National Certification & Evaluation

The National Officials Certification Program is administered by the USA Swimming Officials Committee. Its primary goal is to expand the education of officials through mentoring, participation and evaluation as well recognizing those officials who have demonstrated their knowledge of swim officiating at each level and position. Certification at any level requires a combination of several things including evaluations, local participation at meets, continuing education, and the training and mentoring of other officials.

NATIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM MISSION

To develop officials who are competent, current and consistent from the LSC level meet to the highest level in our sport through a progressive training program based on an accumulation of experience acquired by specific meet attendance, mentoring and constructive evaluation.

NATIONAL CERTIFICATION APPLICATION

LIST OF CURRENT NATIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

For questions regarding the National Certification list, please email Marianne Walling.

LSC CERTIFICATION

Please contact your LSC Officials Chair for certification and re-certification procedures in your area.

Find your LSC Officials Chair here.

NATIONAL CERTIFICATION LEVELS

There are two levels of National Certification – N2 and N3 – for each of 5 positions:

Stroke and Turn Judge
Chief Judge
Starter
Deck Referee
Administrative Referee
N2 for Administrative Official

Hoping to work at a national level meet? Please visit the National Meet Applications page to find information on National Meet Expectations and Selection Criteria.

Evaluation & Certification Requirements

Certification Requirements by Position Professional Documents by Position National Meet & Educational Evaluation Guidelines Evaluation Templates

The Professional Administrative Official: N2 Certification and Recertification Requirements

The Professional Stroke & Turn Official: N2 & N3 Certification and Recertification Requirements

The Professional Chief Judge: N2 & N3 Certification and Recertification Requirements

The Professional Starter: N2 & N3 Certification and Recertification Requirements

The Professional Deck Referee: N2 & N3 Certification and Recertification Requirements

The Professional Administrative Referee: N2 & N3 Certification and Recertification Requirements

The Professional Administrative Official

The Professional Stroke & Turn Official

The Professional Chief Judge

The Professional Starter

The Professional Administrative Referee

The Professional Deck Referee

National Meet & Educational Evaluation Guidelines

Admin Official Evaluation Template

Admin Referee Evaluation Template

Chief Judge Evaluation Template

Deck Referee Evaluation Template

Starter Evaluation Template

Stroke and Turn Evaluation Template

Officials Qualifying Meet List and Application

List of Approved Qualifying Meets for N2 and N3 Certification

Officials Qualifying Meet Application - should be submitted to HQ by LSC Officials Chair

Officials Qualifying Meet - Considerations Prior to Application

Current N3 Mentors/Evaluators

Requesting Mentoring and Evaluation

Request an Evaluation False Start Scenarios Professional Documents for Each Position

Requesting an Evaluation Form

Suggestions for How to Use the Request for Evaluation Form

False Start Scenarios

Professional Official: Stroke and Turn

Professional Official: Administrative Official

Professional Official: Chief Judge

Professional Official: Starter

Professional Official: Referee

Professional Official: Administrative Referee

Mentor and Evaluator Resources

Evaluator Resources Mentor Resources

Evaluator Appointment Guidelines

Evaluation Process for LSC Officials Chairs to Select N2/N3 Mentors/Evaluators

N3 Evaluator Templates Webinar Session 1

N3 Evaluator Templates Webinar Session 2

Characteristics of a Successful Mentor

The Professional N3 Mentor

The Professional N3 Mentor: Recertification Requirements

Listening and Providing Feedback

National Mentor Nomination

The below forms are used by the LSC Officials Chairs (or other N3F evaluators) to nominate N2 evaluators to become N3i evaluators, or N3i evaluators to become N3F evaluators. The pre-requisites for an official to be recommended for a National Evaluator appointment to the NOC are outlined on the USA Swimming National Evaluator Guidelines.

N3 INITIAL EVALUATOR NOMINATION

N3 FINAL EVALUATOR NOMINATION

Evaluate the Mentor/Evaluator

We appreciate your taking the time to complete this short survey on the evaluation process. As we receive feedback on your experiences with the evaluation process, we can continue to improve it. Please be assured your identity is anonymous when completing this survey.

Start the Survey