Utah Swimming

REFEREE / DECK REFEREE CERTIFICATION

Referee LSC Certification/Recertification

Referee Certification/Recertification Tests

Apprentice Sessions

Definitions

Resource Materials

Important Links

Referee/Deck Referee (minimum age 19)

Education & Training	Member of USA Swimming. Certified Stroke & Turn. Certified Administrative Official. Certified Starter. Attend Referee Clinic training. Pass USA Swimming Referee certification test. Apprentice as a Referee for at least four (4) Training Sessions total over two (2) meets with two (2) Trainers. Satisfactory Performance.
Evaluation & Certification	Apprenticeship signed off by a Certifier. Must complete Certification within one year from month of Clinic. May officiate in any Referee role at any meet, except that in meets classified as USA Swimming Championships (as defined by 102.10.5), this certification may not meet the requirements of serving as the required Administrative Referee.
Recertification every 3 years recertifies LSC REF, AO, SR, ST	Worked sixteen (16) Qualified Recertification Sessions, within a three (3) year period, with at least eight (8) Qualified Recertification Sessions in any Referee position. Pass USA Swimming Referee recertification test every three (3) years. Attend Clinic (recommend Referee) every three (3) years. Satisfactory Performance.
Comment	Once a person is certified as a Referee, they are encouraged to participate in as many meets as they can to gain experience and knowledge. This will allow those running meets to have greater confidence in their ability to be a referee at meets of various levels.

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REFEREE CERTIFICATION/RECERTIFICATION TEST

Navigate to Education > Course Catalog > Officials > Certification > Complete Referee Certification exam For Recertification
Navigate to Education > Course Catalog > Officials > Recertification > Complete the Referee Recertification exam
To remain continuously certified, officials must meet the Recertification requirements prior to their certification expiration date.
The certification expiration date for officials shall be:
- The December 31st two years after the year of certification if the certification occurred between January 1st and June 30th of the year of certification.
- December 31st three years after the year of certification if the certification occurred between July 1st and December 31st of the year of certification.

You do not need to report your test score.

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APPRENTICE SESSIONS

Utah Swimming Officials’ uniform is white top, black bottoms, and black closed-toe shoes.

Contact the meet referee of your intent to apprentice. Meet Referee contact information can be found in the Meet Information.
Download the Referee Training Log and bring it to each session.
Arrive on time to the Officials’ meeting, typically one hour prior to the session, sign-in to work the session, and login to the USA Swimming app to show your ‘Good Standing’ status to the Meet Referee or his/her designee.
Have your ‘trainer’ complete the Certification Record and signed by the Meet Referee.
At the completion of the 4th session, the Meet Referee will mark Yes or No in the Recommend Certification box. Submit the completed Referee Certification Record to certifier@utahswimming.org.
VERY IMPORTANT: A ‘No’ recommendation IS NOT a failure. It merely means some areas you were not exposed to or may need more practice.
In the event it is believed that an official has not shown the necessary competency in the position after completion of the required training and apprentice sessions, the official will be provided a written action plan of the steps needed to successfully obtain certification. Written notice shall be provided to the official within 2 weeks of the last apprentice session (or submission of the appropriate documents to the Certifier).
An apprentice may also request additional training.

DEFINITIONS

Certifier: An official designated by the LSC OC to certify training is complete and who shall record it in Officials Tracking System (OTS).
Clinic: Formal in person or online training clinic, recorded in OTS. Current LSC training curriculum will stay in place until USA Swimming Online Certification Training is available. When USA Swimming training curriculum is available, then that will be the required training.
Certification: The act of certifying. An official must meet certain requirements to be certified in a particular position.
Qualified Recertification Session: Qualified Recertification Sessions are Sessions officiated by certified officials which count towards the Recertification requirements listed in this document. In order for a Session to count as a Qualified Recertification Session, it must meet the following criteria: 1) the Session must include strokes and/or relays; 2) the Session must not be a Time Trial; 3) the Session must not contain only freestyle events, even if including both individual freestyle events and freestyle relays; 4) the Session must occur at a meet which is either a Sanctioned USA Swimming meet, a YMCA meet for which an LSC has issued an approval (as defined in USA Swimming Rule 202.6), or, for no more than 25% of any official’s total required Qualified Recertification Sessions, an NCAA National or Conference Championship meet.
Satisfactory Performance: Demonstrates the requisite knowledge of the applicable rules and satisfactorily performs the on-deck protocols and duties for the position. Deficiencies must be provided by LSC OC, or designee, in writing to the affected official with an Action Plan to success.
Session: Any portion of a meet distinctly separated from other portions by locale, time, or type of competition, i.e., preliminaries and finals; morning and evening; Senior or Age Group, etc. All Sessions at Sanctioned USA Swimming meets and YMCA meets for which an LSC has issued an approval (as defined in USA Swimming Rule 202.6) shall be recorded into OTS by the granting LSC’s Officials’ Chair or their designee. Sessions from other types of meets may be entered into OTS at the discretion of the LSC, strictly for tracking purposes.
Trainer: An official designated by the Referee at a meet, or the LSC OC, who has been certified in the position for at least one (1) year. If an official meeting the one (1) year requirement is not on deck, the Referee may select the most experienced certified official(s) to be a Trainer(s).
Training Sessions: Training Sessions are Sessions which count towards the Education and Training requirements listed in this document. In order for a Session to count as a Training Session, it must meet the following criteria: 1) the Session must include strokes and/or relays; 2) the Session must not be a Time Trial; 3) the Session must not be comprised of only freestyle events, even if including both individual freestyle events and freestyle relays; 4) the Session must occur at a meet which is either a Sanctioned USA Swimming Meet or a YMCA meet for which an LSC has issued an approval (as defined in USA Swimming Rule 202.6). An LSC may designate that their LSC Championship meets are expressly excluded as Training Sessions.
USA Swimming Membership: Completed all USAS member associated requirements before being certified in any position.