Officials News Archive - August, 2011

Hi Folks!

The mini expo is just around the corner and I hope many of you are planning upon attending.  The event will be held at Pacific University again this year on Saturday, October 1.  We will offer two sessions of clinics; the morning session will see Train the Trainer, Master Trainer, and Referee clinics, and in the afternoon we will have Stroke and Turn, Electronic Timer, and Starter clinics, as well as a general information session open to all officials and suggested for referees.  Check back here and/or the home page for exact starting times.

FYI, the Referee training material is currently being revised.  Some changes will be in place at the time of the mini expo and others may not yet be made to the material.  Two changes which will be in effect are prerequisites for the training; advancement to referee training will now require a recommendation from a member of the Officials Committee, and a minimum number of sessions as a Chief Judge at an OSI championship meet or a sectional meet will be required prior to attending a clinic.  As the material is updated it will replace existing documents on the web so moving forward be sure to review the material prior to holding a referee clinic.

Another change will be implemented with this year’s USA Swimming registration; this year USAS will require online Athlete Protection Training from all non-athlete members.  Details of the training are not yet known, except to say this will be an online training course lasting about an hour and there will be no cost associated with the training.  This training is a part of the legislation enacted at last year’s USAS House of Delegates requiring background screening.  The go-live target is September 15 and completion is mandatory for 2012 registration. 

Hope to see you at the mini expo!

Bob McMillan

_