Officials Bulletin - February 2024

An update on Swimming Official matters in Ontario

New / Updated Resources

Referee and Starter Assessment Forms

The Referee Assessment Form and Starter Assessment Form have been updated incorporating all the recent rule changes. The major changes are:

Changes to flow to better match the flow of the session
Addition of a general notes page. This page is not part of the evaluation and may be used in any manner by the evaluator or candidate. It does not need to be included when submitting formal applications for certification.
The term checklist has been replaced by quick notes. The lists were originally intended to simplify note taking by the mentor/evaluator. The change in naming is meant to reinforce that not all items apply to the session being evaluated.
Additional quick notes to cover concussion protocol, Para and D/deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Navigating Scenarios at Competitions

The SOOC is pleased to launch the Dilemmas and Scenarios webpage called Navigating Scenarios at Competitions. This was first introduced at the September Officials Seminar. Daryle Martin chairs the working group that will offer insightful guidance to swimming officials. This resource provides valuable support in navigating diverse scenarios and dilemmas. Explore best practices and strategic approaches to help officials make informed decisions, ensuring fair play and maintaining the integrity of the competition environment.

Explore the scenarios HERE
Submit your own scenario or dilemma HERE

The Working Group continues to work on submission and as they are finalized, they will be added to the website.

D/deaf or Hard of Hearing - swimmers at competitions

Swimming Canada and Swim Ontario are committed to fostering a safe, inclusive environment for all participants in their competitions, including athletes, coaches, officials, support staff, and volunteers. Recently, Swimming Canada has introduced a new feature on the Meet Entry Management page, accessible through the Meet Manager Account on the RTR. This feature identifies swimmers who self-identify as D/deaf or Hard of Hearing during registration.

To support these athletes, Swimming Canada has released a comprehensive document detailing best practices and accommodations for D/deaf and Hard of Hearing swimmers at competitions. This document provides guidance for clubs, coaches, and officials on how to facilitate a positive experience for these athletes. It's important to recognize that not all swimmers identified in the report will require accommodations, and the specific accommodations needed may vary from competition to competition. Therefore, open dialogue between Meet Management and the club or coach prior to the event is crucial.

The document outlines three main accommodations:

Non-verbal instruction provided by a registered support person listed in the RTR system. The document offers examples and detailed guidance on this accommodation.
Hand signals given by the starter/referee. A video example and the Referee/Starter clinics are available for further reference.
The use of an external strobe light, with protocols provided in the document for its appropriate use.

By implementing these accommodations and fostering open communication, Swim Ontario aims to ensure that D/deaf and Hard of Hearing swimmers can fully participate and excel in competitions.

Meet Package wording update

Beginning April 1, 2024, meet packages will need to have a declaration indicating what type of accommodations the competition will offer to support D/deaf or Hard of Hearing swimmers. The meet package templates have been updated with following wording.

This competition can provide the following accommodations for swimmers who are d/Deaf or Hard of hearing:

Non-verbal instruction provided by a support person duly registered in the RTR and/or
Hand signals given by the starter/referee and/or
An external strobe light.

The wording is located after the Dive Starts options under the Competition Rules section. You can find the templates at link HERE. You may update your meet packages and send them to nicole@swimontario.com for upload to the RTR. Meet packages will be uploaded after March 3, 2024.

February National Official Bulletin

Hot off the press is the National Officials Bulletin with the latest information. Of note

Congratulations to Su Kin Cheong on her appointment to the Pan Am Aquatics (PAQ) List - Starter and to Trevor Cowan on his appointment to the PAQ Swimming Discipline Committee.
AQUA OPEN WATER SCHOOL – DECLARATION OF INTEREST
- World Aquatics Open Water School, April 6-7, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec.
- Interested and eligible officials must submit their declaration of interest by March 10. See bulletin for details
World Aquatics provided an updated version of their Competition Regulations in effect January 1, 2024.
- The new version of the Swimming Canada rulebook will be available on the Swimming Canada website by March 1, 2024.
NEW SWIMMING CANADA REGISTRATION SYSTEM UPDATE
- As we prepare for the new registration system to go live in September 2024, we encourage COAs to ensure that officials data is up-to-date and as accurate as possible before we transition to the new system. COAs should work to remove duplicate officials accounts, ensure that officials records are accurate, and update officials clinics, evaluations and certification dates.

Swim Ontario Officials Committee

The Swim Ontario Officials Committee (SOOC) membership and roles have changed this season. We would like to thank departing members Ron Riley, Nancy Riopel and Cathy Alex for their service and contributions to the committee.

Trevor Cowan has stepped down as co-Chair of the SOOC and now represents Ontario at the Officials, Competition and Rules Committee (OCRC) at Swimming Canada. Trevor remains as a member of the SOOC as the OCRC representative on the committee. We would like to thank Trevor for his leadership as co-chair of the SOOC for the past seven years and his continued contributions going forward as the OCRC representative.

Darren Richer is set to assume the position of co-chair alongside Nicole Parent. Darren brings a wealth of experience as a committee member across different Swim Ontario committees, culminating in his latest appointment to SOOC. Notably, Darren has played a crucial role in the referee evaluation working group and has been instrumental in creating tools for clubs to foster the growth of officials.

Three new members to the committee are Ahmed Abdelfattah, Clarissa Salinas Moldawa, and Steve Sachs. These three individuals have made extensive contributions to the swimming community and their experience as we undergo some of the biggest changes to officiating in decades in the coming seasons.

Regional Officials Representatives (RORs)

This season has seen the expansion of Regional Officials Representatives from 1 per region to 2 per region. The roles and terms of reference of our RORs has been updated to reflect this change. Information for who your RORs can be found on the ROR role page. All six regions have had a second ROR added and we would like to welcome Kevin Wong, Siobhan Muldowney, Sean Smyth, Tym Barker, Rob Kavanagh and Mary Gerrard as new ROR representatives.

To ensure that RORs are adequately supported and have a strong voice in addressing regional issues with Swim Ontario the RORs now meet separately from the SOOC monthly with the co-chairs. This regional round table not only provides the conduit for grassroots communication from the clubs, but they also provide important feedback to the SOOC and Swim Ontario as changes happen.