Our team is in great need of people willing to train to become Stroke & Turn and Electronic Timer Officials for our meets. We have a large number of officials with older kids who have been working hard for our team for many years, and sadly they will be leaving the team next year as their swimmers move on to college . We need to plan ahead in order to keep our team running properly. We cannot host swim meets and contribute our share as a team to other meets if we do not have the proper number of officials. 

You may ask “Why is it important?” If your child swims at a meet where there are not enough officials, the meet will not be sanctioned, and this means the times do not count.   Why does this matter? If your child, swims their heart out and achieves their first ''A'' time (state qualifying time) and the meet is not sanctioned, your son or daughter will NOT be eligible to swim at the State Championships. 

It is not difficult to be an official. The training time takes place during swim meets that you are already attending. There is a short 2-3 hour clinic prior to the start of training and the rest is done at meets that  your child attends. You train on deck with a certified official until you are certified. You are not expected to officiate until you are comfortable with the job. 

Officials play an important role in the learning process of swimmers. There are rules involved in swimming, just as any other sport. These rules are taught by the coaches and reinforced by the officials. It is not an officials job to “catch“ swimmers doing something wrong. They are there to observe the swims and insure that all swimmers are following the same rules, making for a fair playing field for everyone.  If you are willing to be trained to be an official ,or would like to know more about it please give Shelly Hester a call at 503-951-1408, or e-mail her at hestershelly@canby.com.