Change to Rule 101.2.3 - Timing of Permissible Breaststroke Kick

As we've discussed in the recent past, FINA was likely to pass a rule change related to the timing of the permissible breaststroke kick under Rile 101.2.3.

Yesterday, FINA passed the rule change, as expected, allowing the permissible single butterfly kick to occur at any time prior to the first breaststroke kick. Today, USA Swimming's Rules and Regulations Committee amended Rule 101.2.3 to conform to FINA's rule change. Click here to view the memorandum from Jay Thomas, USAS Rules & Regs Chair.

Please note that this rule change, which certainly makes our lives as Officials a little easier, is effective immediately.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's wishing all of our AMS Officials and your families and friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. May you all be safe and enjoy time with those we love. See ya on deck soon!

Upcoming Meets

As you know, we have shifted to a centralized system for meet sign up that starts with this weekend's meet at BPR. It not only provides one location for you to go to to sign up to officiate at any meet but also gives us a chance to keep track of where we are with officials for any given meet to be sure that we don't get caught short in the 11th hour.

It is important to sign up as early as you can but at least sign up! If you are the Officials Contact for your club's hosted meet(s), make sure that you get all of your team's officials signed up early. Also, concentrate on filling the Referee, Starter and Admin Ref/Official early as they're the hardest positions to fill.

To sign up for all 2014-2015 Short Course meets (with the exception of the Christmas Meet and Age Group Champs), use the following link...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14amxpxN912bDtjtW2AdcE16zWdN7msKUWOvRaGefshM/edit#gid=1718346109

The Christmas Meet Application to Officiate and Request for Evaluation can be found at...

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jp4dt9CSpSl15VMFCh50ghBpyaNErARPhGXkWq0HsjQ/viewform

Even if you do not intend to be evaluated for national certification, this is the place to sign up to work sessions at the Christmas Meet. It's a very big meet that requires oodles of officials so we need all the help we can get.

On behalf of the AMS Officials Committee, we'd like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Athlete Protection Training Date Change

The USAS Safe Sport Committee voted to make the Athlete Protection Training good for two years instead of one year. As a result, they have pushed all of the 12/31/14 APT expiration dates to 12/31/15. 

Effective on September 1, 2014, the APT expiration date is based on the year that the training was taken. For example, if you complete the training anytime between January 1 and December 31, 2015, the APT expiration date will be December 31, 2017 (if completed in January, you essentially get three years). Anyone completing the APT after September 1, 2014 and until January 1, 2015 will have an APT expiration date of 12/31/16.

Meet Sign Up Spreadsheet to be Used by ALL Officials

Beginning with the BPR Mini/Xmas Qulaifier meet in 2 weeks, we being using our centralized meet sign up. It is very important that we use this form so that we can track, in real time, where we are with officials for every meet, every session. To access the sign up spreadsheet, use this link...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14amxpxN912bDtjtW2AdcE16zWdN7msKUWOvRaGefshM/edit#gid=1718346109

It is important that ALL officials working a meet use this sign up form. Make sure you sign up for your own hosted meets, as well. If you are the Officials Contact for a host team, make sure that you add any names of officials and details for any officials who contacted you offline to officiate at your meet.

Thanks for your help in making this work.

Very Important Sign Ups Require Your Attention

As we move into the second month of the 2014-2015 Short Course season, we can look back at the first month and say "OY!". Last week's two meets were very lightly attended by officials. In fact, we had two sessions that were nearly swum as exhibition because we did not meet the minimum requirements set forth by USA Swimming. We pulled both sessions out of the fire in the waning moments leading up to the beginning of the sessions. I don't recall ever coming that close to an officials disaster. I certainly don't want us to be the cause of having to tell swimmers that their times will not be going into the SWIMS database because we couldn't put enough qualified officials on deck. Could you imagine swimming a 1650 for fun?!?*?

That said, let's look forward and commit to doing a better job in filling the both the wet and dry sides of these meets. Next week, we have the Silver/Gold Meet (11/8-9) at CVSC. Please contact Gina Santilli at cgsantilli@comcast.net or 412-551-5808.

As you'll recall, starting with the BPR Mini/Christmas Qualifier on 11/22-23, we'll be using our centralized spreadsheet for signing up for all future meets. This gives us the chance to monitor where we are with officials at all meets and allows our officials the opportunity to sign up for multiple meets in one convenient location. Please take the time to sign up for all sessions that you can help with. It's important that you sign up as soon as you know your availability. ALL positions should sign up, including Admin Officials so we know what we have or, more importantly, what we don't. The link to the spreadsheet is https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14amxpxN912bDtjtW2AdcE16zWdN7msKUWOvRaGefshM/edit#gid=1718346109.

