Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence Program
Swimming Australia Nutrition Partner, Bio Island, is the official naming rights partner of the Australian Junior Excellence (JX) program which recognises performances of swimmers aged 9 – 13 to encourage and inspire the next generation of competitive swimmers.
Delivered in conjunction with all states and territories, this program provides junior swimmers with access to a host of elite role models, including the program's national ambassador – Dolphin Jack McLoughlin – along with receiving live recognition of achievements via Swim Central and program merchandise.
Within the JX program, junior swimmers strive to achieve gold, silver, bronze or blue standard times when they compete throughout the year, with swimming clinics offered throughout the year in every state and territory.
Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell said she is proud and excited with the Bio Island partnership and opportunity to deliver this national program.
"Rewarding, recognising and encouraging junior swimmers as they strive to reach their full potential is at the heart of this program and I'm delighted Bio Island will support us in growing grassroots swimming," Russell said.
"Bio Island's philosophy to inspire Australians to live a healthy and active lifestyle aligns with our ideals, so we sincerely value this partnership and hope it will continue to strengthen across the course of the program until 2022.
"This united approach to streamline the program will benefit young swimmers across the country, so we're looking forward to watching children continue to thrive and flourish through the Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence Recognition Program."
A Commonwealth Games gold medallist, McLoughlin said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to be a national ambassador for the program.
"As a kid I took part in JX and it was something I was proud of, so to be able to give back to junior swimming and help these young swimmers is something I'm very passionate about," McLoughlin said.
"If you were able to reach a gold or silver standard time you really felt like you were achieving something special, and you'd wear your cap around the pool like a badge of honour."
Bio Island Director Amanda Fox said she was delighted by the role that this partnership would play in shaping the future of Australian swimming.
"Bio Island is thrilled to be involved in the growth and achievements of the upcoming generation of swimmers through the Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence program," Fox said.
"During our partnership we are eager to build the community of swimming, along with Swimming Australia, making sure we encourage and inspire swimmers at all levels, their families and the support teams involved.
"With the program including with some of our nation's youngest competitors, Bio Island's goal will be supporting each participant's journey to becoming the best they can be."
History of the program
The Junior Excellence Program was established in 2007 to recognise, reward and incentivise junior swimmers who are on part of their swimming journey, learning and refining as they develop into senior swimmers. Each year Swimming Australia releases the JX criteria and standards for the forthcoming season which swimmers, parents and coaches can use as targets throughout the year.
Swimmers aged from 9 to 13 years, who accomplish times set by Swimming Australia, qualify at gold, silver, bronze or blue standard, depending on their best performance/s during the season.
All 'approved' swim meet results are loaded into the Swimming Australia's Swim Central and used as results towards an overall award for each individual swimmer. At the end of the qualification period, Swimming Australia will publish the JX results on the website.
Please see below for frequently asked questions.
Qualifying Standards and Criteria
Qualifying time for the 2020-21 season can be viewed here. Please note that times achieved since May 1 2020 will be included in the 2020-2021 Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence season.
2019-2020 JX QTs
The qualifying times are in! The 2019-2020 season can be viewed here. Please note that times achieved since May 1 2019 will be included in the 2019-2020 Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence season.
We appreciate your patience as Swimming Australia has done a comprehensive review of the qualifying standards for the upcoming season based on the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships.
NSW & ACT
​​JX Legends
Live Recognition
The Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence Program now has live recognition! For the first time in the program's history, young swimmers will receive a congratulatory email alerting them to the new JX qualifying time they have achieved. If you have any further questions about JX live recognition, please contact clubs@swimming.org.au with your enquiry or visit the Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence Program page on the Swimming Australia website.
Please note: Once Western Australia has transitioned to Swim Central, participants in WA will start receiving alerts too. Further information will be provided in due course.
How do I register for the Bio Island Australian JX Program?
No registration is required for the Bio Island Australian Junior Excellence (JX) Program. All results are calculated by Swimming Australia automatically using swim meet results uploaded by clubs, regions, districts and state associations into Swim Central.
How do I qualify for the Bio Island Australian JX program?
The Bio Island Australian JX program will automatically recognise performances of swimmers aged between 9-13 years-old from 1 May 2020 through to 30 April 2021, and based on the times they swim, they can achieve gold, silver, bronze or blue standard.
