Welcome to Officials

As a parent of a swimmer you have the opportunity to be involved with your child and their sport in various ways. One very instrumental way is by being trained, certified, and working as an Official. Officials are present at all competitions to implement the technical rules of swimming and to ensure that the competition is fair and equitable to everyone. Click below to read more about:

 

Officials attend clinics, receive training and are certified by USA Swimming. Novice officials generally start as Stroke and Turn Officials whose job it is to observe the swimmers in their assigned lanes from the time they take their first arm pull after entering the water or beginning a race through the completion of their race. Stroke and Turn Officials ensure that the strokes, turns and finishes comply with the rules applicable to each stroke. If strokes, turns or finishes are executed in a manner which is out of compliance with the rules, in the spirit of fairness they document information to disqualify a swimmer from a race.

There are many levels of officiating that require different degrees of involvement and time. Stroke and Turn Officials learn the ropes by attending clinics, using self-study materials, and working on deck under the supervision of an experienced official. Those who are interested move up the ladder to serving as a chief judge, then to refereeing and starting--again, learning through a combination of clinics, self-study materials, and on-the-job training.

 

NEWS

Stroke and Turn Officials Needed for the November 5-7, Terrapins Swim Team – Senior 2 Trials & Finals Meet

Stroke and Turn Officials are needed for the November 5-7, Terrapins Swim Team – Senior 2 Trials & Finals Meet. This meet is designated as an “Officials Qualifying Meet.”  Officials wishing to work or receive a national evaluation must apply to Michael Davis (mekidadad1@yahoo.com) before the meet by email or when they first arrive at the meet and attend pre-session meetings. For priority, please send in your application (see below) by email prior to the meet. We may not be able to accommodate applications submitted at the meet due to resource limitations.

Briefing will occur one hour before the start of both Preliminaries and Finals. Officials’ dress for Finals is white polo shirts/blouse, blue long pants or skirts, and closed-toed white athletic shoes.

For an N3 evaluation to be valid, it must be done over 4 sessions in the position. N2 evaluations must be done over 3 sessions in the position. Recertification evaluations must each be done over two sessions. However, the official must work at least 4 sessions at the meet for advancement or recertification evaluation(s) to be valid. The evaluation application form can be found below.

Request for Evaluation Form (PDF)

2021-22 Meet Assignments (updated 10/22/21) - Pacific's major meet assignments for the 2021-22 swim year are available. Click here to view.

Pacific Swimming Officials’ Newsletter Spring 2019 - This is the third of quarterly newsletters that will highlight upcoming events, spotlight traveling officials, provide information regarding new rules, and notes from the Officials’ Committee. Click here to download a copy.

 

Officials Apparel - Due to rising postal costs, effective February 9, 2021, Pacific will charge $8.00 for shipping of officials gear. All orders submitted prior to that date (email or snail mail) will be billed at the old postage rate. Click for the order form and other information.

2020/21 Membership Cards for Officials - The 2020/2021 Membership Card for Officials is your Official Certification Card. USA Swimming does not offer the option to print cards for Officials that look like the cards in previous years.

Athlete Protection Training - USA Swimming's Athlete Protection Training course is available by clicking here.

Officials Background Checks - Pacific Swimming will reimburse the $38 cost of the required background check for first time applicants after they become certified officials. The current reimbursement amount for background check renewal is $18. DO NOT let your background check expire!  Expired background checks will be reimbursed at the renewal price only. See your Zone Officials Chair or visit USASwimming.org to begin the background check process. To be reimbursed, submit your receipt or a copy of the charge made on your credit card. No reimbursement will occur without a receipt or approval of your Zone Officials Chair.

No-Show Penalty No Longer Applies to Zone Awarded Meets Swimmers in zone-awarded age group meets who miss an event they have checked in for are no longer penalized by the loss of the next event they have entered.
 
No-show penalties still apply in Pacific-awarded meets, including senior meets, JOs, and Far Westerns.

Important Links

USA Swimming Officials Information

Rule Books

General

Safety