Becoming an Official of USA Swimming

Thank you so much for your commitment to your swimmer’s sport and to MTSC. Swimming is a sport that cannot happen without committed parent volunteers.

The process of becoming a USA Swimming Certified Stroke and Turn Official is fairly simple and straight forward. Majority of the USA officials are employed full-time in various fields, so you are joining the ranks of parents who have multiple interwoven job, family, and personal commitments, and are willing to go the extra step for their child’s passion for swimming.

Everything pertaining to Officials can be found on USASwimming.org.  Click the FOR YOU tab. In the drop down menu, select OFFICIALS. There you will find the links for everything below.

1. First step is to set up an USA Swimming account.  It must be separate from your swimmer’s account.
2. You will need to complete a Apprentice Registration Form and submit it to MTSC at your respective pool. Cindy Baker will submit all applications to our LSC.
3. Download the current Rulebook, so you can use it for the test.
4. The Stroke and Turn Certification Test is an open book test that is taken at your pace. I recommend saving the test and printing it out.  This way you can complete the test, and then go back and enter the answers online. Once you submit the test, it is instantly graded, and you will receive an email of your results.  You must pass with a score of 80%.  After one year, you must take the re-certification test. After that, the re-certification test is taken every three years.
5. Once your Apprentice membership is processed, you must link your membership with your USA Swimming account.
6. Your Apprentice membership must be processed and your account linked before you can do the Level 2 Background Check. The link will take you to the Intellicorp website. There is a fee. Background checks are done every two years.
7. You will also need to do three Athlete Protection Courses which are online. These are free. You must be a Registered Apprentice Member with your account linked, before you take these courses. Athlete Protection must be completed every twelve months.
8. You are required to complete six sessions of shadowing with a Certified Official over a minimum of two different meet.  Most people do them during the sessions their swimmer is competing, so no additional time commitment is required. Please wear Khaki bottoms and white shoes, but do not wear a white shirt while apprenticing. Some teams may tell you a specific color to wear. To maintain your certification, you must work at least six sessions each year at a USA Swimming sanctioned, observed, or approved meet.
9. You must attend a Stroke and Turn Clinic. The clinic attendance can occur anytime within your certification process, and it is required prior to each recertification. The clinic length varies by the presenter.
10.   Your final step is to submit your Non-Athlete Registration form along with a check for your USA Swimming membership fee payable to MTSC to your respective pool. Once this is processed your deck pass will reflect your certification status.

Once you are certified as a USA Swimming Official, your USA Swimming membership fee will be credited back to you on your swimmer’s account. You will be responsible for your background check.

You may eligible to have your fundraising commitment met for the swimming season. Your date of completion and your will commitment to working meets will determine the amount that is prorated.

As an MTSC official, you are committing to work MTSC hosted USA swimming sanctioned , observed, or approved meets. MTSC will decide which meets are required. If you do not complete your meet obligations.

If you have questions regarding MTSC reimbursement, contact Cindy Baker at (615) 686-3116 or [email protected]