | 2.7% | 2.2% | 4.7% |
| Texas A&M | 0.9% | 3.9% | 5.1% | 2.6% | 6.8% | 3.7% |
| Vanderbilt | 0.3% | 4.8% | 4.4% | 5.4% | 1.0% | 3.8% |
| Iowa State | 0.9% | 3.4% | 4.9% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 4.9% |
| Kansas | 0.8% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 1.4% | 4.1% | 4.8% |
| TCU | 1.3% | 4.7% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 3.7% | |
| Texas | 0.3% | 2.9% | 3.8% | 2.7% | 0.7% | 3.0% |
| West Virginia | 1.3% | 4.0% | 4.4% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 4.4% |
| Arizona | 0.1% | 3.2% | 4.2% | 4.1% | 0.6% | 4.5% |
| Arizona St | 0.8% | 3.8% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 3.8% | 3.2% |
| California | 1.9% | 4.5% | 5.2% | 3.8% | 2.5% | 3.9% |
| Oregon St | 0.3% | 0.7% | 3.5% | 1.4% | 3.2% | 4.7% |
| USC | 0.6% | 1.7% | 5.0% | 4.1% | 0.9% | 3.1% |
| Stanford | 1.4% | 4.1% | 5.1% | 2.2% | 3.3% | 4.1% |
| UCLA | 0.6% | 2.9% | 3.8% | 2.5% | 0.9% | 3.4% |
| Utah | 1.2% | 4.0% | 4.7% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 4.8% |
| Washington St. | 0.4% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4.5% | 3.3% |
D1 Men 2016 Taper Time vs Best In Season Time, Median In Season Time and Median Time in October, November, December, and January:
| Best Time | Median Time | October | November | December | January | |
| Indiana | 1.3% | 3.9% | 5.2% | 4.7% | 1.8% | 5.1% |
| Iowa | 1.3% | 3.4% | 4.4% | 4.7% | 1.6% | 4.1% |
| Michigan | 2.3% | 4.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% | 3.2% | 4.1% |
| Michigan St | 0.9% | 3.0% | 5.6% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 4.3% |
| Minnesota | 2.0% | 2.1% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.4% |
| Northwestern | 3.0% | 4.7% | 5.5% | 4.1% | 4.1% | |
| Ohio St | 2.1% | 5.3% | 6.1% | 4.2% | 2.1% | 4.8% |
| Penn St | 1.3% | 4.3% | 4.5% | 4.0% | 1.7% | 4.7% |
| Purdue | 2.0% | 3.6% | 5.2% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 4.9% |
| Wisconsin | 1.6% | 3.5% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 2.0% | 4.1% |
| Boston College | 1.0% | 4.7% | 6.0% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 5.8% |
| Duke | 1.3% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 1.3% | 0.6% | 4.0% |
| Florida St | 0.6% | 5.4% | 5.6% | 3.4% | 1.0% | 4.1% |
| Georgia Tech | 1.6% | 4.6% | 5.4% | 2.4% | 6.0% | 4.8% |
| Louisville | 0.7% | 3.7% | 6.2% | 2.8% | 1.8% | 4.9% |
| NC State | 3.0% | 5.2% | 5.9% | 4.3% | 3.5% | 4.6% |
| Notre Dame | 3.2% | 4.3% | 6.0% | 5.0% | 5.1% | |
| Pittsburgh | -0.1% | 2.4% | 4.1% | 3.0% | 0.3% | 4.3% |
| UNC | 2.2% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 2.9% | 4.1% | |
| Virginia | 1.2% | 3.8% | 5.1% | 4.7% | 1.1% | 4.6% |
| Virginia Tech | 2.3% | 5.5% | 5.9% | 3.8% | 4.4% | 4.6% |
| Alabama | 1.4% | 3.8% | 4.8% | 1.9% | 2.8% | 5.0% |
| Auburn | 1.5% | 4.2% | 4.5% | 4.2% | 1.8% | 4.7% |
| Florida | 1.8% | 4.7% | 6.1% | 3.0% | 5.4% | |
| Georgia | 1.1% | 4.6% | 5.6% | 4.6% | 1.4% | 4.2% |
| Kentucky | 1.9% | 3.9% | 4.6% | 2.6% | 5.5% | 4.2% |
| LSU | 1.6% | 3.9% | 7.0% | 3.0% | 3.7% | |
| Missouri | 0.8% | 3.6% | 5.9% | 3.0% | 3.6% | |
| South Carolina | 1.0% | 4.5% | 4.2% | 1.6% | 4.1% | |
| Tennessee | 1.5% | 4.0% | 4.6% | 2.6% | 3.8% | |
| Texas A&M | 1.3% | 3.3% | 4.3% | 3.1% | 1.7% | 3.3% |
| TCU | 2.3% | 4.5% | 4.3% | 3.4% | 3.5% | 2.7% |
| Texas | 1.6% | 4.6% | 6.1% | 5.6% | 1.8% | 5.6% |
| West Virginia | 2.8% | 4.8% | 5.7% | 3.7% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| Arizona | 0.7% | 5.1% | 6.5% | 5.7% | 1.1% | 6.6% |
