Officiating Basics
Introduction to officiating
Lifesaving sport is designed to help keep our guards up-skilled and ready for action. The Lifesaving Society is our governing body for Lifesaving sport - a sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation. We use lifesaving sport to engage and inspire youth in our drowning prevention mission. Lifesaving sport programs can be tailored for participants at all skill levels and are based on the Canadian Sport for Life Long Term Athlete Development model. Canadians currently compete at all levels from regional participation to international competitions. Lifeguards have the option to train to compete and officials are needed to provide these competition opportunities. This sport is available to our youth athletes too. Our junior guard/lifesaving sport programs are designed to get swimmers having fun and enjoying some of these skills to have them interested and working towards National Lifeguard certifications and developing awareness for drowning prevention. Our sport is largely volunteer based and we appreciate all that our volunteer officials do to allow the opportunities for competition!
The goal of any volunteer or official is to contribute to a fair, safe and positive environment.
Being an active official and volunteering your time whether your club is the host or not, will help our swimmers and lifeguards in their development.
As an official you will meet other officials and may decide to progress from the regional local pool deck or beach to a provincial event or even to a national level where athletes compete to represent Canada at International competition.
The proficient official is a judge of the competition, not the rules.
The rules must be followed. The official who has standards that differ from those set down in the rulebook may leave themselves open to having their decisions challenged by coaches and the Referee.
Following the rules puts a stake in the ground that tells everyone concerned with the competition that the decisions will be made in a fair and equitable manner against a known standard.
The official’s job is to uphold the rules by applying them equitably and communicating their interpretation effectively.
As an official, an individual must operate from a strong base. That base is made up of two factors – one is the authority of the rulebook and the other is the basic philosophy that the officials conduct the competition in accordance with the rules.
Each time a rule and the purpose of that rule are explained, the rule becomes easier to accept. Rather than hiding behind the statement "It’s the rule", an official should explain why there was a violation so the official does not appear to be arbitrary.
While the rules of swimming are clear, their application may differ slightly based on the level of competition.