Officiating Obligations for Otters Families
The Orangeville Otters Swim Club is a non-profit organization that thrives thanks to the incredible support of our families. Hosting swim meets not only provides exciting opportunities for our swimmers but also serves as a vital source of revenue for the club. By working together and volunteering, it helps keep registration fees stable while continuing to add value for our swimmers. The more successful our swim meets are, the more opportunities we have to reinvest in our families through potential incentives and added benefits.
To ensure smooth and successful Otters hosted meets, each Otters family is asked to contribute in the following ways:
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Officials Registration: Each Otters family will have a minimum of one (1) official registered with Swim Ontario.
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Training Requirements: All officials must complete the Introduction to Swimming Officiating clinic. Families in their second year and beyond are asked to complete at least one (1) additional officials clinic each year to continue building our strong officiating team.
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Season Obligation: The following chart shows the number of session requirements per family for the 2025-2026 season. If more than one swimmer per family, your obligation is based on the swimmer in the group with the highest obligation.
| Group |
Sessions |
| Gold |
11 |
| Silver |
10 |
| Bronze |
8 |
| Orange |
8 |
| Rec |
7 |
| Novice |
6 |
Sessions:
A session is defined as the period during which an individual is actively fulfilling their assigned responsibilities at the meet. This begins at the time indicated in the sign-up notes or as otherwise communicated by senior meet officials and continues until all duties for that session have been completed. Individuals are expected to remain available and engaged for the entire duration of their assigned session.
We appreciate the time and commitment this requires and are grateful for your involvement. Families who are unable to meet their officiating obligations at Otters hosted meets will have a $75 fee per session applied. These fees will be added to the family account after the final hosted meet of the season. The club is also exploring a financial incentive program to recognize families who go above and beyond their volunteering obligations. Details are still being finalized, but the goal is to provide account credits for those who contribute extra time and effort to ensure the success of our swim meets.
Your participation makes a meaningful difference—not only to our swimmers’ experiences but to the growth and success of our club. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Orangeville Otters!
Swimming Officiating:
Swim meets are an essential part of the sport of swimming allowing athletes to test their skill and reach their swimming goals. Swimming Officials implement the technical and administrative rules of swimming to ensure a fair and competitive competition for all athletes.
In Ontario, all swim officials are volunteer parents, family members and individuals dedicated to the sport of swimming. To become a Swimming Official individuals are certified by Swimming Canada by attending clinics and receiving on-deck experience.
Like most swim clubs, the Orangeville Otters rely heavily on parents volunteering as Swim Officials at home hosted swim meets in order to have fair and competitive racing opportunities.
How to become a Swim Official
In order to volunteer as a Swim Official at a sanctioned meet, Swimming Canada requires that individuals are registered and have signed their attestations. If you are interested interested in officiating please contact Sean Smyth
[email protected] the Club Officials Chair and he will create an online officials profile with Swim Canada. From there you have access to online clinics and the education system.
Th Orangeville Otters will also be hosting in person officiating clinics throughout the swim season
On Deck Positions
Timekeeper - You will be responsible for operating various timing devices such as stop watches or automatic timing devices. Your time will then be recorded to determine the swimmers official time.
Inspector of Turns - You will be responsible for judging the starts, finishes and turns during each race
Judge of Stroke - you will be responsible for judging the stroke of each swimmer on their associated side of the pool by walking back and forth with them. The stroke judge ensures compliance with the rules pertaining to the mechanics of the swim such as the arm movements, leg kicks and turns.
Safety Marshal - Is assigned the responsibility of maintaining a safe environment during a warm up period of a swim meet
Administration Deck - Is responsible for organizing the swimmers on deck and ensuring all information provided is up to date, accurate and follows the guidelines of the meet package
Chief Timer - is responsible for ensuring all timers are taking accurate times and recording the times appropriately.. Chief Timer will also act as a back if needed
Chief Recorder - Is responsible for compiling the times and generating result printouts using swim specific software
Chief Finish Judge/Chief Judge Electronics - Determines the official times, results and placing of swimmers
Starter - Working with the Referee, is responsible for starting the race and ensuring fairness in each start
Meet Manager - Is the general manager of the entire competition. They have duties before, during and after the competition
Referee - Is the official with the most authority on the pool deck and is responsible for providing the best environment in order to maximize swimmer performance while ensuring the session is run smoothly, consistently and fairly.
If you have any questions related to officiating feel free to contact
[email protected]
