Courses for Officials and Volunteers
There are a number of e-learning courses now available to support Officials and Volunteers. Further information and online booking are available here.
- Swimming Technical Officials – Judge 1 Theory
- Swimming Technical Officials – Timekeeping
- Swimming Technical Officials – Judge 1 Theory for qualified Time Keepers
- A Beginner’s Guide to Refereeing Swimming
- Contemporary Issues
- Swim England Child Safeguarding
World Aquatics Competitions Regulations
Which include all the Rules for each of our Aquatic Sports, are updated on a regular basis. They do not have a “Start and End”, just “effective from Date”
Details can be found at https://www.worldaquatics.com/rules/competition-regulations.
British Swimming Judge Level 1 training (2020)
Monday 27th January 2020 saw the launch of the new online theory modules for the training of the pool Judge 1 technical officials. This brings to a close a considerable amount of work in partnership with Swim England and the Institute of Swimming to ensure we are delivering a quality product to our volunteers.
Whilst the content of the training remains largely unchanged, the move to an online format is designed to allow volunteers to start the training at their own pace and to fit with all the other lifestyle commitments which we know our volunteers have.
Access to local support is available on request by emailing swimmingofficials@swimming.org.
Once their theory training is complete and registered, candidates will be provided with local contacts to guide them through their practical assessments. Training resources have been updated, and clear guidance is now included on suggested timescales for completing each competence, with a time limit of 11 months being introduced.
Upon completion of all Judge 1 training individuals will automatically be issued with their first licence, which will be valid for 4 years, which then enable them to apply to volunteer at all events up to and including National level.
Find out more and register for the course
(If you have been provided with a voucher to access a closed course for your Region/County please ensure that you register using the link provided with the voucher and not the one above, which is for the national course.)
For details of changes to the course as it moves online please read our summary document here.
Recovering officials license fees
Swim England South East have now agreed a procedure to assist Counties and/or clubs on how to manage the administration of course registration and recover license fees.
The total fee for the course registration and license fee is £20. This must be paid in full, at the time the candidate applies for the online training course. The fee is made up of two elements:
- £10 course fee
- £10 license fee
Stage 1
Registering for the course
The course/license fee of £20 can be paid by:
- Debit card directly to the Institute of Swimming (IoS), or
- Pre-paid IoS Voucher (can only be procured by County or Club).
Other payment options may be introduced by the Institute of Swimming at a later date.
NB. Counties or Clubs may choose to provide a prepaid IoS voucher prior to candidates signing up for the course or refund the course/license fee to the candidate.
Stage 2
Recovering the license fee from the Region
- On successful completion of the course a candidate, must provide a copy of their course certificate to their County or Club.
- Candidate’s county or club may submit a claim to Swim England South East Region for the total amount covering the “notified” completions.
- Applications for refunds of the £10 license fee may only be made twice a year covering the periods March to August and September to February.
To submit a claim please click here.
Swimming Technical officials (STOs) are a central part of every swimming event and play an important role in ensuring the events run smoothly, safely and within the sport’s regulations.
Officials do not need to be experienced swimmers or have a competitive background. Everything that you need to know to work as an official is provided in the training programme. There is an expectation that before you progress to the next level of technical official that you will gain at least 6 months of poolside experience that is evidenced in your logbook.
All three home countries now use FINA Technical Rules. As such, trained officials are listed as British Swimming Officials.
Register for the Swim England Officials Newsletter here
Ian Bond is responsible for recruiting all officials for Regional Swimming Championships.
All STO’s training is delivered through Swim England approved Course Leaders, based in the sub regions. Please contact your county co-ordinator or George Adamson for more information.
Resources
