Why become a swimming official?
It is a great way to support CSC and the swimmers, along with some other handy benefits!
Officials are crucial, without them the club cannot host Club Champs or external meets (a valuable source of income which help to keep our fees down).
Every year we naturally lose officials as swimmers migrate away from the club and consequently parent officials tend not to officiate anymore. Therefore, it is a never-ending cycle of recruiting new volunteers to train up to become the next generation of officials.
No previous swimming or officiating experience required; you don’t even need to be able to swim. Full training and mentoring will be provided.
Time Commitment to become an official:
Everyone’s time is precious. To become an official there are a couple of short online courses to complete, otherwise the only time commitment is when you are actually at the meets.
Benefits of being an official
- Gain a better understanding of the more technical points of swimming, this can help you understand why your child might have been DQd and help them not to make the same mistake again.
- Becoming an official allows you to get involved in swimming competitions at a close and personal level, everyone is there with a common goal to see the swimmers have fun and succeed.
- You are poolside during meets, no need to pay to spectate on a hot balcony, you are kept busy, so the time passes quickly.
- Free food! At most all day meets officials are provided with tea, coffee, & food during the breaks between sessions!
Types of Official:
There are 5 main roles of swimming officials from Timekeeper to Referee.
Timekeeper (TK) – Complete the online timekeeping course and a mentored session and you are a qualified timekeeper. You are allowed to officiate at Club Champs (level 4 meet) and unlicensed meets such as the Sussex League.
Judge Level 1 (J1) – Complete the online course and you will be a J1 Trainee (J1T), after attending meets and being mentored in different roles you will qualify as a J1 (you have to compete mentoring within 11 months). You are allowed to officiate at all levels of meets.
Judge Level 2 (J2) – First you have a theory lesson/discussion with a qualified referee. Then you are mentored on the technicalities of each stroke and how to be a finish judge. There are some written questions to compete, but the majority of training is poolside.
Starter (J2S) – It follows the same format of training as a J2 but specific to starting a race. To complete the training you are required to pass a poolside assessment.
Referee – In Sussex, training to be a referee is only by invitation from the county. It takes at least a year and requires a significant time commitment.
Apart from referee, the majority of training for each role is completed poolside with very little time commitment required away from the pool. It is worth noting that experience is important and once you complete a course you have to complete a certain period of time in that role before you can start training for the next role.
Equipment and dress-code
The basic equipment that all officials require is a clipboard, biro(s) and stopwatch.
There are 2 dress codes depending on the level of meet, once you have completed your training CSC will provide you with a white officials top.
Level 3 & 4 (Club Champs) meets:
- Black trousers (full length or cropped) or black leggings or black/dark shorts.
- White polo shirt.
- Suitable poolside footwear.
Level 1 & 2 Meets
- Black trousers (full length or cropped), black shorts or black leggings.
- White polo shirt.
- White shoes
How to become an official
Email us on [email protected] and we will send you a link which will help you choose the most suitable route for you to take to become an official.
You will need to be a member of Swim England and have a Swim England number, email Vanessa on [email protected] to request one.
This guide will help guide you through the process of completing the training, and how to navigate the Swim England websites.
10 steps to becoming an official.
Sign up to a meet
To sign up to officiate at one of meets or Club Champs please do so via the Swim-Meet website, if you require mentoring, please add a note in the ‘other information’ box:
Link to Swim meet: https://www.swim-meet.com/OfficialsSignup/Crawley/
Contact and helpful links
William & Emma Best are the Official Coordinators for the Club. They joined the Club when their son joined in 2022. William has no previous experience of swimming and is currently a trainee starter. Emma has been swimming her whole life and currently swims in the Masters Squad. Emma is also part of the welfare team.
To get in touch email them on [email protected], Emma is also in all the squad WhatsApp chats if you have a question.
Helpful links:
Link to sign up to officiate at CSC meets via Swim-Meet:
https://www.swim-meet.com/OfficialsSignup/Crawley/
Link to check your Membership number:
https://www.swimmingresults.org/membershipcheck/#
Link to where you need to setup your Membership on Swim England website:
https://www.swimmingmembers.org/
Online Timekeeper Course:
https://www.swimming.org/ios/course-information/swimming-technical-officials-timekeeping/
Online J1 Course:
https://www.swimming.org/ios/course/3143
Link to upload completed certificates:
https://www.swimmingresults.org/member_options/index.php
Online Contemporary issues course:
View Officials Calendar:
