Officiating
Why Should I Become an Official?
As a swim parent, you already spend a lot of time watching your swimmer at a swim meet.
Becoming an official is a great way to:
- Understand how meets work
- Support your swimmer and their teammates
- Help the club run successful competitions
Every meet requires 40+ trained officials to operate smoothly—and in Ontario, all officials are volunteers. Meets cannot run without you.
Getting Started - How Do I Become an Official?
To become an official, you'll need to:
- Register as an official
- Attend various Swim Ontario certified clinics or take e-learning modules
- Complete on-deck training
Great, how do I register?
- If you have never before registered as an official, click here for instructions on how to register
- If you have officiated before, to renew your annual registration, click here for instructions on how to renew
Swim Ontario Roles
Most parents/family members with the Cambridge Aquajets, will become level one or level two officials, however a pathway exists for further advancement all the way to level five.
Level one roles:
- Safety Marshall – The Safety Marshal is responsible for ensuring that all appropriate safety procedures are being followed.
- Timer - Timers are responsible for accurately measuring swimmers' performance times during the meet.
Level two roles:
- Inspector of Turns (IT) - Turn judges ensure that swimmers follow the rules when turning and/or finishing at the wall.
- Judge of Stroke (JS) - Evaluates the swimmer's stroke during the races to ensure stroke rules are being followed by the swimmer.
- Chief Timer - Oversees all lane timers and resolves any timing issues.
- Administrative Desk - Clerks of course organizes and guides swimmers to their proper heats and lanes and the right times.
- Chief Judge Electronics - Oversees timing systems and assigns official times via manual and electronic timing systems.
- Chief Recorder - Inputs race results into meet management software for publishing.
- Starter - Works with the referee to ensure fair starts.
- Meet Manager - Oversees the overall logistics and operation of the meet.
Level three roles:
- Referee - Oversees the entire meet. Lead the team of officials and ensures fair paly.
Clinics and e-modules
After your registration is complete, the next steps are to take an e-module or clinic in the role you want to train for.
If this is your first season with the Aquajets, you'll take both the:
- Safety Marshall e-module, and
- Introduction to Swim Officiating e-module.
Taking a clinic or e-module is sufficient to allow you to volunteer in that role at a swim meet.
- E-modules - E-Modules can be taken anytime by logging in to the Learning Management System (LMS) via REMS.
- Clinics - Registration for upcoming clinics is also available through the Learning Management System (LMS) via REMS.
Clinics are hosted either virtually as a video call, or in person.
Click here for Instructions on how to access and navigate the LMS
Beyond that, the Club Officials Chair (COC) will have you navigate which clincs to take next.
A typical "next step" after Timing, is to look at Inspector of Turns or Judge of Stroke.
If you have questions, email [email protected]
Signing up to volunteer at a Swim Meet
After completing emodules, or taking a clinic, volunteer in that role at the next swim meet if you can.
Signing up to volunteer is a first come, first served basis for most roles. Keep watching the events page and your inbox for details on when job-openings are avilable for upcoming meets.
Instructions on how to sign up and volunteer at a swim meet as an Official can be found here.
Dress Code for Officials
Swim Ontario rules require all officials to comply with their dress code when on pool deck.
The dress code for officials is:
- Black pants, shorts, or a skirt,
- Black shoes (your feet will get wet, so choose footware wisely) - No outdoor shoes on pool deck.
- Timekeepers and the Chief Timekeeper wear a plain white polo shirt,
- All other officials wear a plain red polo shirt.
The attire should be clean and well-maintained, and with the exception of the club logo should have no graphics.
It is also a good idea to bring your own water bottle as it can get very hot on pool deck!
Why the Dress Code is Important
Professional Appearance: The standardized attire helps maintain a professional image for officials.
Easy Identification: It makes it simple to distinguish officials from swimmers and spectators, promoting clarity and efficiency during events.
Consistency: The dress code ensures a consistent look across all Ontario pool decks.
Where can i purchase a plain red or white polo shirt if I don't already have one?
Store Link: Ly Sports – Cambridge Aquajets
Team Code: CAQUAJETS (Use the team code for a 2% discount + 5% back to the team.)
Adding the club logo and your name to your shirt are optional.
On-Deck Evaluations
After volunteering once or twice in your role, ask to be evaluated.
Once you become comfortable with all aspects of the role you have been volunteering for, you can progress through the certification ladder by being certified for that role.
To become a certified in your role as an official, you will need to have an on-deck evaluation by a referee. There is nothing different about being evaluated. You perform the role as normal, and at the end of the meet session, the referee will provide feedback on your evaluation.
You must ask the referee before the meet in which you are volunteering. Your Club Officials Chair will help you to decide if this is a good idea.
Certification & Advancement
You can progress further in any role to become a certified Swim Ontario Official.
To be a Fully Certified Level One Official, you must:
- Complete your registration in REMS.
- Take the Safety Marshal clinic or e-module.
- Take the Introduction to Swimming Officiating (Timer) clinic or e-module.
- Have an on-deck evaluation as a Timer, twice by a referee.
- Take the Inspector of Turns clinic.
- Have an on-deck evaluation as an Inspector of Turns, twice by a referee.
- Take the Judge of Stroke clinic.
- Have an on-deck evaluation as a Judge of Stroke, once by a referee.
- Take any one of the following:
- Chief Timekeeper clinic or e-module.
- Administration Desk clinic or e-module.
- Starter clinic.
- Meet Manager clinic.
- Chief Recorder clinic.
- Chief Judge Electronics clinic.
- Have an on-deck evaluation in one of these chosen clinics, twice by a referee.
To be Fully Certified at Level Three, you'll need to complete all the clinics and deck evaluations for almost all roles. Your COC will provide details if you are interested.
Questions
If you have any questions about any of the above information or need some help/guidance, please email your Club Officials Chair (Howard Hayes) at [email protected]
