WHAT: Notification of addition to USA Swimming meet
requirements
TO: All coaches and Meet Directors hosting meet
events
Last fall, USA Swimming passed legislation
requiring an Administrative Official be on deck at
every session of every meet by September 1, 2013. USA Swimming
recently defined the Administrative Official as one who works
directly with the Meet Referee and supervises/directs the following
positions on the “dry” side of the meet:
·Entry and Registration Personnel
·Clerk of Course
·Timing System Operator
·Scoring Personnel – Timing Judge and Meet
Management Software Operator
The administrative official may serve in one (or more) of the
above positions or may simply act in a supervisory capacity of
those positions. Volunteers may fill the above positions provided
there is an “Administrative Official” supervising all,
or the “Administrative Official” is filling one (or
more) of the positions and supervising the remaining ones.
USA Swimming has recently released “suggested”
criteria for this position. I have reviewed the recommendation
requirements for this position and agree with their suggested
criteria.
What this means – every meet session will require one
additional official. Each meet will require a Meet Ref/Deck Ref,
Starter, 1 Stroke and Turn Judge and an Administrative Official OR
Administrative Referee. The Admin Official cannot
work in any other officiating capacity. This “official”
does not have to be a certified stroke and turn, starter or referee
official. If you hosts meets and provide your own console and meet
management crew – you will need to get one of these folks
trained AND CERTIFIED in this capacity by 09/01/13. If you host
meets and hire the timing and meet management parts out to third
parties – make sure one of their representative is CERTIFIED
as an Administrative Official or you will need to verify through
your Meet Referee an Administrative Official is available for every
session.
In the past, many LSC’s have required the use of
an Admin Ref for every session of their meets. South Carolina had
not adopted this requirement, so it is crucial we all work together
to get our meet folks up to speed before the start of next
year’s short course season. Our SC officials’ crew are
working to create training clinics and get some of our officials
trained, but we need your help to get the right folks trained.
Review your volunteer base working in these capacities at your
current meets and choose a few to start their training. Remember,
they do not need to be current officials to meet the training
criteria.
Over time, we will be adopt the legislative criteria in our
Policies and Procedures and determine where the onus shall lie on
who needs to provide the Administrative Official – the
officials working the meet, or the meet host. In the meantime, get
your volunteers lined up to start their training.
USA Swimming has issued these Suggested Guidelines for
Certification of the Administrative Official which our LSC will
adopt during upcoming legislation:
Administrative Official – (Clerk of
Course, Timing Judge, Meet Management (Computer)
Operator, Timing System Operator, Meet Director*,
Scorer/Recorder)
1.Attend a formal Administrative Official clinic given by an LSC
approved instructor.
2.Pass the online Timer, Timing Judge, Clerk of Course and
Administrative Online Tests (80%).
3.Become a non-athlete member (Official, Coach or Other) of USA
Swimming and the LSC with a current Level 2 Background Check -
www.usaswimming.org/backgroundcheck
- and current Athlete Protection Training (must be a member before
the online coursecan be accessed) -www.usaswimming.org/APT.
4.Demonstrate competence in all components of Administrative
Official by completing at least 4 apprentice sessions and being
approved by an LSC designated AdministrativeOfficial or
Administrative Referee.
*Meet Director does not need to be an official. However, as
per USA Swimming rules, the Meet Director is required to be a
non-athlete member and have completed #3. An official who is a Meet
Director will earn admin sessions for being Meet Director.
The Officials’ Committee will be hosting several training
clinics at the upcoming All State Banquet on April 20, 2013. We
will have an Administrative Official’s clinic, Stroke &
Turn refresher and Starter and Referee clinics. Stay tuned for the
times of the various clinics. We will also provide you with
information regarding our trainers and reviewers for the
certification and apprenticing process.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I hope to have an
opportunity for Q & A’s at the upcoming Short Course
State championship meet. Feel free to send questions to me at carolnaco@aol.com.
Regards,
Carol Hammond
SC LSC Officials Chair
carolnaco@aol.com
843.384.2821 (cell)
843.342.6782 (home)
