| On the Same Page The E-Newsletter of the USA Swimming Officials Committee June 2008 |
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Applications to Officiate
Applications to officiate at this year’s national meets have been posted. Even though the deadline for applications has passed for the U.S. Open Championships and the Speedo Junior National Championships in Minneapolis, MN, we are short officials for both meets and would like to have as complete a deck as possible. Please submit an application as soon as you can. In addition, applications to officiate for the summer zone and sectional meets can also be accessed. Click here.
Maxwell Award
Congratulations to Douglas Glaeser, an official with Southern California Swimming. He is the May 2008 recipient of the Maxwell Excellence Award for service to local swimming, given by Swimming World Magazine. To learn more about the award and to see a list of previous recipients, click here.
Officials Online Tests
The Online Testing Sub-Committee has completed updating all tests and all questions. Effective immediately you may begin taking the Online Tests using the 2008 Rules and Regulations handbook. The new combination tests for recertifying Starters and Referees satisfy the requirements for the minimal testing guidelines as does the new combined Stroke & Turn/Timer test. Click here to connect to the on-line test site.
FINA News
The were some open water rule changes approved at the recent extraordinary congress in Manchester, England but there weren’t any changes to the rule book for pool swimming. The next FINA congress will be held in conjunction with the FINA World Championships in Rome next summer.
USA-S Rules
The Rules & Regulations Committee met in early June to review all the rule changes submitted by members of the USA Swimming House of Delegates. The proposed changes will be posted on the USA-S website at least 75 days prior to the House of Delegates meeting in late September. The House of Delegates meeting will be in Atlanta, GA this year.
New Meet
Mark Schubert announced that a new Junior Short Course Championship meet, to be held in Austin, Texas on the weekend of December 11-14 was accepted by the BOD. Details and the application to officiate are posted on the USA-S web site. Click here for applications.
Olympic Trials
The meet to select our Olympic swim team starts Sunday, June 29th in the Qwest Center in Omaha, NE. Finals will be televised live on NBC TV at 8:00 pm EDT (Friday through Sunday) and on USA Network (Monday through Thursday). Tune in to see some of the fastest swimmers in the world compete for a spot on the Olympic roster. Click here to go the event page to see the psych sheet and other additional of information.
Pool Measurement
One of the responsibilities of the meet referee is to make sure the pool meets the requirements as prescribed in the rule book. One of these requirements is the pool length. Please make sure that the facility has a certification of the pool length or, in a pool with a moveable bulkhead, that you have verified that the bulkhead is in the proper position and that the pool is the proper length.