France · FFN

How the grille de qualification works

A grille de qualification is the table of entry times for a French national championship: one row per event, one column per age band, one time per cell. Swim the time inside the window, at a listed meet, in a 50m pool, and your swimmer is qualified. That last clause does real work — and so does the age model, which changed completely in 2026.

2025/2026 seasonUpdated July 2026595 times transcribed

The 2026 reform

The categories your club still says out loud no longer exist

The FFN regulation puts it plainly: 2026 voit l'abandon de la classification des compétiteurs par catégorie, exit avenirs, benjamins, juniors. Avenirs, Benjamins and Juniors are gone, replaced by U12 through U18, plus Seniors, keyed to the age a swimmer reaches during the calendar year — so a band never changes mid-season.

There is no "Championnats de France Juniors" any more

That meet is now the Championnats de France U18. If you're searching for Juniors grids, you're searching for a meet that no longer exists under that name.

A "U" band is inclusive downward

U16 means every swimmer aged 16 and under, not only 16-year-olds. The regulation's own example: a 13-year-old who swims the U14 qualifying time is qualified for the France U18. The grids still print one time per birth year, so a younger swimmer should read every column at or above their own.

The grids

Grilles de qualification, 2025/2026

One grid per meet. The Challenge National grid is not symmetric between genders (five columns for women, six for men), so don't read across from one to the other.

Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification Championnats de France U18 50m, May 25 – 30, 2026 Show times Hide times
Long course (50 m) · Female Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 10-14 ans (born 2012–2016) — the U14 column of the U18 50m and Challenge National grids Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 15 ans (born 2011) — U15 Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 16 ans (born 2010) — U16 Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 17 ans (born 2009) — U17 Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 18 ans (born 2008) — U18
50 m Free 28.5828.0127.7127.3327.09
100 m Free 1:02.331:00.5359.9159.1958.65
200 m Free 2:16.252:11.862:10.842:08.602:07.55
400 m Free 4:44.844:36.874:32.624:28.394:27.47
800 m Free 9:44.609:25.599:21.589:09.949:09.46
1500 m Free 18:53.2618:07.5517:55.7617:43.0817:39.73
50 m Back 32.8031.9831.4531.1030.86
100 m Back 1:10.871:09.241:08.051:06.941:06.53
200 m Back 2:32.412:29.092:26.812:25.642:24.78
50 m Breast 36.4035.3534.7234.3334.14
100 m Breast 1:19.661:17.081:16.431:16.041:15.30
200 m Breast 2:51.962:46.732:45.612:43.672:42.66
50 m Fly 30.4729.5829.1728.7928.58
100 m Fly 1:08.921:06.541:05.361:04.591:04.04
200 m Fly 2:38.792:31.162:28.412:24.202:23.74
200 m IM 2:34.132:30.892:28.152:26.952:25.47
400 m IM 5:27.345:15.025:12.755:08.725:07.02
Long course (50 m) · Male Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 10-14 ans (born 2012–2016) — the U14 column of the U18 50m and Challenge National grids Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 15 ans (born 2011) — U15 Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 16 ans (born 2010) — U16 Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 17 ans (born 2009) — U17 Championnats de France U18 50m — temps de qualification 18 ans (born 2008) — U18
50 m Free 26.6925.8425.1224.6224.12
100 m Free 58.3556.4054.7453.5852.84
200 m Free 2:07.822:03.321:59.171:57.161:55.48
400 m Free 4:30.664:19.174:13.104:06.124:02.58
800 m Free 9:20.588:56.138:43.258:31.048:25.11
1500 m Free 17:57.7517:06.9116:37.5916:13.0116:02.04
50 m Back 31.0129.7528.8228.0827.69
100 m Back 1:07.511:03.801:02.161:00.7059.70
200 m Back 2:27.362:19.062:15.122:11.692:10.64
50 m Breast 34.3732.4431.4730.7930.10
100 m Breast 1:15.491:11.831:08.991:07.271:06.34
200 m Breast 2:45.402:36.442:29.682:27.332:26.62
50 m Fly 28.6927.5726.7226.0525.55
100 m Fly 1:04.551:01.6859.4658.1957.14
200 m Fly 2:27.532:17.952:14.772:11.642:09.44
200 m IM 2:26.462:19.612:15.932:12.612:10.50
400 m IM 5:09.804:57.124:48.114:42.694:39.07
Championnats de France Élite 50m — temps de qualification Championnats de France Élite 50m, June 27 – July 2, 2026 Show times Hide times
Long course (50 m) · Female Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Championnats de France Élite 50m — temps de qualification
50 m Free 26.84
100 m Free 58.10
200 m Free 2:06.50
400 m Free 4:26.55
800 m Free 9:08.98
1500 m Free 17:36.38
50 m Back 30.61
100 m Back 1:06.11
200 m Back 2:23.92
50 m Breast 33.94
100 m Breast 1:14.56
200 m Breast 2:41.64
50 m Fly 28.36
100 m Fly 1:03.48
200 m Fly 2:23.28
200 m IM 2:23.98
400 m IM 5:05.32
Long course (50 m) · Male Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Championnats de France Élite 50m — temps de qualification
50 m Free 23.62
100 m Free 51.45
200 m Free 1:53.42
400 m Free 4:00.52
800 m Free 8:19.70
1500 m Free 15:59.20
50 m Back 27.01
100 m Back 58.30
200 m Back 2:08.28
50 m Breast 29.65
100 m Breast 1:05.27
200 m Breast 2:24.24
50 m Fly 25.09
100 m Fly 55.79
200 m Fly 2:07.42
200 m IM 2:08.65
400 m IM 4:34.71
Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification Challenge National #1, April 17 – 19, 2026 · Challenge National #2, May 22 – 24, 2026 Show times Hide times
Long course (50 m) · Female Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 10-14 ans (born 2012–2016) — the U14 column of the U18 50m and Challenge National grids Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 15 ans (born 2011) — U15 Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 16 ans (born 2010) — U16 Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 17 ans (born 2009) — U17 Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 18 ans et plus (born 2008 or earlier)
50 m Free 30.0029.2728.8128.2827.78
100 m Free 1:05.441:03.251:02.301:01.261:00.14
200 m Free 2:23.062:17.792:16.072:13.102:10.93
400 m Free 4:59.084:49.324:43.524:37.784:35.88
800 m Free 10:13.839:51.049:44.049:29.189:28.20
1500 m Free 19:49.9218:56.4818:38.7918:20.2818:13.35
50 m Back 34.4433.4132.7032.1831.68
100 m Back 1:14.411:12.351:10.771:09.281:08.42
200 m Back 2:40.032:35.792:32.682:30.732:28.96
