The Cascade Swim Club relies on members participating as officials to host successful swim meets.

Swim meets are an essential part of competitive swimming and give athletes the opportunity to test their skills and reach their swimming goals.  They require an army of officials and volunteers to ensure that each competition runs smoothly.

Officials are the backbone of a swim meet and implement the technical and administrative rules of swimming at swim meets.  They have been trained in the officiating role that they perform as specified in The Swimming Canada Certification (officiating) Pathway.  Many officials are needed for each swim meet in order to have consistent and fair racing opportunities for the swimmers.

Without sufficient officials, swim meets cannot happen!

To work as an official at a swim meet in the current season, you must be:

1. Registered as an official with Swim Canada (SNC) in the current season which means that:
   • You have an account in SNC's new Registration and Events Management System (REMS).
   • You have added the membership type "Official" to your account via membership registration.
   • Your SNC official account is active.
2. Trained in an officiating position that you perform.  This means that:
   • You have taken the SNC clinic for that officiating position;
   • For all positions except Timekeeper and Safety Marshal, you were mentored in that position by shadowing a trained official performing that position at a swim meet.
     • ​​​​​​​To request a shadow position, please email our Cascade Officials Coordinator after you have completed the clinic.

Log into your SNC officiating account to:

• Register for and complete officiating clinics (courses);
• Track completion of clinics;
• Track your credentials, deck evaluations and certifications, and;
• Maintain your own deck log.

Log into the SNC education system and complete the following 2 clinics first, in either order:

• Introduction to Swimming officials (Timer)
• Safety Marshal

Once you have completed both clinics, you can volunteer as a Timer at Cascade hosted swim meets.  Volunteer as a Timer in several meets and, once you’ve gained some deck experience, you can sign up as a Timer or Timer/Relief.  Please note:  No shadow/mentoring shift is required prior to signing up as a Timer!

Safety Marshal
A Safety Marshal is assigned the important responsibility of maintaining a safe swim environment during warm-up by monitoring the behaviour of swimmers in and out of the pool.

Timekeeper
As a Timekeeper, you operate various timing devices, such as stopwatches or plungers (electronic buttons) attached to the automatic timing equipment. Timekeepers are responsible for starting their watches at the starter's signal, and stopping their watches or activating their buttons when any part of the swimmer's body touches the wall at the finish. The watch time is then recorded and used to determine the race results.

Inspector of Turns (IT)
An Inspector of Turns or IT observes the swimmers from either the start/finish end or the turn end of the pool. The inspector of turns is responsible for judging the starts, finishes, and turns during each race. At the start end this position was formerly referred to as Head Lane Timer or HLT.

Judge of Stroke (JS)
A Judge of Stroke or JS walks the distance alongside the side pool, typically between the backstroke flags, and observes the swimmers on their half of the pool. The JS ensures compliance with the rules pertaining to the mechanics of the swim such as the arm stroke and kick.

Chief Timer
The Chief Timer assures that all lanes have timekeepers, working stopwatches and/or electronic timing buttons, clipboards, pencils, and timing cards or sheets. If a Timekeeper didn’t start their stopwatch or needs to step away from their lane during a race the Chief Timer will step in to temporarily backfill.

Administration Desk (formerly called Clerk of Course)
The Administration Desk checks swimmers into the meet, "scratches" swimmers that are absent or do not intend to swim an event, and seeds swimmers according to their entry times. The Admin Desk may also shepherd swimmers from a staging area to the starting blocks or other necessary tasks during a meet session.

Chief Finish Judge (CFJ) / Chief Judge Electronics (CJE)
The Chief Judge Electronics determines official times when electronic timing equipment is in use.

Starter
The Starter ensures that all swimmers receive a fair and equitable start. The Starter works closely with the referee, and assumes responsibility for the start at the referee's signal. The Starter steps the swimmers onto the starting blocks or into the water, directs the swimmers to "take their mark", and in conjunction with the referee, determines when a false start has occurred. The Starter is also responsible for making sure that the starting equipment is in working order prior to the start of a session, and may instruct the timekeepers in their duties.

Chief Recorder and Recorder (formerly called Recorder-Scorer)
If you know your way around a computer, the Chief Recorder and Recorder, may be the place for you. Swimmers' times are received electronically  or manually by stopwatch. These times are received or entered using Hy-tek software, and are matched to the individual swimmer's name. The Recorder is responsible for bringing all this information together for posting the results of races.

Meet Manager
The Meet Manager is responsible for planning, organizing and executing every aspect of the meet. This individual makes sure the meet runs without a hitch. They prepare the swim meet package, complete the sanction application with Swim Ontario, arrange for equipment and items needed for the meet right to the awards presentation. This job requires someone with patience, perseverance and attention to detail to ensure the swim meet is a success.

Referee
The Referee has the overall authority and responsibility for seeing that the competition complies with all of the appropriate rules and regulations. The Referee resolves all questions related to the conduct of the swim meet and reviews any disqualifications.

If you have questions about officiating, you can contact the Cascade Officials Coordinator and/or the Cascade Club Officials Administrator.

Officials Coordinator: board.officials2.cascade@gmail.com
Contact the Officials Coordinator for:

• Questions regarding Officiating Roles
• On Deck/ Meet Volunteer Point Fulfillment Opportunities

Club Officials Administrator (COA):  board.officials4.cascade@gmail.com
The COA is a volunteer who assists Cascade Swim Club members in their quest to become trained, and possibly certified, as Swimming Canada officials.  Contact the Cascade COA to:

• Request a new officials account & register as an official with SNC.
• Ask questions about officiating clinics or your officials account.
• Notify that you have completed an officials clinic for the new swim season.
• Email image of your signed Certification card.