--- title: "Swimming age categories Portugal: how birth years work" description: "Swimming age categories in Portugal are set by birth year for the whole season, so birthdays don’t move swimmers. The category sets the meet rules and qualifying table that apply." url: "https://swimtrack.ai/blog/why-is-my-kid-in-infantis-a/" lang: "en" author: "SwimTrack" publisher: "SwimTrack" license: "Free to read and quote with attribution to SwimTrack. Not for resale. https://swimtrack.ai/terms/" published: 2026-08-13 pillar: "training-development" audience: "parent" --- # Swimming age categories Portugal: how birth years work Swimming age categories in Portugal are set by birth year for the whole season, so birthdays don’t move swimmers. The category sets the meet rules and qualifying table that apply. > **Idea in Brief** > - **Birth year sets the category.** FPN fixes it when the season opens, and birthdays don't change it. > - **Category years shift each season.** In 2026–27, Infantis A means swimmers born in 2013. > - **Being youngest needs context.** Compare your swimmer with their past times, not older swimmers in the bracket. The start lists go up by the pool entrance, and you find your daughter's name under Infantis A. A boy from her class, born in 2012, sits under Juvenis B, even though school puts them close together. The rule is simpler than the headings. FPN sets the category from the year on the birth certificate. The 2026–27 season opened on 15 September 2026. In this season, Infantis B means born in 2014; Infantis A, 2013; Juvenis B, 2012; Juvenis A, 2011; Juniores, 2009 or 2010; and Seniores, 2008 or earlier. That map holds for the whole season. A birthday changes their age, but it doesn't move them into another category. Grouping by birth year keeps each cohort together. Everyone born in 2013 follows the same category rules until the next season opens. Then the birth years shift, and the whole cohort moves up together. There is no birthday shuffle halfway through the season. School years don't decide any of this. You can find the complete birth-year table on [the escalões page](https://swimtrack.ai/time-standards/portugal-escaloes/). The trade-off sits inside each birth year. A swimmer born in January 2013 and one born in December 2013 are in Infantis A together, though they can be about eleven months apart. Bodies also mature at different rates. [Our piece on age-group times](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/is-that-a-good-time-for-their-age) explains why swimmers in one birth year can look much further apart. If your swimmer is among the youngest, use the habit from [gap vs. gain](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/gap-vs-gain): compare their current times with where they started. If times stall, [The plateau year](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-plateau-year) adds context for that pause. Moving up changes the paperwork more than it changes the swimmer. Each category has its own [national qualifying times](https://swimtrack.ai/time-standards/portugal-fpn-tac). A swimmer may meet a harder table in the new category, even though nothing changed overnight in their swimming. At many clubs, this is also when training groups are reviewed. The coach decides how those groups work. The category change simply arrives for the whole birth-year cohort at once. The names don't stay attached to the same birth years. Infantis A means 2013 in 2026–27, but the year under that label shifts next season. The category tells you which meet rules and qualifying table apply. It doesn't tell you how good your swimmer is. Read it for those practical details, then return your attention to their progress. --- ### Share it with your swimmer Keep the explanation close to what matters at their age: - **Under 12 (you're driving).** *“Everyone born in your year swims in the same category.”* This makes the name feel like simple age sorting. - **12–15 (sharing the wheel).** *“Next season, your times will use a different table, along with everyone born in your year.”* This makes the change predictable. - **16+ (they're driving).** *“What changes for you when your category moves up?”* This gives them room to explain their own experience. ### Stay aligned with your coach The coach handles entries and any training-group decisions. You handle the calendar and help your swimmer read the category without making it a verdict. Ask: *“Which meets apply to their category this year, and which qualifying table should we use?”* ### Keep exploring - [Is that a good swim time for their age? Compare personal progress](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/is-that-a-good-time-for-their-age) — How age benchmarks and previous bests give a swim context. - [Gap vs gain: what to say to your swimmer after a race](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/gap-vs-gain) — Use gap vs gain to name progress without hiding a slower swim. - [Swimming plateau: why times stall and when to ask the coach](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-plateau-year) — Why times stall and which signs are worth raising with the coach. - [Portugal's escalões and birth years](https://swimtrack.ai/time-standards/portugal-escaloes/) — Portugal’s escalões and their birth years. - [The FPN TAC tables](https://swimtrack.ai/time-standards/portugal-fpn-tac/) — Find FPN TAC by escalão, event, pool and gender. ## Related reading - [Is that a good swim time for their age? How to judge it](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/is-that-a-good-time-for-their-age/) - [Gap vs gain: what to say to your swimmer after a race](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/gap-vs-gain/) - [Swimming plateau: why times stall and when to ask the coach](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-plateau-year/) --- SwimTrack — https://swimtrack.ai HTML version of this page: https://swimtrack.ai/blog/why-is-my-kid-in-infantis-a/