Wisconsin SwimmingOfficials Committee

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Welcome/Introductions/Purpose General Guidelines Lead/Lag Protocol Strokes

Butterfly Backstroke Breaststroke Freestyle IM Relays

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Relay Take-off Judging Place Judging Chief Judge Head Chief Judge Other points What’s Next

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Introductions Name Club Motivation

Paperwork Background Check Registrations Release of Contact Info Manuals/Rule Books/Readings/DVD

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Purpose of Officiating To insure fair competition among all

swimmers by assuring compliance with the rules for competitive swimming and to treat each swimmer equally under those rules.

Be Competent Know the rules. Ask for clarifications. Review rules and officiate often (nothing

trumps deck time) Be professional

Looking like you know what you are doing makes people think you know what you’re doing

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Meet Officials Meet Referee Administrative Official Administrative Referee Head Chief Judge Deck Referee Starter Stroke/Turn Officials

Levels of Certification N1 – LSC Certification N2 – Evaluation required N3 – Initial and final evaluations required

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Jurisdictions “Assigned area of responsibility” Determined by the Meet Referee in

conformance with USA Swimming guidelines. Stroke Judge: Generally wall-to-wall (may be

different as assigned by the Referee or Head Chief Judge)

Turn End Judge: Last arm pull-to-first stroke (may be given flag-in stroke duties as assigned by the Referee or Head Chief Judge)

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Jurisdictions Start End/Finish Judge: From the start until

swimmer surfaces, and last stroke into the finish

Relay Take-off Judge: Relay take-offs only for assigned lanes

Do not attempt to officiate outside of your jurisdiction

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When a Violation Occurs Immediately raises one hand overhead, palm open

Required by the rules Do your thinking AFTER this signal EXCEPTION: Relay exchanges; after last swimmer of the

heat leaves Record the infraction

On the heat sheet (if supplied one) On the DQ slip (if writing own DQs)

Event, heat, lane, name/team, and infraction(s) Sign the slip

Report the infraction to the referee Over the radio Through the Chief Judge

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Be prepared to answer three questions: Where were you?

Be in the correct position to make the call Head over the water or straight down the wall for turns At or just behind the swimmers hips for strokes

What did you see? Be able to describe what you saw (without using motions)

Which hand touched first? When did the swimmer submerge before the finish?

What rule was broken? Know the rules (not by number) Use rule book language Refer all questions from the coaches to the Deck or Meet

Referee

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Do not be offended if the Referee or Chief Judge over-rules your call

If you think you saw an infraction; you didn’t You need to know you saw an infraction and

what rule it violated Ugly swimming is not necessarily illegal The swimmer always gets the benefit of the

doubt We are casual observers of the meet,

noting infractions of the rules We are not looking for infractions

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Be aware of deck balance Mirror the deck

Watch all assigned lanes all of the time Even when no swimmer is swimming

Turn officials position Over the lane As assigned by the Meet Referee/Head Chief Judge

Stroke official position Behind hips of slowest assigned swimmer Except Freestyle: Stationed at 15m mark

Whistle Protocol

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Paired with another stroke official Never closer than six feet Break swimmers into two groups

Take the group closest to your wall Never go past your opposite flags Never cross your partner

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The forward start shall be used.

“An entry made while facing the course” Platform: At least one foot in the forward half

of the block Deck: At least one foot at the edge of the deck Pool: At least one hand on the wall Swimmer must be certified by his/her coach to

start from the blocks

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After the start and after each turn, the swimmer’s shoulders must be at or past the vertical toward the breast.

The swimmer is permitted one or more leg kicks, but only one arm pull under water, which must bring the swimmer to the surface.

It shall be permissible for a swimmer to be completely submerged for a distance of not more than 15 meters (16.4 yards) after the start and after each turn.

By that point, the head must have broken the surface.

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The swimmer must remain on the surface until the next turn or finish.

From the beginning of the first arm pull, the body shall be kept on the breast.

