As per the 4/30/15 blog post, it's time to think about recertification of your various AMS Officials positions. Below is a re-post explaining what tests are necessary to recertify by the end of this calendar year...
Every three years, AMS Officials must recertify for the officials positions that they hold. Our current certifications expire at December 31, 2015. The new online tests, based upon the 2015 Rule Book, will be available on the USA Swimming website after May 1, 2015.
If an official certified/recertified for a particular position(s) during 2015, their certification will be automatically renewed to December 31, 2018. Any certification/recertification completed prior to 2015 requires recertification during 2015 in order to extend the expiration to 12/31/18.
In order to recertify, officials at these highest levels of certification must complete the following online tests before 12/31/15...
Referee - A Referee must take the Referee, Starter, and Administrative Official recertification tests. This will also recertify them at the Chief Judge and Stroke & Turn levels. In lieu of the Admin Official test, the Referee can alternatively take the Administrative Referee test.
Starter - A Starter must take the Starter, Timing Judge and Stroke & Turn/Timer tests. In lieu of the Stroke & Turn/Timer test, the Starter can take the Referee recertification test to recertify for both Chief Judge and Stroke & Turn.
Chief Judge - A Chief Judge must take the Referee recertification test. This will also recertify them at the Stroke & Turn level.
Administrative Official - An Admin Official must take the Admin Official recertification test.
Stroke & Turn - A Stroke & Turn official must take the Stroke & Turn/Timer test.
As indicated above, you have until 12/31/2015 to complete the required tests in order to extend your certifications for three years. Should you have any questions, please contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com.
Happy online testing!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Check Your Officials Sessions Worked!
Be sure you take a few moments to check out your officials sessions worked in the Officials Tracking System (OTS) for the period from September 1, 2014 to today.
Remember that it is our rule that all AMS Officials whose home clubs are within 60 miles of downtown Pittsburgh must work a minimum of 12 sessions at AMS sanctioned meets by the end of August 2015. This is part of our annual certification process and helps ensure that a) we are adequately staffed on deck at meets throughout the year and b) our officials are proficient through deck experience.
As always, we evaluate individual circumstances on a case by case basis. If you have a legitimate reason why you are not able to complete your minimum required sessions (this would not include "my dog ate my credentials"), please send an email to Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com to make your case. There are plenty of Long Course sessions still in front of us so plenty of time to get caught up.
See ya on deck!
Remember that it is our rule that all AMS Officials whose home clubs are within 60 miles of downtown Pittsburgh must work a minimum of 12 sessions at AMS sanctioned meets by the end of August 2015. This is part of our annual certification process and helps ensure that a) we are adequately staffed on deck at meets throughout the year and b) our officials are proficient through deck experience.
As always, we evaluate individual circumstances on a case by case basis. If you have a legitimate reason why you are not able to complete your minimum required sessions (this would not include "my dog ate my credentials"), please send an email to Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com to make your case. There are plenty of Long Course sessions still in front of us so plenty of time to get caught up.
See ya on deck!
Monday, May 18, 2015
A Great Learning Experience...Again!
There must be something in the air at The Classic hosted annually by JCCS. Four years ago, a very interesting call was reviewed in theory (no call had been made but it was interesting enough that we reviewed the circumstances and options with Referees at the time)
I have often heard that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place because the same place isn't there the second time. Well, that appears to be a false statement as lighting did, in fact, strike twice in the same place, albeit 4 years apart.
So, here's the circumstances...
I have often heard that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place because the same place isn't there the second time. Well, that appears to be a false statement as lighting did, in fact, strike twice in the same place, albeit 4 years apart.
So, here's the circumstances...
The Situation: During the 200 Meter Individual Medley, the swimmer completed the butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke portions of the medley without incident. The swimmer turned to begin the freestyle leg. After the turn, the swimmer took a single arm pull followed by a breaststroke kick and then recovered his/her arms forward (one full cycle of breaststroke). At this point, s/he realized that s/he should be swimming freestyle and then swam freestyle for the balance of the leg to finish the race.
