Officials
Swim officials are critical for any swim meet. Without the necessary number of officials, a swim meet will not be sanctioned which means that our swimmers' times will not be recognised.
We would love to see more SMS parents training to become swim officials.
The below information introduces parents to the various officiating roles that are necessary to run a sanctioned meet; walk through the technical features of each swim stroke; describe the potential stroke and turn violations that may lead to disqualification; and illustrate the documentation and procedures that officials follow in practice.
At the end of a CIASA training session, parents will be ready to sign-up as trainees at future swim meets, where they will shadow registered officials and practice the tasks in real-time under supervision. After a few sessions as a trainee, most people are ready to step into the role on their own.
REMEMBER - OFFICIALS HAVE THE BEST VIEW OF ALL THE RACES! And it’s a great way to get involved, understand the stroke rules and meet other swim parents.
Becoming a swim official:
For an overview on how to become a swim official, please click on this link - CIASA Becoming an Official
CIASA is governed by World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (Fédération internationale de natation), the international body recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for for administering international competitions in water sports.
Please note that we follow World Aquatics rules and not USA Swimming rules.
World Aquatics training videos:
Training videos are a great resource for both trainee officials and seasoned officials. We recommend that they are reviewed before a meet by all officials -