50 m Breast 38.2236.9436.1035.5335.12
100 m Breast 1:23.641:20.541:19.481:18.701:17.17
200 m Breast 3:00.552:54.232:52.232:49.392:47.30
50 m Fly 31.9930.9130.3329.7929.36
100 m Fly 1:12.361:09.531:07.971:06.851:05.70
200 m Fly 2:46.722:37.962:34.342:29.242:28.29
200 m IM 2:41.832:37.682:34.072:32.092:29.02
400 m IM 5:43.705:29.195:25.265:19.525:16.00
Long course (50 m) · Male Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 10-14 ans (born 2012–2016) — the U14 column of the U18 50m and Challenge National grids Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 15 ans (born 2011) — U15 Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 16 ans (born 2010) — U16 Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 17 ans (born 2009) — U17 Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 18 ans (born 2008) — U18 Challenge National #1 / #2 — temps de qualification 19 ans et plus (born 2007 or earlier) — SENIORS
50 m Free 28.0227.0026.1225.4824.8424.44
100 m Free 1:01.2658.9356.9355.4554.4253.25
200 m Free 2:14.212:08.862:03.932:01.261:58.941:57.39
400 m Free 4:44.194:30.834:23.224:14.734:09.854:08.94
800 m Free 9:48.609:20.259:04.188:48.928:40.268:37.19
1500 m Free 18:51.6317:53.1217:17.4916:47.0616:30.9016:29.77
50 m Back 32.5631.0829.9729.0628.5227.96
100 m Back 1:10.881:06.671:04.641:02.821:01.491:00.34
200 m Back 2:34.722:25.312:20.522:16.292:14.552:12.77
50 m Breast 36.0833.9032.7231.8631.0030.69
100 m Breast 1:19.261:15.061:11.751:09.621:08.331:07.56
200 m Breast 2:53.672:43.482:35.662:32.482:31.012:29.28
50 m Fly 30.1228.8127.7826.9626.3125.96
100 m Fly 1:07.771:04.451:01.831:00.2258.8557.75
200 m Fly 2:34.902:24.152:20.162:16.242:13.322:11.88
200 m IM 2:33.782:25.892:21.362:17.252:14.412:13.15
400 m IM 5:25.295:10.494:59.634:52.584:47.444:44.33
Open d'Été — temps de qualification Open d'Été, July 17 – 22, 2026 Show times Hide times
Long course (50 m) · Female Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Open d'Été — temps de qualification 14 ans (born 2012) — U14 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 15 ans (born 2011) — U15 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 16 ans (born 2010) — U16 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 17 ans (born 2009) — U17 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 18 ans (born 2008) — U18 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 19 ans et plus (born 2007 or earlier) — SENIORS
50 m Free 28.5828.0127.7127.3327.0926.84
100 m Free 1:02.331:00.5359.9159.1958.6558.10
200 m Free 2:16.252:11.862:10.842:08.602:07.552:06.50
400 m Free 4:44.844:36.874:32.624:28.394:27.474:26.55
800 m Free 9:44.609:25.599:21.589:09.949:09.469:08.98
1500 m Free 18:53.2618:07.5517:55.7617:43.0817:39.7317:36.38
50 m Back 32.8031.9831.4531.1030.8630.61
100 m Back 1:10.871:09.241:08.051:06.941:06.531:06.11
200 m Back 2:32.412:29.092:26.812:25.642:24.782:23.92
50 m Breast 36.4035.3534.7234.3334.1433.94
100 m Breast 1:19.661:17.081:16.431:16.041:15.301:14.56
200 m Breast 2:51.962:46.732:45.612:43.672:42.662:41.64
50 m Fly 30.4729.5829.1728.7928.5828.36
100 m Fly 1:08.921:06.541:05.361:04.591:04.041:03.48
200 m Fly 2:38.792:31.162:28.412:24.202:23.742:23.28
200 m IM 2:34.132:30.892:28.152:26.952:25.472:23.98
400 m IM 5:27.345:15.025:12.755:08.725:07.025:05.32
Long course (50 m) · Male Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns
Event Open d'Été — temps de qualification 14 ans (born 2012) — U14 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 15 ans (born 2011) — U15 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 16 ans (born 2010) — U16 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 17 ans (born 2009) — U17 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 18 ans (born 2008) — U18 Open d'Été — temps de qualification 19 ans et plus (born 2007 or earlier) — SENIORS
50 m Free 26.6925.8425.1224.6224.1223.62
100 m Free 58.3556.4054.7453.5852.8451.45
200 m Free 2:07.822:03.321:59.171:57.161:55.481:53.42
400 m Free 4:30.664:19.174:13.104:06.124:02.584:00.52
800 m Free 9:20.588:56.138:43.258:31.048:25.118:19.70
1500 m Free 17:57.7517:06.9116:37.5916:13.0116:02.0415:59.20
50 m Back 31.0129.7528.8228.0827.6927.01
100 m Back 1:07.511:03.801:02.161:00.7059.7058.30
200 m Back 2:27.362:19.062:15.122:11.692:10.642:08.28
50 m Breast 34.3732.4431.4730.7930.1029.65
100 m Breast 1:15.491:11.831:08.991:07.271:06.341:05.27
200 m Breast 2:45.402:36.442:29.682:27.332:26.622:24.24
50 m Fly 28.6927.5726.7226.0525.5525.09
100 m Fly 1:04.551:01.6859.4658.1957.1455.79
200 m Fly 2:27.532:17.952:14.772:11.642:09.442:07.42
200 m IM 2:26.462:19.612:15.932:12.612:10.502:08.65
400 m IM 5:09.804:57.124:48.114:42.694:39.074:34.71

