Becoming a Swim England / Aquatics GB Technical Official
Our Club could not organise its programme of annual meets without the support of our Swim England Technical Officials. These meets are important in providing our swimmers with competition and in the case of our Annual Autumn Open Meet, are an important source of funds for the Club.
Becoming an Official is a rewarding way to get more involved in the sport and helps you to play an active role in the well-being of the Club. To learn more, please reach out to Gillian Corrigan at [email protected]
A brief description of the Swim England Technical Official roles follows on below:-
Judge Level 1
The theory element of the training is delivered online and can be accessed at www.swimming.org/ios/courses-officials-volunteers/
(If you are already a qualified timekeeper and wish to undertake Judge 1 training, you can request access to the appropriate course from [email protected] ).
Once your theory training is complete and registered, you will be provided with a log book that explains the next part of the process, along with local contacts to guide you through acquiring the necessary practical experience. Clear guidance is now included on suggested timescales for completing each competence, with a time limit of 11 months being introduced.
Upon completion of all Judge 1 training you will automatically be issued with your first licence, which will be valid for 4 years. This enables you to apply to volunteer at all events up to and including Aquatics GB and Swim England National level.
Access to additional support is available on request at any point during the training process, either from the Club, County or Regional Officials Coordinators or via [email protected]
(If you have been provided with a voucher to access a closed course for your Region/County please ensure that you register using the link provided with the voucher and not the one above, which is for the national course.)
Judge Level 2
This is the second level of qualification. It encompasses the role and duties in relation to all aspects of judging and the theoretical role and duties of Starter.
The minimum age to start training is 16 years and candidates must already have qualified as Judge Level 1 and undertaken 20 hours post qualification poolside work in the role of a Judge 1. The training is made up of instruction on the theoretical aspects of the role and mentored pool side training with a workbook, that helps you to demonstrate practical competence prior to qualification.
When qualified, you will be attributed with the qualification Judge Level 2 on the British Swimming Database.
Judge Level 2S - Starter
Candidates wishing to qualify as a Starter will be required hold the Judge Level 2 qualification and have completed a minimum of 20 hours post qualification experience as Judge Level 2.
Training will consist of a prescribed number of practical experiences as a Starter before undertaking a formal practical assessment.
Successful candidates will be attributed with the Starter qualification: Judge Level 2.
Referee
The minimum age for training is 19 years providing you will reach the age of 20 as at 30 November in the year of the theory examination.
This course contains theoretical instruction and specified practical experiences. It is followed by a formal examination in November after which successful candidates take a final poolside practical assessment leading to qualification as a British Swimming Referee.
Several months have been allocated between registration and the formal examination to enable candidates to undertake all the practical experience required to complete the course as well as the theoretical instruction.
This qualification covers a maximum cycle of approximately 2 years although it is possible to complete the full qualification within approximately 1 year if the first November theory exam attemot is successful.
Aquatics GB will update the website prior to each annual intake and this will include further information on how to apply. If you require any further information please speak to our Referees, Niki Vincent or Richard Corrigan.
