Swimming Pools

Officials in Swimming Competition
It is safe to say that swimming is not only a pastime sport, it is also one of the most competitive events during the Olympics. It has a body that governs it just like every other sporting event. Swimming sports are governed by FINA (Federation International de Natation). In this article we are going to talk about different officials that oversee swimming competition to ensure no competitor violates the laid down rules of the governing body – FINA.

As it is the case with other sporting events, swimming events during the Olympics or any other major swimming tournaments have several officials that oversea the competition.  The officials are the referee, the starter, the clerk of course, the timekeepers, the finish judges, the inspector of turns and the judges of stroke. Each of these officials has its own specific function during swimming festivals.

Referee

The referee is the head of all the officials. His decision is the final authority in the swimming events. Other officials are under his or her control. It is the duty of the referee to ensure that all the rules and regulation of the FINA are observed by the competitors. He takes the final decision on any issues relating to the conduct of the meet. He decides who wins the competition. He invites the competitors to the block by whistling lightly to them. If any swimmer is missing, it is the responsibility of the starter to call the person. Before the swimmers steep on their blocks, the referee will give a long blow of his whistle. But if the swimming style is the backstroke, the long whistle invites the swimmers to enter the water. The second long blow of the whistle by the referee is a signal for the swimmers to grab the gutter. At this point, the starter will take over from the referee.

The Starter

The starter now controls the swimmers once the referee invites them to grab the gutter. It is the function of the starter to send the swimmer off the blocks. If a swimmer leaves the block before the starter gives them signal to leave, a false start will be called by the starter.

Clerk of Course

The clerk of course ensures that the swimmers are assembled before each event. He organizes them into the heat which is organized from the slowest to the fastest. Swimmers that have no earlier time records are taken to be the slowest.

Timekeepers

Each lane in swimming competition has three time keepers. There is a chief timekeeper that assigns lanes to the other timekeepers. It is the responsibility of the timekeepers to record the time of swimmers assigned to them.

Inspector of Turns

Each of the lanes has an inspector of turn that mans it. It is the responsibility of the inspector of turn to ensure that swimmers in the lane assigned to them keep to rules of turn, start and finish of competition.

Judges of Stroke

It is the function of the judges of stroke who stay at each side of the pool to ensure that rules of the event is not violated.

Finish Judges

The finish judges determine the other in which the competitors finish the race. They also ensure each competitor finish the race according to the rule.