The Call: The Stroke Judge recognized that in an individual medley event, freestyle means any style other than butterfly, breaststroke or backstroke. In her thinking, a single cycle was not enough to determine that the swimmer was swimming breaststroke. And so no call was made.
The rule in question relates to 101.5 and 101.6. In 101.6, the rules state that the last fourth of the IM race must be freestyle. In 101.5, freestyle is described as "any style, except that in a medley relay or an individual medley event, freestyle means any style other than butterfly, breaststroke or backstroke".
So, here's the question. Is one cycle of breaststroke enough to determine that the swimmer was swimming breaststroke and, therefore, in violation of Rule 101.5?
Four years ago, we asked our Referees the same question and, interestingly, had a fairly even split among the Referees as to whether the one cycle was adequate to conclude that the swimmer had swum an adequate enough of breaststroke during the freestyle portion of the IM to constitute a disqualification.
We also ran the question by the then Chair of the USA Swimming Rules & Regulation Committee, Dan McAllen. Dan said, "unfortunately, the answer to this question may be different depending on the Referee. The interpretation of the rule that applies is simply "the swimmer must be swimming in the style of a stroke other than freestyle" for the disqualification call to be made and upheld." For some, "a single breaststroke arm pull and leg kick is definitive. Frankly, while I could defend that position, for me, posing as Referee if I may, it would take more than a single arm pull and leg kick to uphold that call. Remember, the presumption, by rule, is that following a legal touch at the end of the breaststroke leg the athlete is a freestyle swimmer. While it is true that the elements of breaststroke were there, a single stroke is not sufficient to overcome the freestyle presumption in my mind. That first legal breaststroke cycle would get my attention, to be sure, but I would need to see more to decide that the athlete was actually swimming breaststroke. How much more? At least one more legal breaststroke cycle.
If the Stroke & Turn Judge believes that there was an adequate amount of breaststroke swum to determine that the swimmer was swimming breaststroke in violation of the rules, then the call should be made and vetted. Ultimately, the Referee, based upon his or her interpretation and understanding of what happened, will either uphold the call or not.
Weird that this happened again at The Classic 4 years after it last happened at the same meet. I guess we're not due to revisit this until May 2019.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Recertification Required for all Officials Positions
Every three years, AMS Officials must recertify for the officials positions that they hold. Our current certifications expire at December 31, 2015. The new online tests, based upon the 2015 Rule Book, will be available on the USA Swimming website after May 1, 2015.
If an official certified/recertified for a particular position(s) during 2015, their certification will be automatically renewed to December 31, 2018. Any certification/recertification completed prior to 2015 requires recertification during 2015 in order to extend the expiration to 12/31/18.
In order to recertify, officials at these highest levels of certification must complete the following online tests before 12/31/15...
Referee - A Referee must take the Referee, Starter, and Administrative Official recertification tests. This will also recertify them at the Chief Judge and Stroke & Turn levels. In lieu of the Admin Official test, the Referee can alternatively take the Administrative Referee test.
Starter - A Starter must take the Starter, Timing Judge and Stroke & Turn/Timer tests. In lieu of the Stroke & Turn/Timer test, the Starter can take the Referee recertification test to recertify for both Chief Judge and Stroke & Turn.
Chief Judge - A Chief Judge must take the Referee recertification test. This will also recertify them at the Stroke & Turn level.
Administrative Official - An Admin Official must take the Admin Official recertification test.
Stroke & Turn - A Stroke & Turn official must take the Stroke & Turn/Timer test.
As indicated above, you have until 12/31/2015 to complete the required tests in order to extend your certifications for three years. Should you have any questions, please contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com.
If an official certified/recertified for a particular position(s) during 2015, their certification will be automatically renewed to December 31, 2018. Any certification/recertification completed prior to 2015 requires recertification during 2015 in order to extend the expiration to 12/31/18.
In order to recertify, officials at these highest levels of certification must complete the following online tests before 12/31/15...
