Wales has had some notable success in Commonwealth waters in recent years and with a view to continuing that in Glasgow has put together what is, on the face of it, a tight, performance-driven selection process. As in 2022, there is no preselection and this isn’t about a single trials meet. Instead, it’s a qualification window combined with discretionary selection. So here’s how Welsh swimmers make the team.

The Big Picture

At its simplest, the process can be boiled down to swimming fast enough in a qualification window, that started in December 2025 and runs until the week after the Aquatics GB Championships. While they aren’t a drop dead for selection, those championships are no doubt the prime focus for most of Wales’ leading contenders, since in that window, swimmers vying for selection must show potential to deliver top-six (or medal-contending) performances at the Games, and what better place to do it than in London. Interestingly there is no fixed team size at the moment, with the potential for the squad size to flex based on numbers achieving the selection standards and agreement with Commonwealth Games Wales.

Hit the Required Standard In the Window

In that qualification window, Welsh swimmers will be ranked and those that achieve the nomination standards put themselves int eh shop window for selection. Top ranked swimmers and also those ranked second or third who meet that time become eligible, but those in first place are implicitly given higher priority in the way the policy is written. All performances, whether heats, semi finals or finals at eligible meets are considered.

Relays are made up in the standard manner with the top 4 ranked swimmers in the relevant events for men and women and the fastest combinations for mixed relays also ranked, but with the inclusion of a 1.5s takeover tolerance in all cases.

With the flux in team size, hitting the time makes swimmers eligible for nomination but as with all the home nations it does not guarantee selection

Discretion inevitably remains

Quota pressure is probably not going be a real issue given the posted times, even with uncertainty over the team size, so discretion may yet come into play for the Welsh selectors. In 2022, only 7 swimmers plus a couple of relays met the standards but a team of 16 went to Birmingham, so expect more names than the raw results might indicate.

The policy is somewhat opaque in terms of what they will do if there are more swimmers than places, but it’s clear that the focus will be on those with the highest medal potential and the ability to achieve at least a top-six finishes. The only explicit discretionary provisions relate to injury dispensations , or swimmers on an “upward trajectory” who are within 0.5% of the qualifying times. This mirrors what was done for Birmingham four years ago.

Para-swimming

As the selection is driven by World Para-Swimming and the Commonwealth Games Federation, para selection matches the procedure given for England.

Where things stand

With the window based approach we can see where things currently stand, which shows the following swimmers already with nomination times in their back pockets.

• Matt Richards – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 50 butterfly
• Tyler Melbourne Smith – 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle
• Lewis Fraser – 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly
• Theodora Taylor – 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke
• Amy Crowley – 100m breaststroke

That still leaves plenty to swim for in London before the window slams shut.