Every grid is 50m only

Temps à réaliser exclusivement en bassin de 50 mètres. A short course time does not qualify a swimmer for any of these meets, at any age. That's stricter than several neighboring federations, and it shapes how French clubs plan a season — which raises the obvious question about the winter championships.

The Championnats de France Élite 25m in October and the Championnats de France U18 25m in December qualify by ranking position alone: the FFN arrests the 50m rankings on 31 August and admits a fixed number per event. Nothing was left out here; for those two meets the only question is where your swimmer sits on the list.

The ranking list is a second way in

Even for the meets that do have grids, the time is a guarantee rather than a wall: the U18 50m and Open d'Été grids carry an Effectif depth per event, and if too few swimmers hit the time, the ranking list tops the field up. Qualifying performances also only count from listed competitions inside each meet's own window — national and Ligue championships, the Challenge Nationals, the FFN qualifying circuit and listed international meets.

The grille and the cotation FFN are different systems

These two get conflated constantly, and they are different systems doing different jobs. A grille de qualification is a table of entry times for a specific championship: it answers, can my swimmer be entered? The cotation FFN is France's own national points table, a coefficient-based scale rating the quality of a performance: it answers, how good was that swim, on a French scale?

And a third thing, distinct from both: World Aquatics points (still widely called points FINA) are an international scale built from world-benchmark base times. The cotation FFN and World Aquatics points are not interchangeable and their numbers do not compare.

One grid isn't published yet

The Championnats de France U13 « Lucien-Zins » grid exists in the regulation with the times replaced by the words Publication fin juillet in every cell, for both genders. It was still absent when we last checked, we haven't guessed at it, and this page updates when it appears.

Reading a French season

A lot of French parents are currently comparing their child to a category system that no longer exists, or to older siblings who swam under different names. If the grid feels like it moved, it did. What didn't move is the clock — a best time is a best time under any classification, and a season where the category shifts underneath a swimmer is exactly the season to talk in gains rather than gaps.

Questions

Common questions

Qu'est-ce qu'une grille de qualification en natation?

A table published by the FFN listing the entry time required for each event and age band at a given national championship. Swim the time at a listed meet inside the qualifying window, in a 50m pool, and the swimmer is qualified.

Do the Avenirs, Benjamins and Juniors categories still exist?

No. From 2026 the FFN replaced them with U12 to U18 plus Seniors, keyed to the age reached during the calendar year. The meet formerly known as the Championnats de France Juniors is now the France U18.

Can a 13-year-old qualify for the France U18?

Yes. The bands are inclusive downward, and the regulation gives exactly this example: a 13-year-old who swims the U14 qualifying time is qualified for the U18 championship.

Is the cotation FFN the same as points FINA?

No. The cotation FFN is a French national points table; World Aquatics points (still called points FINA) are an international scale built from world-benchmark base times. The two produce different numbers and can't be compared.

The lookup

Where does your swimmer actually stand?

Find your swimmer's column in one step — every French grid their birth year can be measured against, including the older bands they're allowed to chase.

Straight to a birth year

Source

Where these numbers come from

Grilles des classements qualificatifs — Championnats de France U18 50m, Saison 2025/2026 Fédération Française de Natation (extraNat, official FFN results/qualification platform) · Retrieved July 26, 2026

Grilles des classements qualificatifs — Championnats de France Elite, Saison 2025/2026 Fédération Française de Natation (extraNat) · Retrieved July 26, 2026

Grilles des classements qualificatifs — Challenge National, Saison 2025/2026 Fédération Française de Natation (extraNat) · Retrieved July 26, 2026

Grilles des classements qualificatifs — OPEN d'été, Saison 2025/2026 Fédération Française de Natation (extraNat) · Retrieved July 26, 2026

