Officials need to have some training which is provided through the county. For competitions licensed at Level 1 or 2, ALL officials are required to be licensed.
Brief descriptions of the various roles involved in running a competition are given below.
Referee: Has complete control of the competition, the venue and the other officials in all matters of the swimming laws, health and safety and conduct.
Starter (J2S): Starts each event, has certain powers of disqualification.
Stroke Judge (J2): Patrols the side of the pool to observe that swimmers conform to the Laws of strokes.
Finish Judge: Stands at the finish of each event to record the finish order, may also act as Turn Judge.
Turn Judge (J1): Observes that the swimmers conform to Swim England Laws regarding turns and relay take-overs.
Chief Timekeeper: Obtains recorded time from each Timekeeper, and passes to the referee.
Timekeeper: Take and record the time of the swimmer in the lane allotted.
More information on the requirements to be an Official is provided in Training for Officials.
For insurance purposes, all those officiating on poolside at any competition must be registered members of a British Swimming affiliated club or a member of the Institute of Swimming.