The 2014 Christmas Meet is once again an Officials Qualifying Meet (OQM) being held 12/11-14 at Pitt. There is a separate Application to Officiate that includes your election to be evaluated for national certification (more on that in a future blog post) should you so desire. The application can be found at  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jp4dt9CSpSl15VMFCh50ghBpyaNErARPhGXkWq0HsjQ/viewform?usp=send_form. It's very important that you use this Application even if you do not want to be evaluated but would like to work session(s).

Finally, we have been asked to once again observe at the Pitt Invitational being held at Pitt on 11/21-23. We need a minimum of two (we're happy to have more) AMS officials for each session so that these times can be entered into the SWIMS database. Here's the spreadsheet to sign up for this meet...https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tCeqx0dsUHxN2a-FMXW7IQ-Zlm7WuKqnTTCl0aL7U2A/edit#gid=0. We've never not been able to meet these obligations to observe meets.

Thanks for your help. If you have any questions, please contact me at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com. See ya on deck!

Formal Uniform Policy Adopted for AMS Officials

At the last meeting of the AMS Officials Committee a formal AMS Uniform Policy was adopted, effectively immediately.

The following AMS Official’s dress code has been developed so that all officials can dress in a neat and consistent manner and thus convey a professional appearance. Attire should be such that it does not draw attention to the official – no short shorts, no short skirts, and no revealing shirts/blouses. The attire is worn by wet-deck and dry-deck officials alike. Officials must have their current registration cards at all times while working meet sessions. Deck Pass will satisfy this requirement. In lieu of displaying credentials, AMS Officials will wear the host clubs’ provided wrist band allowing them on deck.

Shirt: The shirt worn shall be plain white, with a collar, and long or short sleeve.

Female officials may wear sleeveless collared shirts. Logos may appear on the shirt, however, the logo shall be restricted to the front of the shirt, and the sleeve area.

The logos may not contain, or represent the following: alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, AMS or other USAS LSC member team names or logos, or suggestive/offensive messages. A Meet Shirt provided by or purchased through USA Swimming or Allegheny Mountain Swimming is acceptable. The shirt should be tucked in to the pants, shorts, or skirts, at all times while on deck.

Shorts/Pants/Skirts: These items shall be navy blue in color. Cutoffs of any type are not allowed. Jeans/denim are not appropriate attire for officials on the deck.

Socks: Socks, if worn, should be plain white. Manufacturer’s logos should be subdued.

Footwear: Athletic shoes are preferred. If they are worn, they should be as white as possible, with little or no color and avoiding to the extent possible bold and brightly colored logos and stripes. Closed toe sandals are also acceptable; however, it is recommended that any closed toe sandals worn should have a heel strap to assist in keeping the sandal securely on the foot. Open toe shoes/sandals are not permitted.

Hats: Hats are permitted at outdoor meets only.

Officials Rosters Updated to 10/21/14

AMS Officials Rosters have been updated and can be viewed on our website. To view the current rosters, click here. Please contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com if there are any issues with your certifications.

AMS Officials Getting a New Logo

We're not sure how long we've used the standard AMS Officials logo...but it's been a really long time. Take a look at our new logo, which will be available soon through Log Cabin Embroidery.

Our plan is to provide one shirt to those officials volunteering to work "x" number of sessions at the Christmas Meet in December (details still being worked out) and then as you order new AMS Officials shirts, you'll be getting the new logo. Shirt prices will remain unchanged.

The creative genius behind this logo is our very own Referee extraordinaire, Dave Watterson. Quite a talent, wouldn't you agree? Be sure you thank him next time you see him on deck. Might there be a similar logo adopted by AMS? Hmmmm. Time will tell.

Allegheny Mountain Men of Movember

Our good friend and fellow AMS Official, Scott Pauley, has been involved with an organization that focuses on men’s health, including raising money for prostate cancer and testicular cancer research to name two. The name of the organization is the Movember Foundation. They’ve found a way to have fun while doing good. We figured, why not create our own team of AMS Officials and Coaches…

Allegheny Mountain Men of Movember 

In the month of November, you may see some of your fellow AMS Officials and Coaches sporting mustaches of various shapes and sizes. In support of men's health initiatives, this group of guys have joined the Movember movement and formed their own team, called the Allegheny Mountain Men of Movember. For the Month of Movember we will be busy sprouting hair on our upper lips to build awareness about men's health, raise funds for a good cause, and also have a bit of fun teasing each other on deck during our November swim meets. We're sure many of your family and friends would love to support you in this fun endeavor.

We invite all AMS Officials and Coaches to the team. Just go to the link below to sign up. If you don’t want to sport a mustache but want to make a donation to the team, you can do that, as well. If you just want to poke fun at us on deck during Movember, that's OK, too.

moteam.co/allegheny-mountain-men-of-movember

Stay tuned for ways our Mo-sista officials can become involved too, by sending permission slips to our male officials, and by donating to our team.

This should be a lot of fun and will allow us to do some good at the same time!

To view the Movember rules, click here.