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Level 4

Level 4 Certification – GREEN Pin

Requirements

A. Successful completion of the following requirements:

  • any outstanding certifications for remaining Level II positions, obtaining two successful deck evaluations in the position as noted under Level II;
  • Referee Clinic (please review Note below in regards to this clinic);
  • Experience as a Referee at a minimum of five sessions. It is recommended that these 5 sessions take place at different competitions in different pools and pool configurations;
  • Conduct a minimum of two different Level II officials clinics within the year of application under the supervision of a Level V official (official must be certified in the position for the clinic they are presenting);

B. Complete one year of active service as a Level III official working a variety of positions, which shall include a minimum of two sessions as a Stroke Judge and/or Inspector of Turns;

C. Obtain the approval of the Provincial Officials’ Chairperson or their delegate to be evaluated and have two successful evaluations, in the position of Referee by a Level V official. It is recommended provinces implement a mentoring process whereby Level III officials receive formal mentor assessment(s), by Level V officials, prior to request for evaluation.

Note: An official may act in the position of Referee upon completion of the Referee clinic and who has completed the meet manager and CJE/CFJ or Chief Recorder clinics but has not yet been certified in these positions. Certification will be required to achieve level IV cert ification as per A i) above.

Completing the requirements for Level IV (A&B), with the exception of the above note on completing certifications and acting in the capacity of Referee, may happen simultaneously or in any order. The one year of active service begins following the achievement of Level III.

SwimON Note: As of Septembe 2022 Level III certification requires the official to have taken the Para Swimming E-modules (available on the LMS) or the Para Swimming Domestic Clinic. It is therefore implied that current Level IV/V cadidates are also required to have taken the Para Swimming E-modules (available on the LMS) or the Para Swimming Domestic Clinic.

SwimON Note: It is important that the Level IV Official candidate review the evaluation and certification process for a level 4 Official as specific requirements are needed for the approval of request for evaluation.

The 5 Referee Sessions

Swimming Canada requires a minimum of 5 referee sessions for Level IV certification. These five sessions should be treated as “on-deck evaluations” as done for other positions. A developing referee can request the mentor Level V perform a “deck evaluation” and would be deemed a deck evaluation if they demonstrate suitable skills at their point in development.

This deck evaluation can occur during the same session where a full referee assessment is performed, but an RA is not required to receive a referee session deck evaluation. It is expected that the standard for a successful RA (which indicates the candidate is ready for the next level of certification) is higher than the standard for a deck evaluation sign-off (which indicates the referee has shown competency at their current level of certification). A minimum of 3 different Level V mentors should be providing these deck evaluations.

General Process

  1. Candidates who have not already done so should declare their intent to seek a Level IV/V certification by e-mailing refevals@swimontario.com. This will allow candidates to take advantage of province wide Q&A sessions and other support during the certification process.
  2. Candidates should review the clarifications below to assist them in meeting the requirements for their submission.
  3. Candidates should submit their formal application directly to refevals@swimontario.com. The referee evaluations committee will review and validate the submission.
  4. The committee will advise the ROR of the receipt of a valid submission and provide the ROR an opportunity to provide any additional feedback to the committee
  5. The committee will then schedule the formal evaluation.
  6. The candidate will receive the formal notice from Swim Ontario of their scheduled evaluation date.

Level IV Submission Requirements

The following documentation must be submitted to the Referee Evaluation Sub-Committee and their ROR.

  1. The 5 referee deck evaluations / sign-offs (not necessarily referee assessments) on the official’s card or online Level IV referee sessions should be done by a minimum of 3 different Level V officials. All deck evaluations / sign-offs must be done at different meets. There is NO time limit for the 5 the deck evaluations / sign-offs.
  2. As part of the pandemic recovery the committee has relaxed the timeframe for conducting clinics. For the 2022/23 season supervised clinics conducted in the 24 months preceding the application will be accepted for Level IV applicants. Starting in the 2023/24 season requirements will revert to within 12 months of application.
  3. The 3 referee assessments must be within the 12 months preceding the date of application.
  4. The two sessions as judge of stroke or inspector of turns can be at any competition in Canada, within 12 months and should be part of your deck log.
  5. Candidates may request that one of their referee assessments be conducted out of province. All such requests must be pre-approved and candidates should contact the committee for further details.
  6. Completion of the Para-Swimming LMS e-module or the Domestic Para-Swimming Clinic if not completed previously.

Level IV Formal Evaluation

The Mentor Referees will help with preparing the candidate for their formal evaluation as a Referee and/or Starter, however, will not be assigned as evaluators for their formal evaluations unless no other evaluator is available.

A request for evaluation with supporting documents requires a minimum of 6 weeks to review, approve request and organize the evaluation.

The formal evaluation for Level IV candidates requires them to work 2 sessions as Referee and must have a combined minimum session length of over 5 hours with a variety of events offered.

These formal evaluations will be conducted by two Level V officials. The level IV evaluation can have two level V evaluators from the same region.

Once the evaluations are completed & the evaluators have deemed the candidate successful,

  • the evaluators will present the official with their level IV green pin
  • one of the evaluators must send the following documents to the Referee Evaluation Committee, POA and candidate
    • Level IV certification form (completed and signed by evaluators)

Swim Ontario has final approval for all Level IV certification.

Successful Level IV candidates will receive a reconginition gift as well as their pin.

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