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In the province of Alberta, officials fall under the responsibility of the Alberta Officials Committee (AOC).  The AOC is a committee of Swim Alberta.  The work that you do as a club officials’ chair is guided by the mandate and strategies of the Alberta Officials Committee.

Swim Alberta Mission:
Swim Alberta will institute and maintain the best and most progressive development and high performance competitive swimming programme in the world.

Swim Alberta Values:
The Alberta Officials Committee is guided by the Swim Alberta values of excellence, integrity, innovation, and collaboration.

Linking Your Work to the Strategies of the Alberta Officials Committee:
The Alberta Officials Committee is committed to providing officials with effective development opportunities, education, and mentorship to ensure the delivery of technically proficient competitions that allow for the highest level of performance of our athletes.  The work that you do as a club official chair will help support the following strategies as adopted by the Alberta Officials Committee:

1. Development of an education program for officials that provides them with the information, knowledge and tools to deliver technically proficient competitions. 
2. Creation and implementation of a mentorship program that allows officials to experience new roles and develop in these roles through a supportive environment that values learning and growth.
3. Creation of engagement strategies for officials that identifies systems for recruitment and retention, succession planning and accountability while also providing a sense of connection to Swim Alberta and the AOC.
4. Development of a system that ensures the technical aspects of competition, rules changes and updates are applied consistently.

Role of the Club Officials’ Chair:

1.    Organization of Clinics:

• Organizing clinics with your club, arranging presenters, communicating availability to parents. 
• Advise your Regional Officials Chair/ASSA Officials Chair so that your clinic can be posted on the Swim Alberta website.
• Share other clubs’ clinic dates with your parents.

2.    Maintenance of the Officials Database

• After a clinic, held by your club, submit the completed Officials’ Certification Form to each club that had participants so they can update their officials’ records. Also, forward a copy to the Officials’ Registrar.
• Update the records of parents from your club that attended the clinic.

3.    Coordination of Officials for Swim Meets:

• The COC is usually responsible for ensuring the supply of officials for hosted swim meets as required by the Meet Manager. It is the responsibility of the host club to provide a minimum of 50% of officials for a meet. Make contact with the COC’s from the other clubs attending the meet to obtain the remaining volunteer officials. ASSA usually asks for 3-5 officials from each club attending the meet to help, this is put in the meet package
• At the conclusion of the meet send a copy of the meet roster to all COC’s from attending clubs. The COC at each club is responsible to update the officials’ shifts in the database.
• As a means of educating families in your club it is a good rule of thumb for the parent to expect to provide one official shift per swimmer in a meet that is hosted by a club in the area.

4.    Supporting the Development of Officials:

• Become familiar with the approved Officials’ Certification System in Alberta and encourage and support officials’ progression.
• Should you receive a request for a referee evaluation or course, please refer the candidate to the Regional Officials Chair/ASSA Officials Chair. They in turn will connect them to the Referee Development Advisory Group.

The Regional Officials Chair/ASSA Officials Chair will organize, at the start of the season, an opportunity for you to connect with other Club Officials’ Chairs and learn about your responsibilities.  Keep close contact with your Regional Officials Chair/ASSA Officials Chair – they are your mentor and are happy to help you any way they can.  In turn, you are also the mentor for your club’s officials.  Take every opportunity to engage, develop and educate officials within your club. 

Regional Officials' Chairs:

Northern Region -   TBD – This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Southern Region – Patti Clarkson – This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Alberta Summer Swimming Association – Paige Park – This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Registrar – Lockie Lister – This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Useful Information

Swim Alberta Website
Alberta Summer Swim Association Website
Officials Database
Clinics
Clinic Dates
COC Responsibilities
Alberta Officials Code of Conduct
Alberta Officials Certification Process
Officials Forms
Strategic Plan of the AOC
Swim Canada
Club Contact Information