| Arizona St | 1.1% | 3.9% | 4.8% | 3.6% | 4.7% | |
| California | 1.5% | 5.4% | 6.1% | 4.9% | 2.0% | 5.4% |
| USC | 2.0% | 3.4% | 5.9% | 5.2% | 2.1% | 4.5% |
| Stanford | 2.1% | 4.6% | 5.2% | 2.8% | 3.7% | 4.6% |
| Utah | 0.5% | 3.6% | 3.7% | 1.2% | 3.9% | 3.2% |
*A few methodology notes. 1. This leaves out swimmers who don’t make their team’s conference roster because those swimmers are difficult to reliably identify. A swimmer’s last meet does not imply a taper. They could have been injured, suspended, or quit the team. 2. I completely ignored times at last chance meets. 3. Some swimmers compete in events they don’t care about at their conference meets to fill out their event line up and sandbag. This leads to swimmers adding 25% to their 50 free time. Drops outside 11% to -9% were eliminated as outliers.
Is there data out there on club swimmining percentiles for 15-18 year olds?
Yup. The Swimulator real time converter has this data. https://staging.swimswam.com/swimming-times-conversion-tool/?type=swimulator
Fill out the age you want, put in any time, select two different courses, and an event and hit the table button. It will print out a table below of percentile data for that age and event. The data set is club swimmers, not high school swimmers.
Through my experiences coaching tapers through the years it is more mental preparedness than physical. The body can recover amazingly quickly. The mind, not always so fast. The hardest thing in season is to reach the mental state that you put yourself in during a championship meet. Most of the improvement comes from that mental state. Obviously you need the work and physical preparation to improve from one mentally optimal race to the next, but most in-season fluctuations come from just not mentally being 100%. Putting on your best racing suit, traveling to the big meet, trying to make finals, cheering of your team all those make entering peak mental state way easier than throwing on your regular suit and… Read more »
Any data on if you don’t consider mid season taper an in season meet?
Never mind didn’t read far enough. Sorry!
Is there another sport where tapering is so important? Maybe distance running/triathlon.
The physiologists called the taper effect Supercompensation.
A coach needs to know how much rest the swimmer needs to maximize his Supercompensation.
Yes, Cross county runners taper.
Boxer taper too, interestingly enough.
Is it a taper, or just not getting the living tar beat out of them everyday?
Well most top level boxers spar three days per week, and they drop that a week or so before the fight. I think they drop a lot of the regular daily drills too. Boxing is a very taxing sport, even aside from getting hit in the head. Lots of lactic acid and stress hormones everyday just working the bags. That taper is needed without a doubt.
Professional rock climbers taper for competitions as well, but I don’t know enough about their taper strategies to compare with swimming. They reference it often enough though that it seems important.
Just curious, but it seems that in individual events men nearly always have a higher percentage improvement over their median time. Is this simply because men have more muscle mass, on average, than women and therefore taper works to a slightly higher degree for them? This is purely a speculation, I welcome any critics on it.
Men also have more body hair, so shaving probably affects men more than women.
H.S.!
How long did that take you Andrew?
Yea what is the square root of 12345678987654321?
Curiously, the answer is 111,111,111…