Officials
Photo Some of Team Clevedon's' volunteers from Day 3 of Somerset ASA County Championships 2020
Swimming
Somerset ASA Swimming Officials are now co-ordinated by Chris Metcalfe, Swimming Officials Panel Secretary. Please get in touch with him if you have any officiating queries.
FINA / World Aquatics Swimming Rules 2023-2025
Please note County Age Group Championships 2023 were judged in their entirety under prevailing Swim England Laws, Regulations and Technical Rules of Swimming, WITHOUT reference to revised 2023-25 FINA Technical Rules. View announcement.
Thank you to the Somerset and south west officials who signed up for a World Aquatics Rules Update (one date only) via https://swim-meet.com/Availability/?m=1205. If you have any questions, please contact Jill Beard.
The Contemporary Issues: Officials Awareness module is now available online, as an alternative to a face to face workshop, to improve accessibility. This course is administered by the IoS and instructions on how to access it can be found here. This is an accredited CPD which, when completed, will count for renewal of your officials' licence.
Swim England Transgender and Non-binary Competition Policy
View announcement of policy referring only to Swim England competition (including those organised by its member Regions, Counties and Clubs) which will be implemented on 1 Sep 2023. Article includes webinar dates for Technical Officials.
Updated Prompt Cards
Following the announcement in Dec 2022 regarding the updated guidance on minimum pool depths for racing entries, updated prompt cards have now been published for swimming officials and event organisers, effective 1 Jan 2023. View details and the key changes here.
Updated Guidance on Period Wear
Revised period wear guidance states that specific period pants can be worn during training or competitions held under Swim England Laws and Regulations. However, it does not allow athletes to wear two full swimming costumes in line with the World Aquatics Rule. The period wear guidance is only applicable to licensed events held under Swim England Laws and Regulations. Competitions organised by British Swimming, Scottish Swimming and Swim Wales are not covered by this guidance.
Guidance on Officials Uniforms
Swim England has confirmed a change in technical officials training and uniform guidance. View announcement on 16 Oct 2022.
Somerset ASA County Championships
Thank you to everyone who has supported our 2023 Championships and Age Group Competitions at Millfield in Jan and Feb 2023.
Although we have around 200 qualified officials in Somerset, there is constant turnover and fewer than 100 are active at County level so we do need a constant supply of new officials to maintain our numbers and ensure that competitions can take place. Please encourage adults in your club to become officials.
Somerset ASA Development Meet 2022
1 & 2 October 2022 at Millfield.
Events such as our 2022 Development Meet provide opportunities for your Club's Officials to gain practical experience and we issue calls to sign up for sessions they would like to support.
Requests for Officials
With a lot of Somerset clubs seeking to license their own championships or running Meets, Kelly encourages you to use the services of swim-meet.com if you are ever short of officials or volunteers which your Club can then promote via your website and social media.
Training
View the Swimming Officiating Pathway.
Please visit this Swim England South West page for latest information.
View fact sheet forJudge 2 training in Swim England South West region.
Photo: Officials who answered the call and supported the Yeovil Spring Fling Meet over 9/10 Apr 2022 at Millfield.
Anyone who would like to start their training as an official should contact their club volunteer manager / officials co-ordinator in the first instance. Please can club volunteer managers / official co-ordinators let Chris Metcalfe know the name, email and Swim England number of those who would like to sign up to training.
Chris Metcalfe and Officials Co-ordinators in other south west counties all hold waiting lists and will arrange courses at regular intervals throughout the year to meet the requests received. This might either be for groups of people from different clubs or (when numbers are large enough) for a single club. To ensure viable numbers, especially in the smaller Counties, the Coordinators might invite all the clubs in their county to recruit others to attend a course on pre arranged dates several times a year. The Coordinators arrange for approved course tutors to lead every course. To complete every qualification requires theory and, most importantly, mentored poolside practice before final poolside assessments.
If you have any questions about training opportunities for officials or you want to request training as an individual or club you please get in touch with our county coordinator Chris Metcalfe.
You can also ask any general questions of your Regional Officials Training and Development Coordinator, Jill Beard, by email (beardfamilyuk@icloud.com).
Can you help?
Swim England South West need Licensed Officials to support their events, in particular the Regional swimming competitions. Each year, the Secretary SW Region Officials Committee publishes details of swimming, masters, open water and schools competitions which will require officials and also upcoming sessions / CPD you can attend. Without sufficient help, these Meet licenses will be at risk and times not be valid for National Events.
Please remember tutors of any officials’ courses where trainees are under 18 will require safeguarding accreditation.
John Cooper Memorial Award Winners
Awarded in recognition of services to the County as a Swimming Official over a number of years.
2015: Rosemary Johnson (inaugural award)
2016: Ray Warren
2017: Les Debenham
2018: Pete Gonsalves
2019: Alan Withers
2020: Graham Cockill
2022: Fiona Bowen
2023: Chris Metcalfe
Our Other Disciplines
Officials are also required in Artistic Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Para-Swimming and Water Polo. County Technical Secretaries for all disciplines would also be delighted to hear from volunteers who wish to help officiate.
Artistic Swimming
Judges are also essential for artistic swimming as they allow for competitions to be scored based on the performances in each routine. They are also responsible for marking grade level assessments which is another key element within the competitive development of athletes.
Open Water
Officials are not only required around the pool but also for Open Water events. No previous experience is necessary but sea legs can be an advantage for certain venues! Open Water Officials can have fun in all weathers, ensuring swimmers compete in a safe and fair competition.
The process to become qualified includes theory and practical elements.
View details of Open Water Officials training including World Aquatics Open Water Rules updates and how to register for an Open Water Officials Course.
If you are interested in becoming an Open Water official please contact swowofficials@gmail.com.
Para-Swimming
Our Para and Disability Swimming Co-ordinator Kay Willcox and Nicky Vause, South West Officials Secretary will also be delighted to hear from anyone interested in becoming an official at Para / Disability Events. Contact details are here.
Swim England South West Region ran a CPD for Officials before the Swim England South West and South East Para Swimming Championships on Sun 25 Sep 2022 at Horfield Pool, Bristol. Anyone interested in this should contact Jill Beard (beardfamilyuk@icloud.com).
Water Polo
The County Water Polo Secretary also helps organise officials for the Bristol & West Water Polo League and Regional events, so there will always be opportunities for you develop as a Table Official / Referee along the pathway. View contact details.