Support your team and athletes!
Swim Officials play a key role supporting the operation of a swim meet. While there is no official certification for judging high school meets, we encourage anyone interested in completing the courses below and shadowing (if possible) someone already familiar with the rules.
What is an official? Technical officials are the people in white who are responsible for enforcing that the rules of swimming and that all swimmers have the opportunity to compete fairly in events they swim. At any meet, there is a range of different officials including starter/referee, stroke and turn judges, and administrative official.
Why do we have them? Officials are present at all competitions to enforce the technical and administrative rules of swimming, thus ensuring that the competition is fair and equitable for everyone.
What is the time commitment? It generally takes about 1 hour for each of the courses below. High school meets generally run 2.5 hours.
Whether you’re a seasoned swimmer or new to the sport, becoming an official is open to anyone willing to learn!
Resources
Getting Started
- Request a link to become a 60-day free USA Swimming member
- Follow the link in your email and complete your 60-day Apprentice Official registration
- Complete the “Foundations of Officiating” course
- Log into the USA Swimming website
- Navigate to the USA Swimming University
- Select the “Officials” filter
- Take the “Foundations of Officiating” course
- Complete one of the following courses (or both) depending on what your interests are:
Note: You can start the course without completing the test at the end. You are allowed unlimited test retakes without penalty.- Stroke & Turn Judges: The stroke and turn judge observes swims and makes calls regarding starts, arm stroke, leg kick, turns, and finishes.
While logged into the USA Swimming University from Step 2, complete the “Stroke and Turn Certification Course” - Administrative Official (AO): The administrative official is responsible for the accuracy of the swimmer’s times at the meet. They manage confirmation of official times and resolve timing Issues and manage administrative paperwork
While logged into the USA Swimming University from Step 2, complete the “Administrative Official Certification Course”
- Stroke & Turn Judges: The stroke and turn judge observes swims and makes calls regarding starts, arm stroke, leg kick, turns, and finishes.