Officiating Archives - Swim BC

Glenn Greig Receives Highest National Officiating Honour

Louise Reid — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 20:38:29 +0000

Swim BC is very proud to congratulate Glenn Greig on receiving the highest swimming officiating award in Canada. The award was announced on February 23rd by Swimming Canada. As many of you know, Glenn was the 2022 Swim BC Official of the Year, now being acknowledged with the 2022 Ken Filippelli Excellence in Officiating Award from Swimming Canada cements Glenn’s renown for his amazing contribution to our sport. The Ken Filippelli award is named after the son of long-time BC Officiating legend Flip Filippelli. Flip donated the award to Swimming Canada in memory of his son Ken, a former national-level swimmer. Glenn, in similar fashion to Flip, has his roots in eastern Canada, and then moved to BC. Like Flip, since his arrival, Glenn has become tremendously valued as a leader in swimming officiating in BC. On behalf of the Swim BC Board, the membership, and the staff, congratulations to Glenn. Swim BC is very proud of the work you do for our sport.

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Changes to the Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials

Zachariah Crow — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Due to the COVID-19 situation in Ontario and other provinces, Swimming Canada is changing the Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials, Presented by Bell. Swimming Canada’s primary selection event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic teams was scheduled to run May 24-28 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (“TPASC”). “In light of the state of emergency and stay-at-home order in Ontario, as well as travel restrictions in and out of other provinces, Swimming Canada’s board of directors, in consultation with management, has determined that the May dates for Trials are no longer viable,” said President Cheryl Gibson, who led an emergency board meeting to review the situation Monday evening. “We have therefore asked management to explore plans to hold the Trials in June.” “The Olympic Trials will now be held at TPASC June 19-23, replacing the previously scheduled Invitational Qualifier. Swimming Canada is also pursuing options for holding the Trials elsewhere in North America should running the event in Toronto not be viable based on factors at the time. The dates would remain the same in an alternate location. A decision of whether to move the event, if possible, will be made by the end of May or sooner,” said CEO Ahmed El-Awadi. More…

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Mikuska and Dunn Appointment on WPS Working Groups

Louise Reid — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 23:53:19 +0000

Swim BC would like to congratulate Vince Mikuska and Janet Dunn on their appointments to World Para Swimming (WPS) Working Groups; Vince will be joining the Competition Pathway Working group while Janet is part of the High Support Needs (PI) Working Group. Both have played an integral role in the success BC’s para-athletes and in the Paralympic program across the country. Following is an article from Swimming Canada: Vince Mikuska and Janet Dunn have played an integral role in the success of Swimming Canada’s Paralympic program for many years, and World Para Swimming is now benefiting from their immeasurable wealth of experience and expertise. Mikuska, the Senior Coach, Paralympic Program, was recently appointed to the WPS Competition Pathway Working Group. His selection comes a few months after Dunn, Swimming Canada’s long-time Para Swimming Performance Pathway Coach & National Classification Lead, joined the international federation’s High Support Needs (PI) Working Group, back in January. For Wayne Lomas, Swimming Canada’s Associate Director of High Performance and Para Swimming National Coach, the nominations are the latest confirmation of his colleagues’ status as world-leading industry experts. “Vince and Janet are both highly respected coaches here in Canada, and to have their experience and knowledge recognized by World Para Swimming is very pleasing,” said Lomas. “In addition to helping shape international policy, I know they will both bring the wisdom and experience that they offer our program every day to all swimmers and coaches worldwide, strengthening the profile and performance of Para swimming across the globe. “Swimming Canada has long been a leader in inclusion and integration, and, through Janet and Vince’s appointments, we are now able to bring this leadership and knowledge to the world stage. I’m privileged to work alongside such fine people and I know that WPS will now get to experience that same level of commitment to excellence.” On the Competition Pathway Working Group, which marks his first appointment on a WPS committee, Mikuska is one of eight members representing Europe, New Zealand, as well as North and South America. He points out the committee will additionally reach out to regions that are not part of the current group. “The working group has been re-formed under the auspices of the WPS Sport Technical Committee,” said Mikuska. “Our group has been charged with coming up with a competition and development plan beginning in 2025, post-Paris Paralympics, through to Los Angeles 2028. “We will examine existing competitions and try to develop a framework from development to high performance. The framework will consider all international, regional and national opportunities and look for areas of growth and refinement.” Mikuska sees a great opportunity to have the time to proactively plan and develop. “Too often, we are simply reacting to circumstances and don’t have the ability to truly get to the gist of what is required.” Dunn’s appointment to the High Support Needs (PI) Working Group adds to an impressive list of international contributions. She was an active IPC International Classifier for swimming from 1994 to 2013 – also training new classifiers during that time period – and was instrumental in developing the classification system in swimming, which now serves as the international model. “The appointment back in January was incredibly exciting. It’s a unique opportunity to work with this very diverse and capable group,” said Dunn, who has already met three times with her eight colleagues representing four continents. “This working group is the first of its kind and I’m honoured to have the opportunity to serve on it.” Dunn sees her appointment as an opportunity to leverage her deep and diverse understanding and personal history of Para sport. “I have many years of expertise within Para sport and know that I have much to offer. I started coaching in Para sport in my last year of university, so I have been able to work as a therapist and a coach in this exciting field my entire adult life. “Athletes with high support needs (HSN) are defined as those who compete within identified eligible sport classes in Paralympic sports. These athletes generally require additional support at competitions.” Dunn explains the working group focuses on a variety of topics but mainly aims to answer a number of key questions. “What would make competitions more accessible for HSN? How to raise awareness of HSN? What kind of coach education do you think would help others to understand HSN needs? How do we recruit more HSN? How to add additional and appropriate events? How can we remove barriers for these athletes so they can access training and competitive opportunities on a more equitable footing like their peers? “Any advice, direction and support I can give on this international working group helps ensure that all Canadians with a disability can access sport.”