Both arms must be brought forward over the water and pulled back simultaneously. The entire length of the arm must break the

placid surface of the water Arm: Wrist to shoulder

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All up and down movements of the legs and feet must be simultaneous.

The position of the legs or the feet need not be on the same level, but they shall not alternate in relation to each other.

A scissors or breaststroke kicking movement is not permitted.

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At each turn the body shall be on the breast. The touch shall be made with two hands separated

and simultaneously at, above, or below the water surface. The hands need not be in the same plane The hands cannot be stacked one on top of the other. It is not necessary to see space between the hands.

Once a touch has been made, the swimmer may turn in any manner desired.

The shoulders must be at or past the vertical toward the breast when the swimmer leaves the wall. Watch the feet leave the wall, then check shoulders for

body orientation

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At the finish, the body shall be on the breast and the touch shall be made with two hands separated and simultaneously at, above, or below the water surface. The hands need not be in the same plane The hands cannot be stacked one on top of

the other. It is not necessary to see space between the

hands.

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The swimmers shall line up in the water facing the starting end, with both hands placed on the gutter or on the starting grips.

Standing in or on the gutter, placing the toes above the lip of the gutter, or bending the toes over the lip of the gutter, before or after the start, is prohibited.

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The swimmer shall push off on his back and continue swimming on the back throughout the race.

Some part of the swimmer must break the surface of the water throughout the race, except it is permissible for the swimmer to be completely submerged during the turn, and for a distance of not more than 15 meters (16.4 yards) after the start and after each turn.

By that point, the head must have broken the surface of the water.

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Upon completion of each length, some part of the swimmer must touch the wall.

During the turn the shoulders may be turned past the vertical toward the breast after which an immediate continuous single arm pull or an immediate continuous simultaneous double arm pull may be used to initiate the turn.

The swimmer must have returned to a position on the back upon leaving the wall.

Watch the feet leave the wall, then check shoulders for body orientation

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Upon the finish of the race, the swimmer must touch the wall while on the back.

“The moment of touching the end of the course.”

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The forward start shall be used.

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After the start and after each turn when the swimmer leaves the wall, the body shall be kept on the breast.

It is not permitted to roll onto the back at any time.

Throughout the race the stroke cycle must be one arm stroke and one leg kick in that order.

All movements of the arms shall be simultaneous and in the same horizontal plane without alternating movement.

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The hands shall be pushed forward together from the breast on, under, or over the water.

The elbows shall be under water except for the final stroke before the turn, during the turn and for the final stroke at the finish.

The hands shall be brought back on or under the surface of the water.

The hands shall not be brought back beyond the hip line, except during the first stroke after the start and each turn.

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During each complete cycle, some part of the swimmer’s head shall break the surface of the water.

After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely back to the legs.

The head must break the surface of the water before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second stroke.

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After the start and each turn, a single butterfly kick, which must be followed by a breaststroke kick, is permitted during or at the completion of the first arm pull. First arm pull begins with observable separation of the

hands A pause after the separation of the hands is not a

violation Following which, all movements of the legs shall

be simultaneous and in the same horizontal plane without alternating movement.

The feet must be turned outwards during the propulsive part of the kick.

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A scissors, flutter or butterfly kick is not permitted except as provided herein.

Breaking the surface of the water with the feet is allowed unless followed by a butterfly kick.

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At each turn and at the finish of the race, the touch shall be made with two hands separated simultaneously at, above, or below the water level. The hands need not be in the same plane The hands cannot be stacked one on top of the other. It is not necessary to see space between the hands.

The head may be submerged after the last arm pull prior to the touch, provided it breaks the surface of the water at some point during the last complete or incomplete cycle preceding the touch

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The forward start shall be used.

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In an event designated freestyle, the swimmer may swim any style, except that in a medley relay or an individual medley event, freestyle means any style other than butterfly, breaststroke or backstroke.

Some part of the swimmer must break the surface of the water throughout the race, except it shall be permissible for the swimmer to be completely submerged during the turn and for a distance of not more than 15 meters (16.4 yards) after the start and each turn.

