Officials

Colorado Swimming Officials page https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/wzcolsc/page/officials-corner

Colorado Swimming How to become an Official page https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/wzcolsc/page/officials-corner/becoming-an-official

Colorado Swimming Officials certification requirements https://www.gomotionapp.com/wzcolsc/UserFiles/File/Officials%20Training%20Materials/colorado-officals-certification-2023-update_015586.pdf

Below is a list of the minimum number of officials needed to run a meet

1 Referee

1 Starter

2 Timers per lane (one minimum if automatic equipment with touchpads is used)

1 Place Judge (2 are preferred)

2 Stroke Judges and 2 Turn Judges or 2 Stroke & Turn Judges Relay Take-off Judges (if applicable)

1 Administrative Official

2 Marshals, with at least one of each gender

Officials are volunteers and they do receive points for those who are members of our club towards volunteer points commitment. Officials are provided meals and snacks provided by Hospitality. All Officials must be USA Swimming registered, qualified and background checked.

Safety Marshall

Monitors swim meet for accidents and misconduct of swimmers, coaches, or general public. Duties include arriving prior to the start of warm‐ups, wear an orange vest, ensure that swimmers adhere to warm‐up policies, monitor public areas for improper seating, blocking exits, blocking railing, elevator, and manage crowd control. Two Marshals one male and one female will be required. You will need to be registered as a non-athlete member. You must also pass the Meet Marshall training guide found here and the subsequent test For a full list of responsibilities please click: here.

Admin Official

Shall be responsible for the supervision of the following: 

  • The entry and registration process
  • Clerk of Course
  • Timing Equipment Operator  
  • Scoring personnel
  • Other administrative personnel

Shall be responsible to the Referee for:

  • The accurate processing of entries and scratches
  • Accurate seeding of preliminary, semi-final and final heats when applicable
  • Determination and recording of official time.

                           (1) Receiving and reviewing the automatic and/or semi-automatic timing results from the Timing Equipment Operator and comparing primary timing results with the back-up timing results to determine their validity.

                           (2) Receiving the times recorded by the Head Lane Timers from the Chief Timer and the order of finish data from the Place Judges and using that data to the extent needed to determine the official time for each swimmer.

                           (3) Unless otherwise directed, notifying the Referee whenever a time obtained by the primary timing system cannot be used as the Official Time.

                           (4) Recording disqualifications approved by the Referee. D Determination of the official results. E Publication and posting of results and scores.

Shall perform other duties assigned by the Referee.

For the full requirements to becoming an AO, please see the Officials certification requirements link, at the top of the page.

Stroke and Turn Official

The role of the Stroke and Turn official is to observe the correctness of the stroke and/or turn to ensure that no swimmer gets an unfair advantage.
Experience Level Required: Low to Intermediate levels of experience are required for this position. A short (2-3 hour) training course is required before you can be a stroke and turn official.  Courses are offered frequently and are usually done near the time a swim meet is happening. Please see USA Swimming’s full description here. For full description of training requirements, please see the Officials certification requirements link, at the top of the page.

Place Judge

Swim meets can have either one or two place judges. The place judge is stationed near the finish end and records the order of finish of each of the swimmers. Experience Level Required: Low to Intermediate levels of experience are required for this position.

Chief Judge Official

Assigns the location of all stroke and turn and place judges and supervises or assists with their officiating. Experience Level Required: Low to Intermediate levels of experience are required for this position.

Starter Official

Ensures all swimmers receive a fair and equitable start; assumes control of the swimmers from the Referee, directs them to "take your mark", and sees to it that no swimmer is in motion prior to giving the starting signal; in conjunction with the Referee, determines when a false start has occurred. Experience Level Required: Intermediate levels of experience are required for this position. Please see USA Swimming’s full description here and the Officials certification requirements link, at the top of the page.

Deck Referee

Runs the session (controls the flow of heats); supervises and directs the ‘wet side’ officials (Chief Judge, Starter, and Stroke and Turn Judge). Experience Level Required: Intermediate to Advanced levels of experience are required for this position.  Please see USA Swimming’s full description here and the Officials certification requirements link, at the top of the page.

Meet Referee Junior/Senior

 Overall responsible for conducting the meet; Officials Team Leader; makes final decisions regarding rules interpretation/application. Experience Level Required: Advanced levels of experience are required for this position. Please see the Officials certification requirements link, at the top of the page.

Admin Referee

Responsible for the “dry” side of the meet. Works directly with the Meet Referee and supervises/directs the following positions: Entry Chair, Clerk of Course, Timing System Operator, Meet Management Software Operator. Positioned between Computer and Timing Console to oversee operations. Please see USA Swimming’s full description here and the Officials certification requirements link, at the top of the page.