Officials

Officiating Philosophy

Our Officiating Philosophy is not to "catch" a swimmer doing something wrong, but rather to fairly observe the swimmer. A disqualification (DQ) results when an Official, while watching the swimmer, observes the swimmer incorrectly performing the swim as defined by the Rules.

Fairly watching the swimmer means an Official gives an equal look to their assigned lanes (called jurisdiction). Here's an example...an Official whose jurisdiction is Lanes 1-4 on the Turn End will spend approximately 25% of their time watching each of their 4 Lanes. In the event there's only 1 swimmer in that Official's jurisdiction (meaning Lanes 1-3 are empty)....the Official still watches the empty lanes. Why? This eliminates an Official unfairly watching (studying) a swimmer too long.

Rules and Protocol

All NSSL meets will follow the rules and guidelines outlined by USA Swimming with the following exceptions:

Backstroke- Officials will use the Ohio High School rules for the backstroke. After the swimmer passes the 5-meter mark (the flags), they may delay the turn. Once the swimmer has turned over on their breast and finished their one arm or two arm simultaneous arm pull, they may kick or glide independently before making the flip turn.
Backstroke- Use of ledges at the start of the race are prohibited.
Freestyle- Swimmers aged 8 and under may resubmerge during the swim.

NEW FOR THE 2026 SEASON:

Swimmers may use KT tape without a doctor's note
Swimmers may resubmerge in the freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke

Officials

A CERTIFIED OFFICIAL is an individual who has an active and updated credential from one of the following organizations: USA Swimming, YMCA, the Ohio High School Athletic Association, NCAA or US Masters Swimming. Per the NSSL bylaws, non-certified parents interested in officiating may serve as TURN OFFICIALS at NSSL dual meets after participating in the NSSL Annual Stroke Clinic. The stroke clinic is held before the start of the swim season.

The MEET REFEREE and/or MEET STARTER must be CERTIFIED OFFICIALS to ensure a fair, well-run meet for all swimmers. When possible, it is preferred these two positions are assigned to two separate individuals.

All officials on the pool deck must wear the standard official's attire of a white polo shirt over blue bottoms.

The Meet Referee

The MEET REFEREE should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the meet to:

Ensure the competition pool meet USA Swimming requirements/safety standards.
Meet with Head Lifegaurd to insure all safety protocols are followed including thunder/lightning procedures. All Lifeguards must be currently certified by the State of Ohio.
Meet with Coaches.
Meet with Officials to set the deck (positions/jurisdiction) & brief the Officials.
Coordinate with Admin....heat sheets, approving DQ’s, approve Meet Results, etc.
Ensure Final Meet Results and DQ Slips are given to the Visiting Team's Head Coach at the conclusion of the meet. In the event of Admin issues, Referee and Head Coaches should agree as to when Final Meet Results and DQ Slips will be provided.