Officials News

Hi Folks!

One question I've heard asked many times over the years is "do I count the meeting?"  Another is "do I count the breaks?"

These questions refer, of course, to our recertification logs.  Some people believe we should count the time we spend at officials meetings, while others believe we should not; some folks subtract their time for breaks while others don't.  We have no hard and fast rule, or at least we didn't ...

Moving forward, please use the following process for totaling the hours to enter on your recertification log: count the time from the beginning of the officials meeting through either the end of the session or the time you stop working, should you stop before the end of the session.  

This should get everyone on the same page, and take the math and guesswork out of logging your time. 

See you on deck!

Bob McMillan

Hi Folks!

As many of you are aware, OSI has begun using the USA Swimming Officials Tracking System (OTS) to replace our referee's (post) meet report.  Replacing the meet report with OTS makes the post-meet reporting easier, and it allows the referee to update the OTS meet/session tracking for all officials attending a meet.  One advantage of the referee entering sessions for officials is for the official who is new to the National certification program (N2/N3).  When an official first applies for National certification their information is already loaded in the system so they won't have to go back and enter years worth of deck service.  Another advantage is that officials who are already accustom to updating OTS will no longer need to do this; the meets are now pre-loaded in OTS and the referee needs to simply add names and sessions.

The future plan for OTS, when the system is capable and OSI can determine a process, is for OTS to replace the officials recertification log.  This change is not in place at this time so all officials must continue using the old school recertification log to track meets and hours worked.

If you have any questions about the system or process please contact your Area Chair or send an email to me.

See you on deck!

Bob McMillan