They say that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes an Officials Committee to lead our AMS officials. I'm excited to introduce you to your 2014-2015 Officials Committee. Typically, LSC's have Officials Committees made up of Referees. There's certainly no harm in that but I wanted to mix it up and get a broader representation on the Committee so I've invited Referees, Starters and Chief Judges to help lead our group. They are (in alphabetical order):
- David Buerger
- Donna Beyerl
- Anne Countouris
- Nikki Heasley
- Kristen Matheny
- Scott Pauley
- Scott Wilshire
We will focus on a number of meaty issues. Here's a sampling of things on the table...
- We will be expanding our training regimen to include clinics for various positions throughout the year. Some of the clinics will be classroom style but some will be on the pool deck so that those of us who are visual learners can see things first hand;
- We will be introducing an officials clinic for prospective officials which will be less rules based (though that will be part of it) and more open discussion about officiating in general;
- We'll need to develop a stronger training regimen for our Administrative Officials and Chief Judges;
- Recertification begins in 2015 (current certification is due to expire on 12/31/15). We're going to take a look at this process and make sure it serves us well.
There are many other things to be considered by the Officials Committee and we'll keep you informed through this blog of our progress.
Lastly, I wanted to thank John Schaefer for serving as Officials Chair this past year. John devoted a lot of time and energy to the position and breathed new life into our training program. I know you all join me in thanking John for his commitment to AMS and USA Swimming officiating.
I'll be in touch. Count on it!
