Training Courses & Events

Swimming NSW is proud to be running our 2023 Referee Course. The aim of the Course is to educate and develop these Technical Officials to become Referees by the end of 2023.

Please note: The normal Referee Accreditation process will still occur outside of this Course. i.e. it is not a requirement to complete this Course to become a Referee.

The Course will be led by a Course Manager who will host either a face to face session or webinar-based session every 6-8 weeks throughout the year with candidates to complete course work between these sessions. The Course will also feature guests presenters on specific topics of expertise, include a detailed curriculum specifically aimed at preparing the candidates to be competent Referees and how to source a Mentor.

To be eligible for this course, candidates must meet the following criteria;

• Commitment to all sessions - whether they be face-to-face or webinar based*
• Swimming NSW Member
• Valid Working with Children Check
• Hold at least four current Technical Official accreditations (in addition to General Principles)
• It is not essential but desirable if candidates hold Inspector of Turn and Judge of Stroke accreditation

*Face-to-face sessions are invaluable and allow you to double up your knowledge by sticking around to get some experience on pool deck at a SNSW meet. Accommodation is covered by SNSW for regional officials who are attending Face-to-face sessions.

Please submit your application here

Swimming NSW is proud to call for applications for our 2023 Referee Course. The aim of the Course is to educate and develop 20 Technical Officials to become Referees by the end of 2023.

The Swimming NSW Technical Committee, with guidance from the Area Technical Swimming Committee Coordinators, will select up to 20 Technical Officials to participate in the Swimming NSW Referee Course, which consists of a combination of face-to-face and webinar meetings, as well as pool deck experience. The Course will commence in February and run until approximately November, when we will aim for the candidates to complete their Level 1 Referee Assessments.

Please note: The normal Referee Accreditation process will still occur outside of this Course. i.e. it is not a requirement to complete this Course to become a Referee.

The Course will be led by a Course Manager who will host either a face to face session or webinar-based session every 6-8 weeks throughout the year with candidates to complete course work between these sessions. The Course will also feature guests presenters on specific topics of expertise, include a detailed curriculum specifically aimed at preparing the candidates to be competent Referees and how to source a Mentor.

To be eligible for this course, candidates must meet the following criteria;

• Commitment to all sessions - whether they be face-to-face or webinar based*
• Swimming NSW Member
• Valid Working with Children Check
• Hold at least four current Technical Official accreditations (in addition to General Principles)
• It is not essential but desirable if candidates hold Inspector of Turn and Judge of Stroke accreditation

*Face-to-face sessions are invaluable and allow you to double up your knowledge by sticking around to get some experience on pool deck at a SNSW meet. Accommodation is covered by SNSW for regional officials who are attending Face-to-face sessions.

Please submit your application here

Courtyard by Marriott, Saturday 23rd July, 2022

This year, SNSW recognized Officials across the following categories. A massive congratulations to this year's winners:

• Appreciation Award - Luke Bibby
• Berry Rickards Encouragement Award - Brad Fahey
• Area Technical Convenor of the Year - Jose Jalvo
• Services to Officiating - Cherry Smith and Faye Lewis
• Official's Official - Cherry Smith
• Pool Technical Official of the Year - Nick Keith

Recordings of the day are available HERE.

The Audio is good - might just need to be turned up slightly when questions from the crowd are being asked.
It is difficult to see the PowerPoint slides clearly but please request them here if you'd like them.
Apologies for the occasions where a presenter is standing in front of the camera, however the audio is the most important part!

Officiating is key to swimming being able to continue in its current form. Without officials, swimming events cannot go ahead – or they do so with limitations, such as not allowing times to be recognised for future event entries.

As such,  Swimming NSW views young people as the future of the sport, both in swimming and officiating.

We wish to invite all Officials under the age of 25 to our new Young Officials Program. Below is your invitation, where you can read lots more about the program itself, and get involved!

Swimming NSW TSC is offering twenty (20) places at both Metropolitan and Country SC meets for technical officials under the age of 25 years to participate in a program to develop and accelerate their training. Parents of applicants under the age of 18 years are required to accompany the participant. Up to 20 Metropolitan and 20 Country officials will be selected annually by the SNSW TSC, from applicants.

The 2022 SC Metropolitan and SC Country Championship meets will be used for this accelerated program. ATSCC’s are advised that appropriate credential assessments, other than Referee and Starter, may be undertaken by participants and their Assessors during this time (as a minimum requirement, the online component of the course must have been completed). Where possible, notice will be given to the respective ATSCC if an assessment may be taking place.

• Officials will be required to attend all three (3) days of either the Country or Metropolitan Short Course Championships from 12PM on July 1^st to 3^rd, 2022 (Country), or 12PM on July 15^th to 17^th, 2022 (Metropolitan)
• Appointments will be such that they enhance the official’s training, including current accreditations and a variety of positions including areas of interest for the future, over the five working the championships
• Induction session 12pm to 2pm on the first day of the relevant Championships
• Participants will be mentored throughout the weekend by SNSW TSC members and other suitable experienced officials/

Participants receive:

• SNSW Technical Official black polo provided to all participants.
• SOPAC car parking permit for the duration of the event.
• Priority admission to the 2023 Referees Training Course commencing January 2023.
• Accommodation discount at Courtyard by Marriott, North Ryde. Participants who wish to share accommodation to minimise their out-of-pocket expenses may arrange bookings through SNSW Office.
• A suitable expense reimbursement and SNSW will also pay a session allowance as determined annually for those who work the required minimum number of State meets as determined by SNSW.
• Extra support when they apply for future SNSW meets and training programs.