Qualifying for the program is simple, swimmers just need to be a member of an Australian swimming club and achieve a qualifying time at an approved meet. To find out what events are approved, please contact your State/Territory office or refer to the relevant competition's flyer.
How do I find out if I have qualified?
At the conclusion of the Bio Island Australian JX season, April 30 2021, Swimming Australia prepares the final JX results and publishes them to the Bio Island Australian JX section on the website.
Prior to the release of the results, Swimming Australia will publicise the release date, in an effort to make all swimmers and clubs aware of the release date and time via its social media channels and website.
What happens when I have my birthday during the qualifying period?
If your child has a birthday within the JX season, they will be recognised with their highest standard achieved in one age bracket – not both. Furthermore, lead off times will not be recognised in the program, only individual swims will qualify.
Can I achieve the times in a short course (25m) or long course (50m) swimming pool?
Swimmers aged 9 and 10 years can achieve qualifying times in both short course and long course swimming pools. Swimmers aged 11 to 13 years can only qualify in long course swimming pools.
Can I use relay splits as a qualifying time?
Relay splits including lead off times will not be recognised in the JX program, only individual swims will qualify.
How do I know which swim meets are approved?
Approved swim meets are competitions that have achieved the minimum setup and technical official requirements. It is the responsibility of the host organisation of the swim meet to ensure that the requirements have been met as well as recording and uploading the accurate times into the Swim Central results database.
To find out what events are approved, please contact your State/Territory office or refer to the relevant competition's flyer.
How do I receive my Bio Island JX pack?
Children aged 9 and 10 at the time of receiving their award will receive a cap, while children aged 11 - 13 at the time of receiving their award will receive a t-shirt.
Due to COVID-19, there has been some delay with the 2019-2020 season packs. Packs are likely to be distributed to clubs in December 2020, Swimming Australia will notify clubs when these packs have been sent.
What if I'm registered as a multi-class swimmer?
JX SWD recognition will be determined using the Multi Class Point Score (MCPS) system.
The MCPS is based on the world record (WR) times for each classification and will be updated annually. The WR is allocated 1000 points with times above and below awarded a point score incrementally.
Swimming must hold a current classification to be eligible for JX recognition. These results are listed as part of the total JX result list. You can check your MCPS against the JX multiclass criteria listed on the website.
Alternatively, please see below for a brief overview.
9 and 10 Year Old's
Gold Standard – At least 1 Tier 1 MCPS time in any of the specified events
Silver Standard – At least 1 Tier 2 MCPS time in any of the specified events
Bronze Standard – At least 1 Tier 3 MCPS time in any of the specified events
Blue Standard – At least 1 Tier 4 MCPS time in any of the specified events
11 – 13 Year Old's
Gold Standard - At least 1 Tier 1 MCPS time in 2 or more of the specified events
Silver Standard - At least 1 Tier 1 or Tier 2 MCPS time in any of the specified events
Bronze Standard - At least 1 Tier 3 MCPS time in any of the specified events
Blue Standard - At least 1 Tier 4 MCPS time in any of the specified events
9 & 10 year old times will be recognised from both short course and long course events in both multi-class and able bodied competitions. 11 – 13 year old times will be recognised from long course events only, in both multi-class and able bodied competition.
JX Queries
My age looks like it is incorrectly listed in the JX results. Why is this the case?
The age you are listed as in the JX results is the age that you were at the time of swimming your JX times.
Why is my JX result listed against my old club?
Your JX result will be listed against the club you were swimming for when you achieved your JX time. You may have changed clubs throughout the JX qualifying period, however your JX result will be listed as the club you were swimming for at the time of achieving your JX standard.
Please ensure your Swim Central profile is up to date including your current club and postal address.
JX merchandise
FAQs - Covid-19
Will the cancellation of events impact the standard I'm awarded this season?
The standard you achieved in the 2019/20 season will be based on the times you swum at every meet you were able to compete in for the 2019/2020 season, which concluded on 30 April.
Will I still receive my Bio Island Australian JX pack for this season?
Yes, you will still receive your packs for the 2019/2020 season, though the COVID-19 situation may impact on the planned timing of production and/or distribution. Working together with states and territories, Swimming Australia will communicate in due course via our website and social media channels when you can expect to receive them, however please note this is likely to be December 2020.
When will state-based clinics and programs start running again?
This will be based on government advice and we will communicate with you once dates have been rescheduled.
Swim Central