Goal setting becomes increasingly important as swimmers move into the Age Group Performance stage. Training volume increases, competition standards rise, and swimmers begin to experience the pressure of expectations — both internal and external. At this stage, goals are no longer just about what swimmers want to achieve, but how they approach their training, racing, and daily habits. This guide explains how Outcome, Performance, and Process Goals work together

Understanding progress in a sport that feels different Every swimmer begins with a dream — from learning new skills to qualifying for Counties, breaking a time barrier, or one day reaching Nationals. But a dream on its own isn’t enough. To make it real, you need structure, direction, and a plan. That’s why we set goals.

Swim England and Aquatics GB encourage a balanced approach to competition.Young swimmers should experience a range of strokes and distances, including 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m freestyle, to build a strong foundation for future success in the sport. Early distance exposure isn’t about specialising — it develops complete swimmers with the fitness, pacing control and resilience needed to progress confidently through the sport.