Officials Development Program & Sanctioning Requirements

July 18 update - Changes to Officials Development Program & Sanctioning Requirements for September 2024

Updates to the Sanction Requirements for the 2024-2025 season

Due to the learning curve to get officials registered and reporting capabilities in the REMS system, Swim Ontario will implement the following change to sanctioning requirements / ODP for next season.

To determine the eligibility for sanction requirements,

Events prior to March 1, 2025
- based on Achieved TIER at end of 2023-2024 season
  - First meet prior to January 1, 2025:
    - The Head Coach, Meet Manager(s) and Competition Coordinator(s) must be fully registered. Active Officials in the REMS system.
  - Second (or subsequent) hosted meet as well as first meet after January 1, 2025 and before March 1, 2025:
    - Head Coach, meet manager(s), Competition Coordinator(s) and majority of returning officials must be fully registered (status active) for the season. Active officials in the REMS system.
Events after March 1, 2025
- based on Achieved TIER at the sanction deadline outlined for each TIER with Active officials within the club in the REMS system.
The March 1, 2025 date may shift forward depending on available data through the REMS system.
Sanction deadlines for the 2024-2025 season:
- With the understanding that everyone will be learning the new REMS system, there will be leniency on the deadlines for sanction applications until January 1, 2025, however
  - any TIER II meets submitted within 2 weeks of the start of the event will be denied.
  - any TIER III or IV meet submitted within 4 weeks of the event start will be denied.
- Events taking place after March 1, 2025, the sanction application deadlines will be in place and enforced.
  - TIER I: In House competition: 2 weeks
  - TIER I: Class II Time Trial: 1 week
  - TIER I: Class I Time Trial: 5 business days
  - TIER II: Closed Invitational: 6 weeks
  - TIER III: Invitational: 8 weeks
  - TIER IV: Invitational: 8 weeks
  - Masters Meets: 4 weeks
  - Varsity only: 4 weeks
  - Provincial meets: 8 weeks

Although the TIER achieved will be based on the 2023-2024 season for many meets this season it is important to remember that

Clubs do have the ability to co-host (including regional clubs hosting / support) and gain support from affiliated officials.
Clubs are responsible to register their officials and volunteers through the REMS system. Swim Ontario will ensure sufficient officials at various stages of development are registered through the REMS system.
Swim Ontario can request either or both an official development plan and progress report on the officials grid to ensure a host club has sufficient officials in place to run a fair and safe competition.
Swim Ontario can request a Post Meet Report that would include
- Actual session timeline reports (start of warm-up, start of session, end of session, and delays)
- Scanned copies of the “checked-in” Officials Grids.
- Full Meet Backup
- Additional Information may be required from the Competition Coordinators and Meet Managers.
Swim Ontario can withdraw a sanction at any time if insufficient officials are in place or Swim Ontario procedures are not being followed to ensure a fair and safe competition.

Meet Listing for 2024-2025 season

Clubs that have achieved the sanctioning requirements for the meets they wish to list to advertise on the Swimming Canada public website, can begin to do so now.

With this latest communication, Swimming Canada has confirmed that listing (advertising) meet information for the 2024-2025 season on the RTR system will be transferred to the REMS system.

Clubs that have achieved the sanctioning requirements for the meets they wish to list to advertise on the Swimming Canada public website can do so now. There is an approval process to each listing from Swim Ontario.

If the club has reached Tier II, the meets must be listed as
- closed Invitational
- no more than 4 sessions.
If the club has reached Tier III, and wish to list a 3 day meet, they will need to contact Swim Ontario (nicole@swimontario.com) with the details and format of the meet prior to approval.
- no more than 6 sessions
- No time standards

If you have not reached the desired TIER, before listing of the meet Swim Ontario will require details of what you have planned to enable the meet to run as planned, i.e.

Co-hosting
Official support
Regional support

If no plan is in place, the listing can be modified to the TIER reached. This does not prevent a club from eventually being able to reach that TIER, it is simply advertising what the club can currently offer.

Sanctioning Requirements

During these past few years, the current Officials Development Program Procedure has been on hold as clubs rebuild their official’s base. Over this past season, the SOOC has undertaken to review the framework of the new certification pathway (to be launched in September 2025) and how this relates to the current Officials Development Program Procedure. Starting from the 2024-25 season, a new Official Development Program (ODP) and sanctioning requirements procedure will be implemented.

With the upcoming changes to the Certification Pathway, a role based qualification for the ODP and sanctioning is needed to reflect the way clubs operate and develop their officials.

For the next two seasons, until the new pathway is in place, we will use a hybrid system where certain positions are still Level based but the majority are role based.
The ODP and sanctioning requirements will determine what type of sanction a club can apply for beginning in September 2024.

The aim of the new certification pathway is to allow individuals to explore different officiating positions and for clubs to enhance their capacity to host more complex competitions. The emphasis will be on getting certified in positions where individuals excel.

All swim competitions must adhere to the rules set by Swimming Canada and Swim Ontario and ensure that they are properly staffed to provide a consistent and fair environment. The new ODP, approved by Swim Ontario, encourages clubs to engage their officials' progression through assigned roles at competitions, which will complement the club's ability to host and assist at meets.

The 2024-2025 season procedure will be based on a tiered competition system, as opposed to the size of the club. This means that any club will be able to determine, in advance, which of the tier of competition they are eligible to apply for based on their registered officials and their qualifications in positions and levels of certification. This ensures that clubs can continue their official development without being denied the opportunity to host competitions. Swim Ontario will determine the approved tier of competition at the time of sanction, and it is the club's responsibility to ensure they have reached that tier by registering officials and adding affiliated officials prior to the sanction application.

Sanction Tier & Sanctioning Matrix

Different sanction types were divided into different TIERS based on number of sessions and complexity of the competition which requires a higher number of qualified and certified officials to deliver a fair and consistent event. It is important to note that 75% of competitions in 2018, 2019, 2022 were 4 sessions or less.

TIER I: Class II Time Trial + In House Competition
TIER II: Closed Invitational (limited to 4 sessions)
TIER III: Open Invitational (limited to 6 sessions, no qualification standards)
TIER IV: Open or Closed Invitational + Regionals & Provincials (no upper session limits, any double ended meet or meet with qualification standards)

A sanctioning matrix was developed to ensure a minimum number of qualified and certified officials were in place with the club to be able to deliver a competition with the different levels of complexity. This is a hybrid system, using both Level of senior officials as well as individual positions that need to be staffed.

The Sanctioning Matrix can be found HERE

For full details see HERE

Officials Utility Tools

A software tool has been developed for Club Officials Administrators / Chairs that uses the information exported from the RTR (exported after September 18) to determine at what Tier a club can host a competition as well as providing recommendations for specific officials to allow the club (and official) to develop to next tier and position/level for the official.

This software will help both Swim Ontario and clubs determine where they land with the new ODP/sanctioning requirements. An important note to remember, this procedure does not come into effect until September 2024. Clubs can prepare now by determining where they land and begin official’s development to ensure they can meet the desired tiered competition.

The software also provides guidance for individual official’s assessments for Level II and below. A report card and next steps in their development. A useful tool for COCs and CCs as they begin to staff their upcoming competitions.

Go to link https://github.com/dmanusrex/SWON-Analyzer/releases/latest
Click swon-install.exe file
The software has a help guide incorporated.

A pdf is also available HERE

Note: Please contact Nicole for support with the software. Do NOT contact Swimming Canada. This is a Swim Ontario software that simply uses the exported data from the RTR.