Officiating

At Sackville Swim Club, we encourage everyone to get involved and consider becoming an official.  As many of you know, volunteers are very important when it comes to running successful competitions. As parents of our club, it is important that you participate and volunteer. There is no better seating in the house than as a timer or other official positions!

Becoming a Swim official is a great opportunity to meet other people and athletes as well as developing a greater appreciate for our sport and what it needs to thrive.

You can start by taking Level I and then you can move towards Level II if officiating is appealing to you.

At any time you can contact our Officials Coordinator, Jocelyn Dowling (jdowling@mta.ca) to discuss the many opportunities or if you have any questions. You can also do the clinic online on your own by reading the material from Swim Canada and completing the questionnaire.

To complete the clinic, an on-deck evaluation is required; therefore, during any meet a senior official will evaluate you and answer any questions with respect to the clinic

Official Certification System
Procedure of Certification

LEVEL I - RED PIN

1. Complete the Level 1 clinic for Timekeeper and Safety Marshal.

  1. Complete the Introduction to Swimming Officiating clinic.
  2. Complete the Safety Marshal clinic (if Level 1 clinic completed after September 1, 2015 and did not include Safety Marshal).
  3. Complete registration in the Swimming Canada Officials Registration System.

Note: The requirements for Level I (A, B, C) may be completed simultaneously or in any order.

LEVEL II - WHITE PIN

  1. Certify in Level I by obtaining two successful deck evaluations in the role of Timekeeper.
  2. Complete the Judge of Stroke/Inspector of Turns clinic and obtain two successful deck evaluations.
  3. Complete one other Level II clinic listed below and obtain two successful deck evaluations:
    1. i. Chief Timekeeper;
    2. ii. Clerk of Course;
    3. iii. Chief Finish Judge (CFJ) / Chief Judge Electronics (CJE);
    4. iv. Meet Manager;
    5. v. Starter.

Note: Certification in the role of Chief Finish Judge/Chief Judge Electronics - requires that an official obtain at least one of the two deck evaluations in the role of Chief Finish Judge.

Completing the requirements for Level II (A, B, C) may happen simultaneously or in any order. 


LEVEL III - ORANGE PIN

  1. Complete all of the clinics listed under Level II;
  2. Complete the Recorder-Scorer clinic;
  3. Certify in three additional positions listed under Level II by obtaining two successful deck evaluations in each position;
  4. Conduct the Level I – Introduction to Swimming Officiating clinic under the supervision of a Level IV or V official.

Note: Completing the requirements for Level III (A, B, C, D) may happen simultaneously or in any order. The Recorder-Scorer clinic may be taught at any time, once official is working on their Level II, in combination with the Meet Manager or CFJ/CJE clinics as deemed appropriate. It is recommended the Recorder-Scorer clinic be taken prior to or in conjunction with the Meet Manager clinic. There are no deck evaluations required for the Recorder-Scorer position.

LEVEL IV - GREEN PIN

  1. Successful completion of the following requirements:
    1. any outstanding certifications for remaining Level II positions, obtaining two successful deck evaluations in the position as noted under Level II;
    2. Referee Clinic (please review Note below in regards to this clinic);
    3. Experience as a Referee at a minimum of five sessions. It is recommended that these 5 sessions take place at different competitions in different pools and pool configurations;
    4. Conduct a minimum of two different Level II officials clinics within the year of application under the supervision of a Level V official (official must be certified in the position for the clinic they are presenting);
  2. Complete one year of active service as a Level III official working a variety of positions, which shall include a minimum of two sessions as a Stroke Judge and/or Inspector of Turns;
  3. Obtain the approval of the Provincial Officials’ Chairperson or their delegate to be evaluated and have two successful evaluations, in the position of Referee by a Level V official. It is recommended provinces implement a mentoring process whereby Level III officials receive formal mentor assessment(s), by Level V officials, prior to request for evaluation.

Note: The Referee Clinic may be taken prior to the official having taken all other clinics and becoming certified in each position, at the discretion of the Provincial Officials’ Chair or Delegate. However, an official will not act in the capacity of Referee until all clinics are completed and certifications have been received. Completing the requirements for Level IV (A&B), with the exception of the above note on completing certifications and acting in the capacity of Referee, may happen simultaneously or in any order. The one year of active service begins following the achievement of Level III.


LEVEL V - BLUE PIN

  1. Complete a minimum of one year of active service as a Level IV official;
  2. Organize, conduct and/or supervise a minimum of two different Level II clinics within the year of application;
  3. Work a minimum of two sessions at a Swimming Canada national competition in any position, after becoming a Level III official;
  4. Obtain the approval of the Provincial Officials’ Chairperson or their delegate to be evaluated and have two successful evaluations as a Referee, or once as Referee and once as Starter, by a Level V official. It is recommended provinces maintain the mentoring process whereby Level IV officials continue to receive formal mentor assessment(s), by Level V officials, prior to request for evaluation;
  5. Submit the completed Level V Official Certification Form to the Provincial Officials’ Chairperson.

If the Provincial Officials’ Chairperson is satisfied that the candidate has met all requirements, the candidate’s Level V Official Certification Form will be submitted to Swimming Canada for Officials, Competitions and Rules Committee (OCRC) approval. If the OCRC approves the candidate, they are then certified as a Level V Master Official. A congratulatory letter and Master Official certificate will be sent to the candidate with a copy forwarded to the Provincials Officials’ Chairperson. Note: Completing the requirements for Level V (A, B, & C) may happen simultaneously or in any order. 


MAINTAINING CERTIFICATION

In order to remain an active Master Official in Canada an official must:

  • work a minimum of four sessions over a minimum of two meets in each swim year;
  • conduct or supervise a clinic in each swim year.
  • maintain their registration information in the Swimming Canada Officials Registration System. 

Master Officials who do not work or instruct as required may apply for reinstatement to their provincial chair of officials, who may require certain senior level clinics be re-done.

NOTES

"Successful Evaluation" means a signed assessment/card for a specific position.

“Certified” means that the official has taken the clinic and worked a minimum of two sessions in that position – excluding Referee - during a sanctioned competition and has received approval of the Referee for successfully working the position.

"Session" means a specific time frame in a swim meet, represented as a timed final session, preliminary session or finals session.

“Mentor Assessment” refers to a formal documented process whereby the Level III or IV official receives mentoring and feedback as a Referee, while working toward Level IV or V certification.

Officials are encouraged to maintain a “log” of positions and meets worked in order to support their progress toward level IV and V certification. While there are no minimum requirements outside of the certification process, officials are encouraged to obtain and maintain experience in all positions while working in a variety of pools and meet configurations.

Course conductors: Level I clinics may be conducted by certified level III officials. Level II clinics may be conducted by certified level IV officials. The level III clinic (Referee clinic) must be conducted by a level V official.