GBY Swim Team Very Official Officiating Page
Join us on deck! You'll look great in a white polo.
Becoming an official is a great way to support the GBY Swim Team, learn more about the sport, and have a front row seat to all the action!
Why Officiate for GBY?
Support Swimmers: Help our athletes succeed in a fair and competitive environment.
Learn and Grow: Gain a deeper understanding of swimming rules, strokes, and techniques.
Build Community: Connect with fellow swim enthusiasts and make new friends.
Save Money: You'll be reimbursed for all training expenses and save on meet fees for your swimmers.
It's Fun! It really is the best way to experience a meet.
Interested? Check out these Official Training videos from USA Swimming:
Don’t worry if you don’t have any experience with the competitive swimming. The training is great, and you’ll participate in a minimum of four apprentice sessions before being fully certified.
USA Swimming Officials Training Videos
USA Swimming Stroke Briefing for Officials Video
Getting Started:
1. Contact Us: Reach out to our head coach, a parent committee member, or one of our GBY officials.
2. Registration: The process to become an official is easy and every step is detailed in this link from Wisconsin Swimming:
USA Swimming New Official's Registration Process
3. Training: Attend online training courses to learn officiating rules and procedures. Buy a white polo and some white crocs too. You know you want them. Shadow certified officials.
4. Certification: Pass exams to become a certified official.
5. Experience: Gain practical experience at GBY swim meets or other swim meets.
Officiating Roles for Every Meet:
Meet Referee: The meet referee is in charge of the entire swim meet. They have the ultimate authority and responsibility for ensuring that the meet is conducted correctly and fairly. They oversee all aspects of the meet, including the officiating team.
Starter: The starter is responsible for signaling the beginning of each race, ensuring that swimmers are ready, and starting the race using a horn or whistle. They also handle false starts and disqualifications.
Stroke and Turn Judges: These officials are responsible for observing swimmers during their races to ensure they follow the rules for each stroke. They watch for infractions such as incorrect kicks, arm movements, and turns.
Administrative Officials: Administrative officials manage the administrative/technical side of a meet, including entries, seeding, results, and scoring to ensure that all competition rules and procedures are followed.
