USA Swimming provides fully online, self-guided courses for Stroke and Turn. The Stroke & Turn course has been released and is the only way to become a Stroke & Turn official. Please follow these instructions to become a Stroke and Turn official.

For all other certifications, please return to the Training Information page.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions during this process.

While we are here to help and are happy to do so, we are volunteers with day jobs so we may not respond immediately.

 

STROKE & TURN CLINICS (USA SWIMMING RUN - OVER 18 YEARS OF AGE)

 

BECOME A NON-ATHLETE OFFICIAL MEMBER OF USA SWIMMING:

1. Please request the USA Swimming registration link directly from your club - ONLY use that link to create your non-athlete profile (if you do it directly from the USA Swimming site, you will have duplicate accounts that will require additional work for merging). Please be certain to register as an Official, NOT as a Member or Parent.

2. Complete your required additional certifications PRIOR to starting your on-deck training

**This process makes you eligible to be on deck with the athletes and is commonly just known as your non-athlete Officials registration.

3. The clinic is on the USA Swimming site at USA Swimming University. It is self-directed, so there is no need to register ahead of time. Set aside about 3 hours and take it at your convenience. To get there log in to your account, click “Education”, then “Course Catalog”. Once you are in USA Swimming University click “Officials”.  

The two courses required to become a Stroke & Turn Official are called “Foundations of Officiating” (take this first), and “Stroke and Turn Certification Course”. If you have further questions, please contact us at [email protected].

4. If you have registered properly, completed athlete protection, your background check, concussion protocol training, and both online clinics, you will receive an email within about a week informing you about next steps. If you believe you have completed this properly and do not hear from us within a week, please email [email protected] for assistance.

ON-DECK TRAINING

Once you’ve completed your clinic training and registration requirements and have received your email 'approval' from the IL Officials Clinic team, you’re ready to start your on-deck training. You will need to bring a copy of the on-deck training form to be completed by your trainer. The forms are available online here.

On-deck training consists of 4 sessions (with a completed card for each) completed over 2 meets and with at least 2 different trainers who have been certified Stroke & Turn Officials for a minimum of 12 months, or thr most qualified stroke an turn official in that session.

To be on deck you must be in uniform. The uniform for Illinois Swimming is a white collared polo shirt over navy blue shorts, pants, or a skirt, with white socks and white non-skid shoes. No crocs are allowed.

You should contact the meet referee for a meet prior to going for training. The meet referee can be found in the meet packet. If you are affiliated with a team going to the meet, they may contact you looking to staff their deck. Please be certain that they will have somebody available to train you. Most referees will go out of their way to find time for training.

The complete guidelines are available at Illinois Swimming Officials Training and Certification Standards.

SUBMIT YOUR MATERIALS FOR CERTIFICATION

Once your training sessions are complete and you’ve completed your online test, email to: [email protected]

1.Certification Requirements Checklist Form for your position

2.Your 4 training evaluation sheets

Once processed, you’ll receive an email response when your certification is reviewed and approved. You’re a stroke and turn judge!

QUESTIONS?

Questions for the Committee? Questions about Officiating? Contact [email protected]. 

***Please allow a few days for a response as the mailbox is staffed by volunteers.