Referee - A Referee must take the Referee, Starter, and Administrative Official recertification tests. This will also recertify them at the Chief Judge and Stroke & Turn levels. In lieu of the Admin Official test, the Referee can alternatively take the Administrative Referee test.
Starter - A Starter must take the Starter, Timing Judge and Stroke & Turn/Timer tests. In lieu of the Stroke & Turn/Timer test, the Starter can take the Referee recertification test to recertify for both Chief Judge and Stroke & Turn.
Chief Judge - A Chief Judge must take the Referee recertification test. This will also recertify them at the Stroke & Turn level.
Administrative Official - An Admin Official must take the Admin Official recertification test.
Stroke & Turn - A Stroke & Turn official must take the Stroke & Turn/Timer test.
As indicated above, you have until 12/31/2015 to complete the required tests in order to extend your certifications for three years. Should you have any questions, please contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
AMS Officials Rosters Updated
As of 4/29/15, the AMS Officials rosters have been updated and can be found on the AMS Officials website. Having accurate information about our officials is very important to our meet host clubs in communicating with us about their upcoming meets.
Please verify that your certifications are correct and contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com if there are issues.
http://www.amswim-officials.org/TabGeneric.jsp?_tabid_=103253&team=lscamso
Look for new information tomorrow about officials recertification requirements. Yes, it's been three years!
Please verify that your certifications are correct and contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com if there are issues.
http://www.amswim-officials.org/TabGeneric.jsp?_tabid_=103253&team=lscamso
Look for new information tomorrow about officials recertification requirements. Yes, it's been three years!
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Donna Beyerl Named Jamy Pfister Official of the Year
Our first ever "Jamy Pfister Official of the Year" is Donna Beyerl!
Donna has been an AMS Official for a long time and has worked more sessions than any other official this year. In fact, she worked 20 meets and 70 sessions during the 2014/2015 Short Course season alone! She has mentored/trained many of our officials, is an active member of the AMS Officials Committee and is very deserving of being named the very first awardee.
The Jamy Pfister Official of the Year award was named to honor our very own Jamy Pfister who devoted over 40 years as a swim official. Jamy has mentored many of us in AMS and around the nation over the years and has left her indelible mark on USA Swimming, both regionally and nationally.
Donna received her award at the AMS Officiathon held on Saturday, April 18, 2015.
Congratulations Donna!
Donna has been an AMS Official for a long time and has worked more sessions than any other official this year. In fact, she worked 20 meets and 70 sessions during the 2014/2015 Short Course season alone! She has mentored/trained many of our officials, is an active member of the AMS Officials Committee and is very deserving of being named the very first awardee.
The Jamy Pfister Official of the Year award was named to honor our very own Jamy Pfister who devoted over 40 years as a swim official. Jamy has mentored many of us in AMS and around the nation over the years and has left her indelible mark on USA Swimming, both regionally and nationally.
Donna received her award at the AMS Officiathon held on Saturday, April 18, 2015.
Congratulations Donna!
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
New and Improved AMS Officials Sign Up for LC Meets
As a result of discussions at our Referee Roundtable last night, we've modified the AMS Officials sign up to allow for better management of the meets and our volunteer officials who have signed up to work these meets.
We are now using Volunteer Spot for meet session sign ups. Each meet for the upcoming LC season is listed (except Junior Olympics, which will be posted once we see the meet structure). Please use this link to sign up for all meet sessions you can work.
http://vols.pt/jN3CL9
Please pay special attention to the meets during the weekend of July 10-12. Due to venue scheduling issues, we have three meets scheduled for that weekend. As we know, having multiple meets on a weekend during LC is a challenge and having three meets is extreme. It is important that we are sure that we have adequate coverage for these meets as soon as possible. We know it's not Pittsburgh fashionable to sign up for anything this early, but we really need to know that we can pull this off...especially for the Referee, Starter and Administrative Official positions.
As always, your time and dedication to the sport of swimming is greatly appreciated. Should you have any questions, please contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com.
See ya on deck!
We are now using Volunteer Spot for meet session sign ups. Each meet for the upcoming LC season is listed (except Junior Olympics, which will be posted once we see the meet structure). Please use this link to sign up for all meet sessions you can work.
http://vols.pt/jN3CL9
Please pay special attention to the meets during the weekend of July 10-12. Due to venue scheduling issues, we have three meets scheduled for that weekend. As we know, having multiple meets on a weekend during LC is a challenge and having three meets is extreme. It is important that we are sure that we have adequate coverage for these meets as soon as possible. We know it's not Pittsburgh fashionable to sign up for anything this early, but we really need to know that we can pull this off...especially for the Referee, Starter and Administrative Official positions.
As always, your time and dedication to the sport of swimming is greatly appreciated. Should you have any questions, please contact Bob Mermelstein at bob.mermelstein@gmail.com.
See ya on deck!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
LSC Officials Chairs Quarterly Conference Call
Every quarter, Officials Chairs from around the country get together via conference call to discuss the goings on around the country related to USA Swimming officials and officiating. On April 1, we had our latest call. Here are the highlights of the call...
Jay Thomas, Chair of the USAS Rules & Regulations Committee discussed briefly the new guidelines that I forwarded you a few days ago about deck changing and our recommended approach to dealing with it. He reiterated that our first responsibility was to watch the pool. He commented that if we do see a swimmer changing on deck, make a note of the swimmer/team and inform the Meet Director and/or Referee of the situation and they will follow up with the team's coach. He suggested that it probably wasn't a good idea to approach the swimmer while s/he is changing as we certainly wouldn't want to leave the impression that we're watching them change! Makes sense. It's not an area of major focus here in AMS but, with LC upon us, if it's going to happen, this is when it will happen.
Jay also mentioned that he attended the national meeting of the NFHS and indicated that there didn't appear to be any rule changes at the High School level to be concerned about.
Upcoming rules to be addressed this year involve the Board of Review/Code of Conduct, governance, eliminating timing corrections from the timing section of the rules (we'll have to wait to see what this is), trans gender athletes and the 120-day rule (when a swimmer changes club affiliation). More to come as these play out.
A reminder that the online tests administered by USAS will be down for updating at close of business on April 15 and will not be back online until May 1. If you or anyone from your club has already downloaded a test, you must complete it by April 15 or it will expire. The new tests will be updated for the 2015 Rule Book. Also, the new tests will be 1 part tests now and not 2 part tests and apparently there will be hints as to where to find the appropriate rule being covered by a question.
Bob Griffiths indicated that Deck Pass is currently being updated to include both LSC and National level certifications.
If anyone is interested in Open Water officiating, there will be an Open Water Clinic being offered at the 2015 Open Water National Championships being held 4/24 and 4/26 in Miromar Lake, FL.
There will be more opportunities for our LSC officials who are interested in working on a national deck. In late July, Junior Nationals (San Antonio, July 30 - August 3) and the new Futures Championships (Greesnboro, NC, Gresham, OR, West Lafayette, July 30 - August 2) are being held at the same time. As they'll need many more officials to cover all the decks, you may have the opportunity to get out on deck at this higher level.
That's it for now. I'll update you on these issues as more information becomes available.
Jay Thomas, Chair of the USAS Rules & Regulations Committee discussed briefly the new guidelines that I forwarded you a few days ago about deck changing and our recommended approach to dealing with it. He reiterated that our first responsibility was to watch the pool. He commented that if we do see a swimmer changing on deck, make a note of the swimmer/team and inform the Meet Director and/or Referee of the situation and they will follow up with the team's coach. He suggested that it probably wasn't a good idea to approach the swimmer while s/he is changing as we certainly wouldn't want to leave the impression that we're watching them change! Makes sense. It's not an area of major focus here in AMS but, with LC upon us, if it's going to happen, this is when it will happen.
Jay also mentioned that he attended the national meeting of the NFHS and indicated that there didn't appear to be any rule changes at the High School level to be concerned about.
