Officials Development Program & Sanctioning Requirements

Competition Sanction Obligations Procedure Competition Coordinator Requirements

Age Group Club Officials Development Program - Sanctioning Requirements 2026-2027 Competition Updates & Post Meet Fees Presentation

Meet Listing for 2026-2027 season

Swim Ontario is pleased to confirm that clubs may now submit their meet listings through the REMS Meet Module for the 2026–2027 season. All meets listed will then show on Swimming Canada's Upcoming Meets Events Page with limited details (Name of Meet, Start Date, Host and course).

All submitted listings will be reviewed by Swim Ontario staff, and any meets that do not align with the current requirements — such as Tier eligibility, session limits, or formatting — may be removed or adjusted without notice.

Important Notes:

Key Listing Requirements:

• Meet listings must reflect your club’s current TIER status:
  • Tier II
    • Must be listed as Closed Invitational
    • Maximum of 4 sessions
  • Tier III
    • May be up to 3 days and 6 sessions
      
• Time standards are not permitted in Tier II or Tier III meets. They may only be included once a club has achieved Tier IV status.
• Clubs that have not yet reached the required Tier for their intended format must outline how the meet will be supported:
  • Co-hosting with another club
  • Securing certified officials
  • Regional assistance
  • If no plan is submitted, the listing will have delayed approval until the information is provided. This does not prevent a club from reaching a higher Tier later — it simply ensures that all current listings are appropriate and realistic.
  • Clubs must email nicole@swimontario.com with meet details and format prior to listing.

Questions may be directed to nicole@swimontario.com.

Updates to the Sanction Requirements for the 2026-2027 season

To determine the eligibility for sanction requirements:

For sanctions taking place before October 30, 2026, the achieved TIER will be based on the 2025-2026 season ending TIER with no affiliated officials, however, the TIER will be determined as of the date of sanction application for sanctions after October 30, 2026. Clubs will be required to have their officials registered and Active in order to apply for the desired TIER sanctions.

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.

• 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

Clubs do have the ability to co-host (including regional clubs hosting) and gain support from affiliated registered 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.

Sanction deadlines for the 2026-2027 season:

As access to meets is not before September 1, 2026 here will be leniency on the deadlines for sanction applications for meets taking place before October 30, 2026, 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 October 30, 2026 the sanction application deadlines will be in place and enforced.

• In House competition: 2 weeks
• Class II Time Trial: 1 week
• Class I Time Trial: 5 business days
• Open or Closed Invitational: 8 weeks
• Masters Meets: 4 weeks
• Varsity only: 4 weeks