Gala Officials Explained: Get Involved!

Did you know that all swimming officials, including referees, are volunteers who give up their time for nothing to help run your children’s competitions?

So, you will have seen all those people in black and white clothes wandering about on poolside and wondered who they are and why they are there, and perhaps, why your child has been disqualified!

The role of a swimming official is to observe the race and the swimmers to ensure a fair, safe and enjoyable competition for everyone, with accurate timings and placings.  The focus is not on being ‘officious’ or setting out to disqualify people, but ensuring that everyone has their best possible race.

In order to run a “licensed meet”, where the swimmers’ times are recorded in the online rankings at Swim England HQ, there needs to be a certain minimum number of officials doing specific jobs.  The rules as to how many officials you need are stricter at a Level 1 (e.g. Counties, Regionals or National Champs) than at a Level 3 or 4 (e.g. Open Meet or Amersham Club Champs). But even at an unlicensed meet, such as the Amersham Novice Galas or the Thames Valley Junior League, where the times are not sent to Swim England rankings but recorded by the Club, at least 15 or more officials are still needed or the gala cannot be run.

We are always required to provide officials for competitions, whether we are hosting our own gala or sending swimmers or a team to an open meet or a league gala such as Arena League or Thames Valley Junior League (TVJL).  We rely 100% on parent volunteers as officials.  Having said that though, becoming an official is very rewarding; you get to know a lot more about the sport that your child is passionate about and you will get to know the swimmers and other parents; it is a very sociable and supportive role; you are much closer to the action and it is cooler than in the gallery!

The first step on the ladder as an official at Amersham SC is to become a J1 or Judge Level 1.  This person will time the races and also watch to ensure that the swimmer has complied with the rules at the start, turns and finish.  Becoming a J1is very simple; it involves an online course, that you can do at your own pace and in your own time. You will then have an opportunity to practise at swimming galas, where you will be helped and mentored by a qualified official, until you feel confident.  Each required “skill” will be ticked off in your workbook as you gain experience and then, when you’ve completed your last skill, you are qualified.  There is no exam or poolside assessment. Please do get involved! There is no obligation to do more than you want to. The more officials we have, the easier it is to find enough volunteers to run all the galas your children enjoy. 

If you would like more information about becoming an official, doing a further course or just having a go before starting a training course, please email us at  [email protected].

See below for a description of the different official roles: