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PNS Officials Training Page
The following information is provided as an aid to the PNS Official training process. The process and necessary resources are identified here along with links to documents assisting through the training toward becoming certified as a PNS Official.
Step #1: Attend a Clinic
The first step in becoming a certified as a PNS Official is to attend the appropriate clinic for the position desired. You will find clinics list on the clinic website. The fees for the clinics are identified on the clinic website. The clinic must be hosted by one of the PNS Clinicians listed on the PNS Officials website.
At the clinic, the organization of USA Swimming will be introduced. You will learn about the various official positions that are trained for certification and have a brief description of what is expected of the official in the way of professionalism as an official on deck. The clinician will provide an introduction to the rules, which you will learn more about in step #2. Also, the certification process will be covered to advise the trainee will need to do to become certified as a PNS Official. A couple of informative references that help set the stage for the role as an official are the The Alphabet of Swim Officiating and Volunteers' Rights.
Step #2: Open Book Test
The next step is to complete and pass an open book test from the USA Swimming website. You will need to reference the USA Swimming 2011 Rulebook to complete the test. Once you establish your login, you should read the instructions at the top of the test page prior to taking the test. Depending on which clinic you are attending, the following information identifies which tests you need complete; Stroke & Turn Clinic: 1) Certification - Stroke & Turn/Timer. Starter Clinic: 1) Certification - Starter, and 2) Certification - Stroke & Turn/Timer. Referee Clinic: 1) Certification - Administrative, 2) Certification - Clerk of Course, 3) Certification - Referee, 4) Certification - Starter, 5) Certification - Stroke & Turn/Timer, and 6) Certification - Timing Judge. In order for you to pass all of the required tests you must achieve a score of 80% or higher. At the completion of your tests, the results of your tests will be sent to you and to Ken Breiding. Ken will forward your results to your clinician. You should complete your tests within 3 months of attending your clinic.
Step #3: Novice Official Service
The step after completing and passing your test is to perform novice official service working the deck under the supervision of a trained and certified experienced official. A minimum of four (4) PNS sanctioned meet sessions as a "Novice Official", at two (2) different meets, must be worked at the desired level of certification for either Starter or Stroke & Turn to accomplish the minimum requirement for novice sessions to become certified. For Referee, a minimum of six (6) PNS sanctioned meet sessions as a "Novice Official", comprised of three (3) different meets, two (2) different referees and 2 sessions in an administrative type role to accomplish the minimum requirement for novice sessions to become certified. You must take a PNS Novice Service Record document with you to your novice service sessions for the meet referee to record your attendance. A good reference for an official is Guide to Officiating Swimming. Starters and Referees will find the PNS Start Procedure a useful guide to refer to. Referees in training will find The Referee - Protocol and Philosophy a good reference to set the tone for how to be a respected referee. Referees will also benefit from the referee checklist and the stroke briefing.
To complete your
novice service training, you must receive a recommendation by the meet referee
that you are ready to be certified. Referees and Starters must
arrange an observation session, after completion of their novice work
(recommended to be certified by the meet referee), with the clinician to
become certified. Note:
It
should be clear that certification is not automatic after the completion of the
minimum deck work. If it is determined by
the referees at the meets in which you worked that you have not achieved an
acceptable level of proficiency, you will not be recommended for certification.
As an officials committee, we have an obligation to the community of
swimmers and coaches to deny certification until you are deemed ready.
Step #4: Become a Member of USA Swimming
Another step in becoming a certified as a PNS
Official is to
join
USA Swimming as a non-athlete member for the current year.
Please check to box for official on the
non-athlete membership application
to indicate your category of membership.
You will not be listed as an official with
Step #5: Transmit the Completed Novice Service Record
Your last step in your training process to become a certified as a PNS Official is to transmit your completed PNS Novice Service Record to your clinician. For those training for the positions of Starter and Referee, you will need to arrange an observation session (keep your service record for the observation session). After receiving the recommendation from the meet referee that you are ready to be certified, you must arrange another session to work under the observation of your clinician (or designee) to finish your training process. To do this, you will need to contact a meet referee and arrange to work in the desired position for a session and coordinate the attendance of the clinician for observation.
Step #6: Receive Your Certification
The final step belongs to the person who will send you PNS Official certification card and for new officials, a PNS Official patch. You will be required to display your credentials while working as an official at PNS sanctioned meets. Your credentials consist of your PNS Official certification card and your USA Swimming membership card. Congratulations for reaching this point and welcome to the ranks of PNS Officials.
Linked Resources
PNS Officials Certification Procedure - certification process
The Alphabet of Swim Officiating - The Alphabet of Swim Officiating
Volunteers' Rights - Volunteers' Rights
USA Swimming 2011 Rulebook - USA Swimming 2011 Rulebook
PNS Certification Worksheet - certification worksheet
PNS Novice Service Record - PNS Novice Service Record
Guide to Officiating Swimming - Guide to Officiating Swimming
PNS Start Procedure - PNS Start Procedure
The Referee - Protocol and Philosophy - The Referee - Protocol and Philosophy
Referee Checklist - referee checklist
Stroke Briefing - stroke briefing
non-athlete membership application - non-athlete membership application