Upcoming rules to be addressed this year involve the Board of Review/Code of Conduct, governance, eliminating timing corrections from the timing section of the rules (we'll have to wait to see what this is), trans gender athletes and the 120-day rule (when a swimmer changes club affiliation). More to come as these play out.
A reminder that the online tests administered by USAS will be down for updating at close of business on April 15 and will not be back online until May 1. If you or anyone from your club has already downloaded a test, you must complete it by April 15 or it will expire. The new tests will be updated for the 2015 Rule Book. Also, the new tests will be 1 part tests now and not 2 part tests and apparently there will be hints as to where to find the appropriate rule being covered by a question.
Bob Griffiths indicated that Deck Pass is currently being updated to include both LSC and National level certifications.
If anyone is interested in Open Water officiating, there will be an Open Water Clinic being offered at the 2015 Open Water National Championships being held 4/24 and 4/26 in Miromar Lake, FL.
There will be more opportunities for our LSC officials who are interested in working on a national deck. In late July, Junior Nationals (San Antonio, July 30 - August 3) and the new Futures Championships (Greesnboro, NC, Gresham, OR, West Lafayette, July 30 - August 2) are being held at the same time. As they'll need many more officials to cover all the decks, you may have the opportunity to get out on deck at this higher level.
That's it for now. I'll update you on these issues as more information becomes available.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
AMS Officia-thon Fast Approaching
The AMS Officia-thon is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2015. While we're finalizing the location for the 2015 AMS Officia-thon, we wanted to provide the sign up sheet so we know what our breakout needs are. Here's the schedule for the day...
9:00 AM Registration opens
9:30 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:00 AM Breakout Sessions for:
Referees/Starters/CJ's
Admin Officials
Stroke & Turn
11:30 AM Presentation of the Jamy Pfister Official of the Year Award
12:00 PM Lunch and Social Time
While you can attend only one clinic this day, the individual sessions will be provided throughout the year. Look for the schedule with dates and locations.
To sign up, please use the following link...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SrVqCAlhDZYFVb54MbLdghFQ0WEjxKfYJ4wfFxVN6TI/edit?usp=sharing
This is an important annual meeting so please plan to attend. Looking forward to seeing you there!
9:00 AM Registration opens
9:30 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:00 AM Breakout Sessions for:
Referees/Starters/CJ's
Admin Officials
Stroke & Turn
11:30 AM Presentation of the Jamy Pfister Official of the Year Award
12:00 PM Lunch and Social Time
While you can attend only one clinic this day, the individual sessions will be provided throughout the year. Look for the schedule with dates and locations.
To sign up, please use the following link...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SrVqCAlhDZYFVb54MbLdghFQ0WEjxKfYJ4wfFxVN6TI/edit?usp=sharing
This is an important annual meeting so please plan to attend. Looking forward to seeing you there!
2015 AMS LC Officials Sign Up Spreadsheet Now Available
The AMS Long Course Officials Sign Up Spreadsheet is now available. Once the Meet Announcements are available and I know the structures of the meets I can complete the spreadsheet.
Here is the link to the new spreadsheet...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mAK4iF6cZZKVo55nLFlFr_ymrklbbZM-ZuTaJfj2IXs/edit?usp=sharing
The format has changed to organize officials more efficiently to help host clubs see where they need help. Please enter your name and related information in the category associated with your highest LSC certification (i.e. Referee, Starter, etc.). For example...
Here is the link to the new spreadsheet...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mAK4iF6cZZKVo55nLFlFr_ymrklbbZM-ZuTaJfj2IXs/edit?usp=sharing
The format has changed to organize officials more efficiently to help host clubs see where they need help. Please enter your name and related information in the category associated with your highest LSC certification (i.e. Referee, Starter, etc.). For example...
| OFFICIALS' NAME | CLUB | PHONE | SAT AM | SAT PM | SUN AM | SUN PM | |
| Referee | |||||||
| Bob Mermelstein | WHAT | bob.mermelstein@gmail.com | 412-867-6687 | X | X | ||
Summer LC is always challenging as we generally have less officials available to officiate. Please try to sign up early and often so host clubs know where they need help. Thanks.
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