There will be a debriefing session commencing immediately after the completion of the Saturday PM session of your relevant meet.

To apply, you must:

• Be a registered member of your State Association
• Be of secondary school age or older
• Hold a current Working with Children Check (if 18 or over).

APPLICATIONS CLOSE FOR:

• Officials attending the Country SC Championships Sunday 5^thJune
• Officials attending the Metropolitan SC Championships Sunday 19^thJune

CLICK HERE to apply for the program

Across the month of June, Swimming NSW facilitated three separate Meet Manager introduction webinars via Zoom. These webinars were be presented by Cherry Smith, each consisting of varying topics.

Swimming NSW would like to thank Cherry for her time with these webinars. We are blessed to have such a knowledgeable and passionate Meet Manager Operator (and Official) in NSW.

You can access the webinar notes and recordings below.

The Swimming NSW Technical Swimming Committee held its 2021 TO Forum on Sunday 25th July.
The recent lockdown extension within NSW forced changes to our upcoming events, including the Forum, which took place Via ZOOM over two parts on this day.

The NSW Office of Sport has made public their High Performing Officiating webinars, led by former ICC Test Umpire of the year Simon Taufel.

As well officiating at the highest level of cricket for years, Simon is now an accomplished public speaker and his workshops are not to be missed by developing officials. Here is a brief clip that provides some background on Simon

Click Here to access these recorded webinars.

SNSW has its own online training courses, available nationwide. This initiative is designed to help our volunteers quickly and easily gain the confidence and skills to help run a swim meet. Currently, the following courses are available on our training website https://nswtraining.swimming.org.au/

Timekeeper and Chief Timekeeper

Check Starter and Clerk of the Course (Marshal)

Inspector of Turns

Judge of Stroke

Starter

Recorder

Dolphin Timing Equipment

Meet Manager Operator

Also available Online is the Introductory Level Officiating - General Principles, which we recommend you complete before starting any other training modules. Click on this link (external) to register and begin your training.

The Swimming Australia learner guides have been updated to reflect stronger officiating principles to assist technical officials with their understanding. As per Sport Australia requirements, these guides have been refreshed to be more contemporary and have also been updated in line with recent changes to FINA rules.

These Guides now also allow Technical Officials to work at their own pace with information easier to comprehend for technical officials at any level or experience. 

General Principles - please note, you will have to register here before beginning the course

Timekeeper

Chief Timekeeper

Check Starter

Starter

Clerk of Course

Inspector of Turns

Judge of Stroke

Chief Recorder

Finish Judge

AOE Operator

Meet Manager Operator

Announcer

Referee

Multi Class Referee

Self Management for Advanced Officials

A Learner Guide Module Coversheet must be completed in full to prove an official has gained an accreditation:

Standard Module Cover Sheet - Updated January 2021

Module Cover Sheet for Starter and Referee Accreditations - Updated January 2021

The training notes are to be done in conjunction with the training exercises.

Please note : Candidates attempting SAL Learner Guides / Modules for Technical Official accreditation must complete the relevant training exercises before the SAL module is attempted.

Timekeeper/Chief Timekeeper

Announcer

Finish Judge

AOE Operator

Check Starter

Inspector of Turns - updated January 2020

Judge of Stroke - updated January 2020

Marshal/Clerk of Course

Recorder

Starter

Referee - updated January 2020

Meet Manager TM/MM Workbook Part 1 - updated 2020

Meet Manager TM/MM Workbook Part 2 - updated 2020

Meet Manager TM/MM Workbook Part 3 - updated 2020

Meet Manager TM/MM Workbook Part 4 - updated 2020

Dolphin/Meet Manager Manual - updated January 2021

Dolphin Timing - updated May 2023

Click Here

The training exercises are to be done in conjunction with the training notes.

Please note: candidates attempting SAL Learner Guides / Modules for Technical Official accreditation must complete the relevant training exercises before the SAL module is attempted. 

Timekeeper/Chief Timekeeper

Finish Judge

Check Starter

Inspector of Turns

Judge of Stroke

Marshal/Clerk of Course

Recorder

Starter

Referee

CLICK HERE

These Open Water Training Notes have been updated by the Swimming NSW Technical Swimming Committee as of December 2019.

The NSW Office of Sport conducts Assessor and Presenter Training Courses, as well as Mentor training courses.

The  Assessor and Presenter Training Courses are often conducted as combined courses over single weekends.

These courses have been designed by Sport Australia to meet the needs of individuals who work as Presenters or Assessors in Coaching or Officiating Accreditation courses.

Upcoming Courses

Mentor Training Course

Sunday, 13 November 10am-3pm via MS Teams

Office of Sport

Register Here

Assessor and Presenter Training Course

Saturday - Sunday 19-20 November

Office of Sport

Register Here
 

For more general information about courses, navigate to the Office of Sport website at the link below

Training Courses | Office of Sport (nsw.gov.au)

Alternatively, you can apply for Recognition of Prior Learning here if you believe you have completed relevant courses which would cover having to undertake this course.

Please email Josh at Josh.karp@nsw.swimming.org.au if you are interested in sitting the Referee exam prior to one of the upcoming Swimming NSW meets in Sydney Olympic Park.

Need more information about our Training Courses and how to become an official?

Visit our FAQs page.