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Why Volunteer & Officiate?

Zachariah Crow — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 23:39:17 +0000

It’s certainly no secret that swimming isn’t the best spectator sport. While watching our own kids swim, their events can be exciting for the short time their heats last, but swim meets make for very early mornings and extremely long, long, long days at the pool. When my daughter Reese started to compete at swim meets outside our club, one of the coaches pulled me aside and told me, “Simon, you should start getting involved in officiating.” And so I did, and frankly it has been the best decision I’ve made for both of us; here are some reasons why… Swim meets are fun! I don’t know about you, but I can’t sit for 8-10 hours reading a book or chatting with other parents in the stands. Instead, I chose to volunteer my time at swim meets. Reese swims, I officiate. The days are still long, but enjoyable. It’s fun to socialize and build friendships with other parents who officiate; you get a fantastic view of the action, and the time flies. Best of all, most meets offer free food for officials so you’ll never go hungry. You learn a lot. I had no idea the amount of work and effort that goes into arranging a swim meet. Did you know a typical swim meet requires between 40 and 50 volunteers? There are timers, stroke and turn officials, referees, starters, clerical positions, electronics, and on and on. Most importantly, what I’ve learned as I progress through the different officials levels is actually how complex the sport is. I learn something new at every meet. When you understand the sport, you appreciate it even more. Trust me it’s very interesting! It’s the best way to support your swimmer. As an official, you have to be professional and impartial; so working the deck and cheering your swimmer isn’t an option, but you don’t need to say anything. Just being there and being involved in the sport through volunteering is very powerful. Reese knows I’m there; she looks at me before taking to the blocks for every race and she always looks at me when her race is done. It’s a really powerful connection. I’m right there with her and I’m engaged in her sport. One very important thing to understand is that swim meets don’t run themselves and without volunteers, they cannot run. It’s very easy to make excuses for not volunteering and it’s really easy to sit back and let other parents step up to the plate. However, just remember that by volunteering and officiating, it’s the best investment of your time in truly supporting your swimmer. The first step to becoming an official is to take the Swim BC Level I officials clinic where you’ll learn the basics of a swim meet as well as how to be a timer (most important job on deck). Officials clinics are often put on at night, are free, and are offered through your club as well as other clubs in the area. Look out for announcements about these clinics from your club and feel free to ask me questions about officiating anytime. I hope to see you on deck soon!

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