Thank You!
The PVS Officials Committee would like to thank you for your participation and hard work at swim meets throughout the short course season. When the inevitable call goes out for officials, you always respond. You are absolutely essential to our sport, and we are grateful for your dedication, your professionalism, and your generous donation of time in support of our athletes.

Upcoming Meets

April 2011
Date	Meet	Location	Officials Contact
1-3	March Madness in April	OakMarr	Jim Thompson
1-3	OCCS Short Course Finale	Warrenton	Dan Young
9-10	Spring Gator Mini Meet	Washington-Lee HS	Chris Palmer
30-1	Early Bird LC Invitational	Fairland
30-1	Spring Sprints	South Run	Nora Burke
May 2011
Date	Meet	Location	Officials Contact
6-8	RMSC LC Kick-Off	MAC
6-8	Snow Spring Classic	Claude Moore	Mike Ryan
7-8	LC Derby Meet	GMU	Al Meilus
20-22	Machine LC Classic	Takoma
28-30	Virginia State LC Championships	Oak Marr	Brian Baker

Lead/Lag Judging
Lead/Lag Judging uses four stroke judges, two judges walking each side of the pool. When there are sufficient judges, this method insures more consistent observation of all swimmers. How does it work? In a typical wall-to-wall jurisdiction, the lead judge normally starts at the 15m mark while the lag judge is positioned between the 15m mark and the start end. As the heat begins, the lag judge watches the initial strokes and kicks while the lead judge observes that the swimmers conform to the 15m rule (except, of course, in breaststroke). Once the swimmers have all passed the 15m mark, both judges follow them down the course, observing strokes and kicks. As the swimmers separate, the two judges likewise separate to maintain balanced observation, typically with lead judge observing the two lead swimmers in the jurisdiction while the lag judge observes the two lag swimmers (assuming an eight-lane pool). As the swimmers approach the turn end of the pool, the lag judge stops at the turn end 15m mark while the lead judge continues the observation into the turn and the initial actions of the second leg of the race. As the swimmers head back toward the start end, the lag judge becomes lead and the lead judge becomes lag. This coordination continues until the race finishes.

You Make the Call
A preliminary heat of a 100-yard butterfly event is started. Immediately after the start, the swimmer in lane 8 pulls up, stops and exits the water. After the race the referee checks to see what happened and the swimmer states that he thought he heard a recall. The referee checks with the starter, timers, and other officials to see if they heard anything. No other person heard any recall or other noise going off at the start. What is the ruling?
See the answer at the bottom of this newsletter.

National Certification
A reminder that after you have received a successful evaluation at a National Qualifying Meet, you are not automatically re-certified or advanced. There are other requirements that may also need to be met. These include participation in LSC meets, continuing education as an official, mentoring of other officials, National Championship meet experience, depending upon the position and the level of certification sought. Specific requirements can be found on the USA Swimming website. National Certification also requires that you submit the online Application for Certification found within the Officials Tracking System on the USA Swimming website.

Where Do New Officials Come From?
Question: What group of parents at a swim meet most clearly exhibits the qualities of volunteerism and dedication that we look for in officials? Answer: The timers! The next time you give a Timers’ Briefing, you might also want to include a sixty second plug for becoming an official. Let the timers know that we’re available and willing to answer any questions they might have.

Did You Know . . .
In 1923, Henry Sullivan was the first American to swim the English Channel. He first tried to make the crossing in 1913, but was forced to abandon the attempt a mere five miles from the French side of the Channel. During the next nine years, five unsuccessful attempts followed. Sullivan started his seventh attempt on the afternoon of August 5. Though the straight-line distance is 22.5 miles, choppy waters and strong tides forced him to swim an estimated 56 miles. He reached the French shore 27 hours and 25 minutes later, on the evening of August 6. Until 2007, Sullivan held the record for the longest time to make the Channel crossing successfully.

New Officials / Advancing Officials
We’d like to welcome these new officials—and congratulate advancing officials—who have recently completed the requirements for first-time PVS certification in the following positions.

Stroke & Turn Judge:	Referee:
John Hisnanick	Glenn Byrd
Patrick King	John Fraser
Bob Neuman	Eric Gentsch
Matthew Sander	Alan Hewitt (Transfer)
John Skilling	David Merkin
Doug Smith
Stan Stankiewicz	HyTek Operator:
Donna Stevens	Karen Bozievich
Lowell Sturgill	Doug Flamand
David Suknik	Izumi Horikawa
Kim Tice	John Kost
Jody Waisanen (Transfer)	Dan Seliskar
Starter:	Timing Operator:
Vycke Horback	Anne Akers-Smith
Alex Konick	Stewart Gordon
Ron Kratzke	Karen Heath
Nick Schacht	Yamile Hewitt
	Sarah Pratt
Chief Judge:
Chris Palmer

Questions? Suggestions?
Do you have a question about officiating or a tip you’d like to share? Is there a rule that you’d like to have clarified? Do you have a suggestion for a future item in this newsletter? If so, please send your questions or comments to the newsletter editor, Jack Neill.

Resolution to ‘You Make the Call’
The referee performed an appropriate investigation into the incident and having found no corroboration of a recall or any other sound that could be construed as a recall, the swimmer would be disqualified for not completing the race.