Officials
Qualified Officials at the Club
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| Trevor Marshall |
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| Tony Davenport |
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| Jeni Colbourne |
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| Karen Tuddenham |
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| Kate Steele |
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| Paula Bell |
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| Sharon Gourlay |
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| Heather Edwards |
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| Angela Porter |
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| Edwina Attwood |
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| Julie Wilkinson |
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| Claire Quick |
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| Juliet Cliffe |
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| Fiona Groom |
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| Dawn Osborne |
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| Alan Bird |
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| Kathryn Sweet |
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| Andy Doran |
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| Jackie Stuart |
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| Sha Thilakawardana |
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| Linda Whall |
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| Mike Jenkins |
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| Stewart Wallis |
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| Sally Turner |
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| Kirsty Rapley |
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| Adrian Harms |
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| Simon Collinson |
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| Ellen Johnson |
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| Ian Johnson |
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| Richard Young |
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| Nick Walther |
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| Kate Gibson |
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Process of Official Provision
- Club Timekeepers: WV run an internal course to encourage parents and older swimmers to learn the techniques
of timekeeping. A booklet, based on ASA guidelines, is given to each prospective timekeeper. They shadow
timekeepers at club events and then undertake a practical assessment.
- Judges / Starters / Referees: WV initially offer a shadowing system at galas to introduce the protocol and
set up mentoring links. We encourage prospective officials to take the next step of enrolling on Officials
Training Courses run by the ASA. The relevant workbooks can be downloaded
from the ASA website.
- Initially all enquiries are through the Wey Valley coordinator:
- Paula Bell (Officials Coordinator)
Qualification Path
Club Timekeeper
This will cover the practical aspects of what is required of a timekeeper by means of a short theory session
followed by a practical assessment. The minimum recommended age for candidates to undertake this
training is 14 years. All candidates do need to ensure that they are registered members of a British
Swimming affiliated club or a member of the Institute of Swimming (IoS)
Judge Level 1
This is the first level of British qualification. This will encompass the role and duties
of a Timekeeper, Chief Timekeeper and Inspector of Turns. The minimum age to commence
training is 15 years. Candidates may undertake some instruction and will be required to complete a
course workbook, following which a practical assessment will be undertaken. There is no formal
theory examination however, during the practical assessment candidates will be required to
answer oral questions. Upon qualification candidates will be attributed with the qualification Judge
level 1 on the British Swimming Database and will be encouraged to become a Licensed Official.
Judge Level 2
This is the second level of qualification. This will encompass the role and duties in
relation to all aspects of Judging and the theoretical role and duties of Starter. The minimum age
to commence training is 15 years. Candidates may undertake some instruction and will be required
to complete a course workbook, following which a practical assessment will be undertaken. There
is no formal theory examination however, during the practical assessment candidates will be
required to answer oral questions. When qualified, candidates will be attributed with the
qualification Judge level 2 on the British Swimming Database.
Starter
Candidates who wish to qualify as a Starter will be required to hold the Judge Level 2
qualification and be a minimum age of 15 years. Training will consist of a prescribed number of
practical experiences as a Starter before undertaking a formal practical assessment. Successful
candidates will be attributed with the Starter qualification, Judge Level 2S.
Referee
Candidates for this course are required to be qualified at Judge level 2S. A candidate
may register to commence training aged 17 years but must be 18 years old at 30th November in
the year of the course. This course contains theoretical instruction and specified practical
experiences and is followed by a formal examination in November after which successful
candidates will undertake a final poolside practical assessment leading to qualification as a British
Swimming Referee. Several months have been allocated between registration and the formal
examination to enable candidates to undertake all the practical experience required to complete
the course as well as the theoretical instruction.
Surrey ASA Training
Judge Officials Training Courses in the Surrey area are run by Amanda Doyle.
The cost for each course is around £10 per person and workbooks are supplied on the day.
Each session is limited to a maximum of ten people. Enquiries and applications should be directed to:
Amanda Doyle on 07771 848339 or by email
Course Dates
See Officials section of Surrey Website for local courses.
Officials Updates
It was 'im what disqualified 'im
... or 'er what disqualified 'im, or 'er what disqualified 'er . whatever.
In fact it wasn't. Only the Referee can disqualify a swimmer, never a Judge (or the Starter, or anyone else). It's the Judge's duty to report to the Referee any competitor who doesn't comply with the ASA Technical Rule for the stroke. The Referee may have seen the same infringement himself, in which case he will disqualify the swimmer anyway, but if he didn't see it, he'll discuss it with the Judge and will only disqualify if he's quite convinced with the explanation. The Referee will always feel happier if more than one person saw the infringement.
In summary, the Judge reports what he sees, the Referee decides if there's to be a disqualification. If there's any doubt, the swimmer is given the benefit of that doubt.
Going Round in Circles...
...or occasionally dancing a doh-si-doh.
You may have noticed that the Judges at a Gala don't stay in the same position for long. A bit of variety helps us to concentrate! The Lead Referee works it all out beforehand. A common practice is for the Judges to move one or two places clockwise after so many Events. If there are lot of Heats in an Event, like in an Open Meet, it could be move after every Event; or if it's something like the Rother League, where each Event only has one Heat, it could be move after 10 Events.
Stand down swimmers!
This question arose after a swimmer (from another club) was disqualified at the Start of a race at a gala we took part in recently. Can a swimmer (or relay team) be disqualified for a false start after the referee or starter has said 'Stand down swimmers'?
No, they can't. As soon as the swimmers have been stood down, the Start has been negated - even if they didn't hear the Referee - he knows he's negated the Start. A false start is when a swimmer starts before, or is moving when the starting signal is given. The Referee disqualifies a swimmer if they make a false start.
However, there are other reasons than a false start why a swimmer may be disqualified at the start. These are delaying the start, wilfully disobeying an order at the start, or any other misconduct taking place at the start. It's the Referee's decision to disqualify for any of these reasons.
Changes for swimmers to be aware of... - effective from 1st October 2005
Changes to Stroke Rules
There are some changes to the Stroke Rules for you to be aware of, but swimmers should always follow the instruction of their Coach on how to swim the stroke. These changes are effective from Saturday 1st October 2005.
- Backstroke: At the start, there is no longer the requirement for the toes against the wall to be below the surface of the water. This change will certainly speed up those starts where swimmers used to be asked to lower their toes.
- Breaststroke: After the start and after each turn, whilst the body is wholly submerged, a single downward dolphin kick is now permitted before the breaststroke kick. The reason for this rule change is because it was often difficult to judge between an intentional dolphin kick and the natural undulation of the body.
- Relays: There is now no second chance if a swimmer makes an early take-over in a relay race. Previously if a swimmer's feet lost touch with the starting platform before their preceding team-mate touched the wall, they could swim back to the wall and start again. Now that second-chance option has been removed.
Incorporation of FINA Rules
Also from 1st October, the Rules of FINA, the international swimming body, are incorporated into the ASA Technical Rules. This is really to create a level playing field when swimmers from different countries compete. For us, the effect is mostly on how the officials will now operate, but there are two changes that swimmers should be aware of, particularly those who attend open meets.
When you've finished your race. Once they have completed their race, swimmers are now no longer required to stay in the water until released by the Referee. HOWEVER, you should always listen carefully to announcements made at the start of the gala. At the Wey Valley Club Championships and, I would expect, most other galas you attend, it will be announced that you must stay in the water until the Referee tells you to get out. This will be for safety and to assist the smooth running of the gala.
400 metre Freestyle. Those older swimmers amongst you who enter 400 metre freestyle races, won't now receive a warning whistle (or bell) when you have 2 lengths and 5 metres left to swim. But there will still be the warning whistle for races where lap cards are shown – 800 and 1500 metre races.
If you have any query about any of this, ask your Coach!
Have a good swimming year. When you compete in a gala, always be guided by what your Coach has taught you and always listen carefully to the loud-speaker announcements.
Trevor Marshall.
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