FINA Points Calculator

How this FINA points calculator works

Choose the event
Pick the course (LCM or SCM), men's or women's, the stroke or Relays, and the event. Only events with a world record in Calcora's dataset are offered.
Enter your time
Type it the way swimming times are written: 48.92, 1:48.72, or 15:32.18. It is read to the hundredth of a second, with no rounding.
Compare it with the world record
The event's world record is the base time B, and your time is T. You never type the base time: the event sets it.
Score it
Points are 1000 × (B / T)³, truncated to a whole number. A time equal to the world record scores exactly 1000.

What FINA points are

FINA points, now known as World Aquatics points, compare swimming performances across events using a cubic scoring formula. FINA was renamed World Aquatics in 2022, but many swimmers and coaches still call them FINA points.

Every event has a base time, and a swim as fast as the base time scores 1000 points. Slower swims score fewer points and faster swims score more, so a 50 m sprint and a 1500 m swim can be compared on one scale.

How the formula works

Every score below is calculated the same way as the calculator above, against the world records in Calcora's dataset.

P equals 1000 times B divided by T, cubed.

P: Points, truncated to a whole number
B: The base time: the event's world record
T: The swimmer's time

Both times are converted to seconds internally; Calcora keeps them in whole hundredths, so the ratio is exact. For men's 100 m freestyle, long course, the world record is 46.40. A swim of 48.92 scores 1000 × (46.40 ÷ 48.92)³ = 853.28…, truncated to 853 points.

Example scores

Event, world record, swim time, and points for each example swim
Event	World record	Time	Points
Men 100 m FreestyleLCM	46.40	46.40	1000
Men 100 m FreestyleLCM	46.40	48.92	853
Men 200 m FreestyleLCM	1:42.00	1:48.72	825
Women 1500 m FreestyleLCM	15:20.48	15:32.18	962
Men 4 × 100 m Freestyle RelayLCM	3:08.24	3:10.50	964
Women 100 m Individual MedleySCM	55.11	58.20	849

Base times, courses, and scoring

What the base time means

The base time B is the time worth exactly 1000 points in an event. Calcora uses the current world record for the course, gender, and event you choose, from its verified dataset.

Each combination has its own base time: men's 100 m freestyle long course is a different record from women's, and from men's short course.

LCM vs SCM

Long course (LCM) races are swum in a 50 m pool and short course (SCM) races in a 25 m pool. Short course races have more turns and push-offs, and their world records are faster.

Each course has its own records, so the same time scores differently in each. A score compares a swim with the record for its own course; it does not convert a time from one course to the other.

Individual events and relays

Individual events are scored against the individual world record, and relays against the relay world record for the team's total time, not one leg.

The 100 m individual medley and the 4 × 50 m relays are short course events. Mixed relays are not included: the calculator covers men's and women's records.

Why points use a cubic curve

The ratio of the base time to your time is cubed, so each percent of time costs about three percent of the points near the record, not one.

A time 1% slower than the base time scores 970 points, 5% slower 863, and 10% slower 751.

Why results are truncated

World Aquatics points are whole numbers cut down to the integer, not rounded: 853.99 becomes 853. Calcora works out the exact value from the two times in hundredths, so a score is never pushed across a whole number by rounding.

How target points are calculated

Turning the formula around gives T = B × ∛(1000 ÷ P). That time is rarely a whole hundredth, so Calcora starts from it, moves one hundredth at a time, and checks each candidate with the points formula.

It shows the slowest time, to the hundredth, that scores at least your target. When no time scores the target exactly, the time shown scores a point or more above it.

Current world records vs annual World Aquatics base tables

Calcora uses the current world record in its verified dataset as the base time. Official World Aquatics annual points tables may use a record cutoff date and can therefore differ after a new world record is set.

If a record is set after a table's cutoff, a table that still uses the older, slower record as its base time gives the same swim more points than Calcora does. Scores match whenever the base times match.

The records are bundled with this page, not fetched while you use it, and are updated by hand when a world record changes. Each one was checked against both sources below; a record they disagree on is left out until they agree.

World-record data

Verified October 15, 2026, against:

Assumptions

The base time B is the current world record for the selected course, gender, and event, from Calcora's verified world-record dataset. It is never typed in.
Calcora uses the current world record in its verified dataset as the base time. Official World Aquatics annual points tables may use a record cutoff date and can therefore differ after a new world record is set.
Times are read to the hundredth of a second. Points are 1000 × (B / T)³, calculated exactly from the two times in hundredths and truncated to a whole number, never rounded.
Scores are not capped at 1000: a time faster than the stored world record scores more. That does not mean a record was broken or ratified.
A target time is the slowest time, to the hundredth, that scores at least the target, checked with the same formula.
Only men's and women's open world records are included. Mixed relays and age-group, junior, masters, and para records are not. Relays are scored on the team's total time.
Two events are not offered until the sources agree on their records: men's 200 m breaststroke in long course and men's 400 m individual medley in short course.
The dataset is bundled with the page and updated by hand when a record changes. Nothing is fetched while you use the calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What are FINA points?

FINA points, now known as World Aquatics points, score a swim against a base time for its event, so performances in different events can be compared. A time equal to the base time scores 1000 points; slower times score fewer, and faster times score more.

How are FINA points calculated?

Points are 1000 × (B / T)³, where B is the base time and T is the swim time, both in seconds, truncated to a whole number. For example, 48.92 in men's 100 m freestyle, long course, against the 46.40 world record scores 853 points.

What base time does Calcora use?

The current world record for the course, gender, and event you choose, from Calcora's verified world-record dataset. You do not enter it: the event sets it. The page shows the date the records were last verified.

Why does LCM have different points from SCM?

Long course (50 m pool) and short course (25 m pool) have separate world records, and short course records are faster. Each course is scored against its own record, so the same time is worth different points in each.

Can FINA points exceed 1000?

Yes. A time faster than the base time scores more than 1000 points, and Calcora does not cap the score. A faster time than the record stored in Calcora's dataset does not mean a world record was broken or ratified.

Are relays supported?

Yes. Choose Relays to score a team's total time against the men's or women's relay world record for that course: 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m freestyle and 4 × 100 m medley in both courses, plus 4 × 50 m freestyle and medley in short course. Mixed relays are not included.

Why might Calcora differ from an annual World Aquatics points table?

Does Calcora store my swim time?

No. The calculation runs in your browser. Your time and event are not sent to Calcora or saved, and they are cleared when you leave or reload the page.

Related calculators

The FINA Points Calculator is the first calculator in Calcora's Sports category. To find another calculator, browse the full list of calculators.