USA Swimming Stroke & Turn Officials
What are the benefits of becoming a Stroke & Turn official?
- You're on deck while your athlete is swimming.
- You get to be directly involved in the sport your children love.
- You don't have to sit in the hot, crowded stands.
- You get a discount to your PRA account. (See the PRA Family Manual for more details.)
- You get to represent PRA and help to ensure PRA maintains its requisite number of registered officials.
What does it take to become an USA Swimming Stroke & Turn Official?
- Prior experience is not necessary.
- Anyone wanting to train as an official must register with AMS as an Apprentice Official. The good news...it's free. The bad news...it lasts only 60 days. This means that at the end of the 60 days, an Apprentice Official must register as a non-athlete member of USA Swimming, complete the Level 2 Background Check and complete the Athlete Protection Training. The USA Swimming online Officials’ tests can be completed at the Apprentice's leisure, once they are ready to be certified and work on deck as an Official.
- Apprentice Application and Athlete Protection must be completed before one can step on deck.
- An Apprentice Official must shadow a USA Swimming Official for 6 sessions. For any meet, a trainee can only satisfy two of their required training sessions. In addition, a trainee can only count one session per day toward their minimum required training sessions.
- Finally, an Apprentice Official must pass the Stroke & Turn Officials tests.
What are the requirements once one becomes a USA Swimming Stroke and Turn Official?
- Attend no less than 1 clinic in an 18 month period
- Work twelve (12) sessions at AMS sanctioned meets (a minimum of six (6) sessions at PRA home meets in order to be eligible for the Official's discount) during the period September 1 through August 31.
- Periodically retake the required exam(s)
Application to be an Apprentice Official:
Application can be found here.
Instructions:
- This form must be submitted to the LSC Registrar and Officials Chair by the Tuesday before the first meet you plan to shadow.
- Initial training session date/meet/location must be completed when submitting the form
- E-mail completed form to [email protected] and cc [email protected].
- After your application is processed, you will be notified. At that time, you must complete the Athlete Protection Training Course.
- Within 60 days of your initial training date, you must complete the USA Swimming Background Check and become a fully registered non-athlete member of USA Swimming. You can still continue your training if not yet completed, but after 60 days, you will not be permitted on deck without being registered.
Please direct questions to Laura Hartman (Registration Coordinator) or Kathy McFaden (Officials Chair)
Important Links:
