Disqualified???

Officially, what happens is this... (this assumes a 'fully staffed' set of officials): * The stroke & turn official sees an infraction, and raises a hand * The Chief Judge for that part of the pool will see the hand, will radio to the Deck Referee "Possible disqualification, lanes 1-4, turn end." * Chief Judge will speak to the Stroke & Turn official, and have the S&T explain the exact infraction. The Chief Judge I believe has three options: - Overrule on the spot, if there is a clear misunderstanding by the S&T of the rule - Recommend that the Deck Ref accept the call - Recommend that the Deck Ref not accept the call * The Chief Judge would then radio to the Deck Ref "Possible disqualification, lane 3, turn end, non-simultaneous touch at the 75, left hand then right hand. Recommend {not} accepting this call." * Deck Referee will radio back "Disqualification is confirmed {or rejected}." The Deck Ref may also ask a clarifying question. * If confirmed, the Chief Judge will write up the DQ slip, have the S&T sign, then sign him/herself, and deliver to the Deck Ref to sign. If it happens quickly enough, the Chief Judge will intercept the swimmer getting out of the water to deliver the bad news. This assumes that there is a full compliment of officials on deck, which usually only happens at big championship meets: * Stroke & Turn officials: Positioned at the end of the lanes, and on the sides of the pool. They are the ones actually making the calls. Usually, Stroke & Turn officials do not have a heat sheet, nor do they have DQ slips, nor a radio. They are focused only on watching the swimmers. * Chief Judge: In a fully staffed meet, usually four on deck at a time, one on each "corner" of the pool. Chief Judge has radio, DQ slips and heat sheet. * Deck Referee: There may be a number of rotating Deck Referees. The general setup is that a Deck Referee is the referee of record for one entire event. In a big meet, the Deck Ref will rotate off at the end of the event to close out that event, resolve any swim-offs needed, any protests/appeals for DQs for that event, etc. The Deck Referee is the one who blows the whistles, and controls the pace of the meet officially. * Starter: One or more rotating starters. The starter does not have a radio, so that he/she can focus only on starting the race. (And place-judging the finish.) * Meet Referee: One overall referee to rule them all. In a big meet, the Meet Referee will often have no actual duties on deck, so that he/she is always available to deal with unexpected issues and situations, and to also manage the overall progress of the meet. Also, at national-level meets where other officials are being evaluated, the Meet Referee is often in a mentoring and evaluation role for other officials working towards their N1/N2/N3 certification. Of course, in most smaller meets, you're lucky to have a referee, a starter, and a couple of stroke & turn judges, and the roles are all mixed together! -Rick

Officially, what happens is this... (this assumes a 'fully staffed' set of officials): * The stroke & turn official sees an infraction, and raises a hand * The Chief Judge for that part of the pool will see the hand, will radio to the Deck Referee "Possible disqualification, lanes 1-4, turn end." * Chief Judge will speak to the Stroke & Turn official, and have the S&T explain the exact infraction. The Chief Judge I believe has three options: - Overrule on the spot, if there is a clear misunderstanding by the S&T of the rule - Recommend that the Deck Ref accept the call - Recommend that the Deck Ref not accept the call * The Chief Judge would then radio to the Deck Ref "Possible disqualification, lane 3, turn end, non-simultaneous touch at the 75, left hand then right hand. Recommend {not} accepting this call." * Deck Referee will radio back "Disqualification is confirmed {or rejected}." The Deck Ref may also ask a clarifying question. * If confirmed, the Chief Judge will write up the DQ slip, have the S&T sign, then sign him/herself, and deliver to the Deck Ref to sign. If it happens quickly enough, the Chief Judge will intercept the swimmer getting out of the water to deliver the bad news. This assumes that there is a full compliment of officials on deck, which usually only happens at big championship meets: * Stroke & Turn officials: Positioned at the end of the lanes, and on the sides of the pool. They are the ones actually making the calls. Usually, Stroke & Turn officials do not have a heat sheet, nor do they have DQ slips, nor a radio. They are focused only on watching the swimmers. * Chief Judge: In a fully staffed meet, usually four on deck at a time, one on each "corner" of the pool. Chief Judge has radio, DQ slips and heat sheet. * Deck Referee: There may be a number of rotating Deck Referees. The general setup is that a Deck Referee is the referee of record for one entire event. In a big meet, the Deck Ref will rotate off at the end of the event to close out that event, resolve any swim-offs needed, any protests/appeals for DQs for that event, etc. The Deck Referee is the one who blows the whistles, and controls the pace of the meet officially. * Starter: One or more rotating starters. The starter does not have a radio, so that he/she can focus only on starting the race. (And place-judging the finish.) * Meet Referee: One overall referee to rule them all. In a big meet, the Meet Referee will often have no actual duties on deck, so that he/she is always available to deal with unexpected issues and situations, and to also manage the overall progress of the meet. Also, at national-level meets where other officials are being evaluated, the Meet Referee is often in a mentoring and evaluation role for other officials working towards their N1/N2/N3 certification. Of course, in most smaller meets, you're lucky to have a referee, a starter, and a couple of stroke & turn judges, and the roles are all mixed together! -Rick