Hello Cascade Officials,

Below, please find some information that I hope will help clarify a few of the details for becoming a trained and certified official.

Specifically, I've provided the current training and certification requirements for the Inspector of Turns (IT) and Judge of Strokes (JS) roles for those members who attended the Inspector of Turns (IT) and Judge of Stroke (JS) clinics a few weeks ago.

Cascade reminds members to refer to the following information resources if they are experiencing any confusion or need clarification:

• Swimming Canada's Officials Certification Pathway
• Swim Alberta | Officials
• Swim Alberta's Officials Certification Card (print and carry it with you at swim meets in case of surprise evaluations!)

Please email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Kathy Weir
Cascade Officials Administrator

What is required to work as an official at a Cascade hosted swim meet?

To work in a particular officiating position at a Cascade hosted swim meet, an official must be sufficiently trained so that they can work independently performing the duties of that role.

As per Cascade Points Program | Officials Training and Sign Up, to become sufficiently trained in an officiating position Cascade members must:

1. Complete the clinic for the specific officiating position;
2. If the position is not Timer or Safety Marshal, proceed to step 3.
   • To work as a Timer or Safety Marshal, completing the clinic is sufficient.
3. Complete at least one shadow shift in the officiating role.

What is required to be certified as an Inspector of Turns (IT)or Judge of Stroke (JS)?

According to Swimming Canada's Officials Certification Pathway members must be certified as an IT BEFORE their JS deck evaluation.

Shadow shifts

• Cascade officials must complete at least one shadow shift for almost every officiating position except for Timer and Safety Marshal.
• Officials cannot be evaluated during a shadow shift as they are not working independently in the officiating position.

Deck evaluations

• Deck evaluations are required to become certified in an officiating position.
• The specific number of evaluations required for each officiating position may vary depending on the position.  For that information, please consult Swimming Canada's Officials Certification Pathway.
• Referees have the authority to choose to evaluate officials during swim meet sessions.
• Officials are responsible for their own Swim Alberta Officials Certification Card.
• Officials are expected to have their Certification Card with them at all times while officiating at a swim meet.
• Officials cannot be evaluated during a shadow shift as they are not working independently in the officiating position.

Deck evaluation process

An official is responsible for arranging to be evaluated in an officiating.  They can in the officiating position they are working during at a swim meet.  To be evaluated in an officiating postion 

• Prior to the start of the meet session, the official must:
  • approach the session Referee and request an evaluation;
  •  provide their certification card.Officials are responsible to arrange their own deck evaluations. 
• At the end of the meet session and only if their evaluation was successful, the official must:
  • ensure that the referee signs their certification card.
  • Send an email to the Cascade Officials Administrator that includes:
    • name of official evaluated;
    • login email of their Swimming Canada officials account;
    • the officiating position evaluated;
    • Swim meet session information including meet name, session date & time;
    • photo of their certification card with the Referee's signature.
    • As per Swim Alberta Officials Certification Card:  "It is the Official’s responsibility to provide their certification card to their Club Officials Administrator" to update their officials account.

Certification

• An official is certified in an officiating position by satisfying all of the certification requirements set out in Swimming Canada's Officials Certification Pathway.
• As implied in Swimming Canada's Officials Certification Pathway, officials are expected to pursue becoming certified in officiating positions once they've completed training and gained deck experience.