Connecticut High School Swimming Championships can be confusing if you are new to high school swimming.
There are two rounds of championship meets for high school swimming in CT.
The first is the conference (league) championships. The conference championship meet is determined by your geographical location, and you swim against the teams you have dual meets against during the season. Those are the teams in your conference.
There are approximately 10 different conferences in CT.
Girls conference meets are at the end of October/beginning of November.
Conference meets are not all run the same; each conference has their own rules.
For example, the SWC (Southwest Connecticut) is a timed final meet with qualifying times.
But the FCIAC (Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference), has no qualifying times, and they run a trials/finals meet with trials usually on a Wednesday and the top 16 returning for finals, usually on Saturday.
The second championship meet is the State Championship meet, held in mid-November.
There are 4 different State Championship meets, and these are based on the school size: S (small), M (medium), L (large), LL (extra large).
State championship meets have qualifying times, and the top 36 entries in each event qualify for state trials.
Qualifying times give you automatic entry to state trials. If all 36 spots in an event are not filled by automatic qualifiers, the next fastest entry times will be accepted until all 36 spots are filled. (So it is possible to make it to state trials without getting the cut).
The top 24 swimmers return for State Finals (A, B, and C Final).
In 2026, all girls’ state championship meets are held at Cornerstone Pool in West Hartford. State trials are on Friday 11/13 or Saturday, 11/14, and finals are held on the following Tuesday 11/17 or Wednesday 11/18.
There is one more meet following the state championship meets: the State Open, or “Opens” as most people refer to it.
Opens are held at Yale and are usually about a week after state trials. This year they are on Sunday, 11/22.
The top 24 times across all the state final meets from all four classes (S, M, L and LL) qualify for the State Open. You can move up to any place from where you are seeded at Opens.
The top 3 individual finishers and the top 2 relays teams in every event at each state finals meet and/or the top 10 finishers in each event at Opens are named to the CT All State Teams.
All State swimmers and divers are recognized at the CT All State Banquet at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantville, CT about a week after the season ends.
Good luck to all CT high school swimmers this championship season!
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