Early Season Races: Why January Swim Series Results Aren’t Everything

The January Conodrum

Every January, the first meet of the year — the Singapore Swim Series — bring sexcitement, nerves, and sometimes, unrealistic expectations. After a long break over December or Swim camps, swimmers and parents alike want reassurance that all the training “worked.”But the truth is, these early-season races are not about medals or personal bests. They’re about information.The goal isn’t to win early — it’s to learn early.

What January Races Really Tell You

When I watch my swimmers in the first meet of the year, I’m not looking for fantastic. I’m looking for rhythm.

• How are their skills under fatigue?

• Do they maintain line and posture off every wall?

• How is their pacing looking like?
  

These details tell me where to direct training next.The stopwatch might say “off form,” but the video often tells a more encouraging story: smoother catch, stronger kicks, better flow.

“A January race is not a report card — it’s a progress check.”

A Story from This Season

One of my swimmers, Kai, swam slower than expected in his 100m butterfly this January. He was frustrated until we watched the footage together — his turns were cleaner, and his underwater distance had improved by nearly half a meter.He didn’t swim faster yet, but he swam better.

By March’s National Age Group Championships, that technique translated into a full-second drop.

That’s the pattern I’ve seen for years: early races expose gaps, but they also show growth invisible to time alone.

What Swimmers Should Focus On

• Control your rhythm, not your result: Early races aren’t about chasing splits — they’re about rediscovering your flow. There hasnt been much races over the past couple of months so this is more of blowing the cobwebs out.

  
  

• Use every race as a rehearsal: Treat January meets like practice runs for Nationals and School Championships. Nail your warm-up, visualize your start, pace your effort, and refine your recovery. Each detail you rehearse now becomes automatic when it counts. Not everything will run according to plan.

  
  

• Find where you fade — and learn from it: If your second 50 feels heavier, that’s not failure — it’s feedback. It tells you exactly where endurance or efficiency needs work in February. February will be another opportunity to work and improve on the little details

  
  

• Stay patient and purposeful: March and April are when it all comes together. Right now, your job is to build trust — in your process, your training, and your ability to grow stronger week by week.

  
  

Coach’s Perspective

As a coach, January races are my favorite because they’re honest. They strip away expectations and show where each swimmer truly stands. The calm, consistent swimmers who take these meets as learning opportunities always perform best when it matters — at NAGs and the School Championships.

Key Takeaway

Don’t measure January by medals — measure it by maturity. Each early race builds awareness, resilience, and rhythm that pay off when the season peaks. Your swimmer isn’t meant to be at their best yet — they’re meant to get better every week.

If you’d like a detailed breakdown of your child’s early-season races — what’s improving, what needs work — book a Video Analysis Session with me at SwimDannyYeo.com.

We’ll review footage from the Singapore Swim Series and chart a plan to peak at NAGs and Nationals.