A Level 5 official who, on behalf of Swim Ontario, conduct formal referee/starter assessments and evaluations for a Level 4/5 candidate.
Responsibilities
Observe and watch which competencies and skills the Referee/Starter has been able to use and demonstrate.
Keep thorough notes - including problems encountered and solutions utilized.
Stay engaged throughout the session(s), and avoid multitasking and distractions.
Referee Assessments
A Referee Assessment can take place at a sanctioned event that is suitable:
A session length of 2.5 hours or more.
A variety of events in all 4 strokes offered. A session that includes mainly distance freestyle events does not provide adequate experience for the developing referee to refine their skills.
Mentored by a Level 5
Level 2 Developing Referee official must be undert he guidance of a Level 4 or 5 official when in the referee position
Level 3 Referee officials may continue with mentoring (using the assessment form as a tool for their development).
A reminder that these mentoring sessions can be done with a Level 4 or 5 official.
Mentoring Starters
As part of the development of a Starter, the starter assessment tool is intended to be used on an ongoing basis for Starters to assess their own competencies/skills and create a tool for discussion with the mentor official who may be working with a Starter on their development.
The Starter Assessment (SA) form can be used at anytime the developing starter first begins actively starting. Not all sessions assigned as starter need to be a full starter assessment.
Mentoring Referees
Referee Assessment Form as a development tool
As part of the development of a Referee, the referee assessment tool is intended to be used on an ongoing basis for Referees to assess their own competencies/skills and create a tool for discussion with the mentor Referee or Competition Coordinator who may be working with a Referee on their development.
The Referee Assessment (RA) form can be used at anytime the developing referee first begins actively refereeing. Not all sessions assigned as referee need to be a full referee assessment. A developing referee is encouraged to concentrate the feedback on specific areas such as the general briefing, stroke briefing, deck check, senior official briefing and the session (pace, handling of infraction, leadership, etc).
The mentor referee is encouraged to use the back of assessment form to provide additional details on areas that require more practice.
The Level 5 mentor role during a full referee assessment
Observe and watch which competencies and skills the Referee has been able to use and demonstrate.
Use the Checklists on last three pages of the form as a guide (Pages 5-7).
Use the back of pages for detailed notes if necessary. Feedback is crucial to the developing referee.
Make a note of those that could not be observed in the session.
Provide summary notes (from checklists) on areas of concern or well executed areas in the Pre-Session Notes (Page 2).
Review the assessment form together with the developing Referee. Encourage a conversation and a dialogue around the various competencies/skills (Pages 2 & 3).
Ask the developing Referee (Page 4):
What things went well?
How did you feel about the session?
What challenges did you experience?
What additional support would assist you in your development?
With the developing Referee, decide upon a future plan for continued development:
should gain additional experience and mentoring before considering evaluation for certification
had a successful assessment and it may be used as part of moving toward certification
Sign the referee assessment form
The developing referee keeps the original.
Evaluators
Evaluators, Level 5 officials, are assigned by Swim Ontario to conduct formal evaluations when a candidate has reached all the requirements for Level 4/5 certification.
The Regional Officials Representatives will identify and recommend evaluators to Swim Ontario based the criteria and qualities outlined in Ontario Evaluators Criteria.