Thank you very much for your willingness to help Chinook by becoming certified officials! Becoming an official is a great way to support your swimmer and their swim team, and we are pleased to welcome you to our small but mighty team of officials.

Step 1. Say Hi!

Please email officials@chinookaquaticclub.org to let us know you are beginning your journey to becoming an official. We are happy to answer any questions you have! We will also need your shirt size so that we can get you a Chinook-branded white polo to wear on deck.

Step 2. Pay the Fees (Chinook will reimburse you!)

Chinook Aquatic Club will reimburse your fees for becoming an official. Please save your receipts and submit them to treasurer@chinookaquaticclub.org for reimbursement.

• USA Swimming Membership. Create a paid USA Swimming account for yourself using this link, which will connect your account to Chinook Aquatic Club. Chinook will pay for your membership renewal in future years, but this first year you will need to submit your receipt for reimbursement.
• Nametag. Your nametag is part of your Officials Uniform. You can order your nametag here.
• Background Check.  There will be another fee associated with your background check, which you will pay for as part of your online training outlined below.

Step 3. Online Training

Before you embark on your online training, consider attending a New Officials Orientation clinic hosted by PNS. These clinics are beneficial to attend before getting started, but are not required. If you cannot attend, you are welcome to look through the New Official Orientation slide deck, located on the PNS Officials website.

When you are ready to start your online training modules, head over to the USA Swimming website and log into your paid account. Click Education and then Course Catalog to bring up all the education modules that USA Swimming offers. The modules you will need to complete are:

• Foundations of Officiating
• Athlete Protection Training
• Background Check
• Concussion Protocol Training
• Stroke & Turn Certification Course OR Administrative Official Certification Course.

When you have completed your Certification course, email your results to the PNS Officials Chair at officials@pns.org.

Step 4. On-Deck Training

When your online training is complete, you will need four sessions as an Apprentice official. You may do these sessions in as few as two meets.

• Email the Ref.  When you know you will be attending a meet, email to the Meet Referee (their email can be found in the Meet Announcement) and let them know you are an Apprentice Official, and what sessions you are available to be on deck.
• Bring your Development Form. Bring a copy of your development form for your mentor to fill out. Forms can be found on the officials.pns.org website under Education / Training Material.
• Submit Your Development Forms. When you have all four apprentice sessions completed, scan or take pictures of them and send them to officials@pns.org who will mark you as Certified in the USA Swimming database.

Please let me know if you have any questions along the way! I am happy to support you and answer any questions you have no matter how small! Thanks again for your willingness to support Chinook. I look forward to seeing you on deck!

Kerry Hill

Head Official

officials@chinookaquaticclub.org