By that point the head must have broken the surface.

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Upon completion of each length the swimmer must touch the wall.

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The swimmer shall have finished the race when any part of his person touches the wall after completing the prescribed distance.

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The swimmer shall swim the prescribed distance in the following order: the first one-fourth, butterfly; the second one-fourth, backstroke; the third one-fourth, breaststroke; and the last one-fourth, freestyle.

Forward start Strokes are according to individual stroke rules Turns

Within a stroke treated as a turn for that stroke Transitioning between strokes treated as the finish of

the first stroke Finish at end of distance

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Four swimmers Each swimmer swims one-fourth of the

prescribed distance Each stroke is swum according to the rules of

the stroke In relay races a swimmer other than the first

swimmer shall not start until his/her teammate has concluded his/her leg “Start” means leaving the blocks/wall

Each relay team member shall leave the water immediately upon finishing his/her leg, except the last member

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Relay take-off Cover assigned lanes with partner Watch waiting swimmer until leaves

wall/blocks Look for touch of incoming swimmer Notate the take-off (DO NOT raise hand) Do not confer with partner until all assigned

exchanges are complete “I have a potential early take-off”

Partner will answer with their early take-offs (if any)

Dual confirmation results in a DQ

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Place Judge Position on side of the pool Cover all lanes Note as many as you can Record a tie if indistinguishable Results used to resolve timing discrepencies

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Act as mentor to other judges Verifies all deck calls

“What did you see?” “What rule was violated?” “What is your jurisdiction?” “Where were you?” Recommend judgment to referee

Communicates between deck judges and: Referee Announcer Swimmers

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Communicate with all deck officials before meet

Assign positions Conduct the official’s briefing Manage officials’ equipment

Radios Clipboards Paperwork

Complete DQ slips

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Unsportsmanlike conduct (102.10.3) Using objects for propulsion

Lane dividers (ropes) (102.10.11) Bottom of pool (during freestyle, swimmer

may stand) (102.10.5) Fins, etc. (102.10.10)

Interference (102.10.6 and 102.10.7) Not completing the distance prescribed Using watches or timing/pacing devices

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We are not the swimsuit police General specs

Men: Navel to knee Women: One-piece, collarbone to knee

One suit only “Modesty” garment

Exceptions must come from USA-S national chairman

Report infractions to the referee

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Attend and participate in all meet-related meetings assigned

Uniform (general; may be different per meet): Plain white polo-style shirt Plain shorts/slacks/skirts

Navy blue (USA-S/NCAA) White (YMCA/WIAA)

White socks White rubber-soled shoes (not Crocs or similar)

Control your emotions Admit and correct your mistakes

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Buy multiple shirts/bottoms Bring extra socks (you will get wet) Radios

Any walkie-talkie style with multiple channels Target Scheels Gander Mountain

Good headset NOT for use with cell phones Many styles Scheels hunting

Some teams provide radios; don’t count on it

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Swimming is merely a sport; it is not life-and death

Take officiating seriously You are in a position of authority: Act like

it And remember, the benefit of the doubt

always goes to the swimmer

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Submit USA Swimming Apprentice Official Application Apprentice officials have 60 days from the start of their training

before they are required to join as non-athlete members of USA Swimming and complete all membership requirements in order to continue being on deck.

Take on-line tests for Stroke & Turn Judge/Timer Apprentice

4 sessions (2 or more meets; 2 or more mentors—Signed card sent to Officials Chair)

Complete Level 2 Background Check (every two years) Complete On-line Athlete Protection Course (every two years) USA-S Non-Athlete Membership (within 60 days) Establish relationships with other Officials

Especially “Lead” officials Volunteer often everywhere Re-cert

USA-S Non-Athlete Membership and APT - Every Year USA-S Official: Refresher clinic or online re-cert test – Prior to the

beginning of every even-numbered year YMCA Official: Every three years

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