Règlements sportifs — Natation Course 2026 (102 pp.) Fédération Française de Natation · Published November 28, 2025 · Retrieved July 26, 2026

What to know about this transcription

  • The 2026/2027 grids are NOT published. The extraNat season selector tops out at '2025 / 2026' (checked 2026-07-26; idsai=2027 returns no competitions), so this dataset is the currently applicable set even though several of its meets have already been held.
  • One cell disagrees between the two official FFN sources: Challenge National, MESSIEURS, 1500 nage libre, '19 ans et plus'. extraNat = 16:29.77, règlement PDF p.48 = 16:32.77. This dataset uses extraNat (the live grid). Rationale: 16:32.77 would make the 19+ standard SLOWER than the 18-year-old standard (16:30.90), which contradicts every other row in every grid. All other 594 cells agree exactly between the two documents.
  • MAJOR RULE CHANGE — the categories named in older material no longer exist. From 2026 the FFN abandoned Avenirs / Benjamins / Juniors (« 2026 voit l'abandon de la classification des compétiteurs par catégorie, exit avenirs, benjamins, juniors ») in favour of U12–U18 + SENIORS, keyed to the age reached during the calendar year, i.e. year of birth. There is no longer a 'Championnats de France Juniors' — the equivalent meet is the Championnats de France U18.
  • Column structure is gender-asymmetric in the Challenge National grid: women get 5 columns ending in '18 ans et plus', men get 6 ending in '19 ans et plus'. Consumers must not assume a symmetric grid.
  • The U14 column of the U18 50m and Challenge National grids is published as '10-14 ans (2012 - 2016)', so it is encoded as birthYears 2012–2016. The règlement's prose definition of U14 is looser ('nés en 2012 et après', no lower bound); the grid's 2016 floor is used because it is what the published table states.
  • Short-course (25 m) national championships carry NO qualifying-time table and are therefore absent from this dataset. Championnats de France Élite 25m (22-25 Oct) and Championnats de France U18 25m (8-12 Dec) qualify purely on 50 m ranking position — e.g. Élite 25m takes the top 48 (50 free), 64 (100 free), 56 (200 free), 48 (400 free), 32 (800/1500 free) French swimmers from the 50 m season rankings arrested 31 August; U18 25m takes ranks 12/14/14/12/10/8 per year of age. No times exist to extract.
  • Championnats de France U13 25m 'Lucien-ZINS' (17-19 Dec 2026) DOES use a qualifying-time grid, in 25 m, but the règlement prints the whole table as 'Publication fin juillet' — it was still unpublished at retrieval (2026-07-26, checked on ffnatation.fr and extraNat). This is the one genuinely missing parent-facing FFN grid; nothing was guessed for it.
  • Every grid is 50 m only (« Temps à réaliser exclusivement en bassin de 50 mètres »), so the dataset contains no SCM cells.
  • The 'Effectif'/'Rk' columns present in the U18 50m and Open d'Été grids (12/14/16/8) are ranking depths, not times, and are deliberately not stored; they are described in each standardSet's description.
  • Meeting a time is sufficient but not the only route: the U18/Open sets top up their fields from rankings when too few swimmers hit the time, and Élite/Open entry can also be earned by finishing top 4 at the France U18 25m or the Challenge National webconfront@tion. A time-only lookup will under-report who is qualified.
  • FFN does not state exact season boundary dates. season.start/end are approximated from the règlement's rule that no competition may be declared between 1 and 15 September; every standardSet carries its own literal qualification window in validity, which is the authoritative date range.
  • Modeling fix 2026-07-26 (no time value changed): the AGE_18PLUS and AGE_19PLUS predicates referenced "dec31_of_season", which resolves to 31 December of the season's START year (2025) and made a 2008-born swimmer 17 and a 2007-born swimmer 18. FFN classifies by the age reached during the competition calendar year, so both now reference the explicit date 2026-12-31: born 2008 = 18 (18 ans et plus), born 2007 = 19 (SENIORS).