
Upcoming events and Training materials in relation to Technical Official Development
2023
- 2023 Swimming NSW Referee Course
- 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
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;
*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
2022
- 2022 Swimming NSW Referee Course
- 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
- Development Webinar #1 - Protests
- TO Development Webinar #2 - Protocols (Ken Jones)
- TO Development Webinar #3 - Recruitment of Technical Officials (Darryl Durham)
- 2022 Technical Official Awards Evening
- 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
- 2022 Technical Official Forum recordings
- Young Officials Program
- Officials will be required to attend all three (3) days of either the Country or Metropolitan Short Course Championships from 12PM on July 1st to 3rd, 2022 (Country), or 12PM on July 15th to 17th, 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/
- 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.
- 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).
- Officials attending the Country SC Championships Sunday 5thJune
- Officials attending the Metropolitan SC Championships Sunday 19thJune
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;
*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:
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.
Participants receive:
There will be a debriefing session commencing immediately after the completion of the Saturday PM session of your relevant meet.
To apply, you must:
APPLICATIONS CLOSE FOR:
CLICK HERE to apply for the program
2021 Webinars
- Meet Manager Introduction webinars
- 2021 Technical Official Forum
- Office of Sport - temporarily available webinars
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.
Webinar 1 - Wednesday 9th June 7:30pm - Topics - refer to Part 1 only Notes from the evening can be found here. Recording available here. |
Webinar 2 Wednesday 16th June 7:30pm - Topics - refer to Part 2 only Notes from the evening can be found here. Recoding available here. |
Webinar 3 - Wednesday 23rd June 7:30pm - Topics - refer to Part 3 only Notes from the evening can be found here. Recoding available here. |
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.
SESSION 1 9:30am - 11:30am | SESSION 2 1:30pm - 3:15pm |
SAL Inclusive Swimwear Policy |
“How we see Technical Officials” Presented by special guest coaches: ASCTA NSW President and Manly SC Head Coach Justin Rothwell & Mingara Aquatic Head Coach - Jen Noel |
Officiating Para Swimming Presented by our Special Guest panel of Cherry Smith, Pam Weste and Murray Smith. |
Rules of Swimming Issues present in swimming today Presented by members of the Swimming NSW TSC |
Recording available HERE | Recording available HERE |
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.
Training Materials
- Swimming NSW Online Training Courses
- Traditional Swimming Australia NOAP Learner Guides
- Training Notes
- Swimming NSW Facilitators Guide
- Training Exercises
- Open Water Training Notes
- Assessor, Presenter, and Mentor Courses
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
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.
Inspector of Turns - updated January 2020
Judge of Stroke - updated January 2020
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
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.
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
Assessor and Presenter Training Course
Saturday - Sunday 19-20 November
Office of Sport
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.
Referee Examinations
- Referee Examination Dates Season 22-23 (Part 1)
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.
*Note: alternative times to the below can be arranges, these are just a guide as they often proceed competition, meaning the exam can be sat and the one or both of the candidate and the supervisor can proceed to officiate at the session.
Associated meet |
Exam Date |
Venue of Exam |
Exam Start Time |
Meet Start Time |
NSW Junior Metropolitan Championships |
Friday 25 November |
SNSW Office |
Any |
9:00am 26 November 2022 |
NSW Senior State Age Championships |
Between sessions on any day |
SOPAC |
Between Heats and Finals sessions |
9:00am 10 December 2022 |
NSW Country Regional Meets |
Contact Josh Karp for more info |
Depending on meet you're at |
Morning start usually required |
10:00am 21 January 2023 |
NSW Courtyard by Marriott Country Championships |
Friday 17 February |
SNSW Office |
Morning start required |
3pm (TBC) 17 February 2023 |
NSW Senior Metropolitan Championships |
Saturday - Sunday 25-26 February |
SOPAC |
Any |
9:00am 25 February, 2023 |
FAQs
- Have a question?
Need more information about our Training Courses and how to become an official?
Visit our FAQs page.