OFFICIALS

SWIMMING

All swimming officials are volunteers. Every swim meet is run entirely by volunteers, making sure the technical and administrative rules of the sport are implemented.

As a parent of a swimmer, we rely on your support and time as a volunteer deck official. If you are new to the sport, signing up for a timing shift will gurantee you the best seat at the meet. And, as you become more comfortable on deck, there are several other positions you can fill.

Over the course of the season, WRASA’s Director of Officials will conduct clinics and be available to train parents interested in expanding their skills as an official. While being a volunteer official is not mandatory it is expected that everyone will do their part, contributing to the success of the swimmers. As a minimum, it is expected that if you have a swimmer competing at a meet, that you fulfill one 2 hour deck official shift over the course of the weekend.

POSITIONS
Timer. Lane timers are responsible for taking and recording a swimmer’s time and the method depends on the timing devices used at a meet. (including stop watches, plungers etc.) There are typically two to three timers per lane.

Meet Manager. The meet manager is responsible for planning and organizing every aspect of a swim meet.

Referee. The referee has the overall authority and responsibility for seeing that the competition complies will all BCSSA rules and regulations

Clerk of the Course. The clerk of the course checks swimmers into their events at a meet, handles ‘scratches’ for swimmers who are absent or do not intend to swim an event, and seeds swimmers according the their times. The clerk also makes sure swimmers move from marshalling to the pool deck.

Marshall. The marshall’s responsibility is meet safety, including supervision of warm-ups, crowds on deck and behaviour of all participants.

Starter. The starter makes sure that all the swimmers receive a fair start. Working closely with the referee, the starter steps the swimmers onto the blocks and direct them to “take their mark”. The starter and the referee decided together when a false start has occurred.

Head Timer. The head timer ensures all timers have the necessary equipment in working order. Head timer can also serve as back up for any other timer and depending on the meet will also record the time of the first place finisher per event.

Stroke & Turn Judge. Stroke judges ensure swimmers comply with BCSSA stroke rules and the turn judge is responsible for judging starts, finishes and turns. This position requires prior attendance at a Stroke & Turn clinic and time on deck apprenticing under a current Stroke & Turn Judge.

Recorder. Recorders enter the swimmer’s times into Hy-Tek Meet Manager. The recorder is also responsible for posting race results and printing labels for awards. Training includes a clinic and apprenticeship.

Runner. Runners collect result cards from the timers at the end of each event and deliver them to the Place Judges. Runners may also be asked to collect results from the Place Judges and take everything to the Recorder.

Place Judge. A place judge records the place order of each event by lane number.

Deck Food. This person ensures that all volunteer officials receive food and refreshments for the duration of the meet.