The Role of a Referee in Aquatics

Officials

• The referee has full control and authority over all officials, approves assignments, and instructs them on special features and regulations.
• The referee enforces all World Aquatics rules, decides on questions related to the competition, and adjudicates all protests.
• The referee can intervene in the competition at any stage to ensure World Aquatics regulations are observed.
• The referee determines placing where necessary, and consults Automatic Officiating Equipment (if available).
• The referee ensures all necessary officials are in their posts, appoints substitutes if necessary, and can appoint additional officials.

Referee's Responsibilities

• The referee signals the start of an event with a series of whistles, and gestures to the starter when swimmers are ready.
• The referee disqualifies swimmers for starting before the signal, and verifies disqualifications with Automatic Officiating Equipment (if available).
• The referee disqualifies swimmers for any other rule violations, and signs disqualification cards.

Other Officials

• The Control Room Supervisor oversees the operation of Automatic Officiating Equipment, checks results, and reports early take-offs in relay events.
• The Starter has control of swimmers from the referee's signal until the start, and reports swimmers for delaying the start or misconduct.
• The Call Room Supervisor assembles swimmers prior to each event, and reports violations regarding swimwear, advertising, and absence.
• The Chief Inspector of Turns ensures inspectors fulfill their duties during the competition.
• Inspectors of Turns observe swimmers during the start, turns, and finish, and report violations.
• Judges of Stroke observe the style of swimming and report violations.
• The Chief Timekeeper assigns timekeepers, collects times, and records the official time.
• Timekeepers start and stop their watches at the starting signal, and record times on cards.
• Finish Judges decide and report the placing of swimmers.
• The Chief Recorder and Recorder check results, control withdrawals, and maintain scores.

Seeding of Heats, Semi-Finals, and Finals

• Swimmers are seeded based on their submitted times, with the fastest swimmer in the center lane.
• Lane assignment is based on a specific pattern, with the fastest swimmer in the center lane.
• Swimmers with identical times are assigned lanes by draw.
• In the semi-finals and finals, lanes are assigned based on times established in the heats.

The Start

• The start in Freestyle, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Individual Medley races is with a dive.
• The start in Backstroke and Medley Relay races is from the water.
• The command "Take your marks" is given in English, and the start is by multiple loudspeakers.
• Any swimmer starting before the signal may be disqualified.### The Race
• All individual races must be held as separate gender events.
• A swimmer must cover the whole distance to qualify, and any swimmer who does not complete the whole distance will be disqualified.
• Swimmers must remove all clothing except for swimwear after respecting the presentation protocol on the pool deck.
• Swimmers must remain in the same lane they started in and complete the race.
• When turning, swimmers must make physical contact with the end of the pool or course and cannot take a stride or step from the bottom of the pool.
• Standing on the bottom during freestyle events is allowed, but walking is not.
• Pulling on the lane rope is not permitted.
• Obstructing another swimmer by swimming across another lane or interfering will result in disqualification, and intentional fouls will be reported to the Member promoting the race.
• Any swimmer not entered in a race who enters the water before all swimmers have completed the race will be disqualified from their next scheduled race.
• Relay teams must consist of four swimmers, and mixed relays must consist of two men and two women. Split times achieved in mixed relays cannot be used for records or entry purposes.
• Relay exchanges must commence from the starting platform, and running starts from the pool deck are not permitted.
• If a team member's feet lose touch with the starting platform before the preceding team-mate touches the wall, the team will be disqualified.
• Any relay team member who enters the water before all swimmers have finished the race will result in disqualification, unless it's a documented medical emergency.

Timing

• Automatic Officiating Equipment is used to determine the winner, placings, and times, and its recordings have precedence over timekeeper decisions.
• In the event of equipment failure, timekeepers' recordings will be official.
• When Automatic Officiating Equipment is used, results are recorded to 1/100 of a second, and equal times will be accorded the same placing.
• Manual timing devices must be certified as accurate and registered to 1/100 of a second.

Swimming Facilities and Equipment

• Pools must be 50.000 or 25.000 metres in length, with an admissible tolerance of +0.010 and -0.000 metres.
• The width of the pool has no minimum requirement but must comply with lane provisions.
• The minimum depth of pools is 1.35 metres for pools with starting blocks and 1.0 metre elsewhere.
• End walls must be vertical, parallel, and have a slip-resistant surface extending 0.8 metres below the water surface.
• Rest ledges along pool walls are permitted but must be at least 1.2 metres below the water surface.
• Gutters may be placed on all four walls, but end wall gutters must allow for attachment of touch panels.
• Lanes must be at least 2.5 metres wide, with first and last lanes allowed to be 2.4 metres wide.
• Lane ropes must extend the full length of the course, reduce pool waves, and be secured at each end wall to anchor brackets.

Swimwear and Wearables

• Swimsuits for men must not extend above the navel or below the knee, and for women, must not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, or below the knee.
• Swimsuits must be made from textile materials.
• No swimmer is allowed to use devices or swimsuits that aid speed, buoyancy, or endurance during competition, but technology and automated data collection devices are permitted for data collection only.
• Goggles may be worn, and tape is allowed for injured fingers or toes, but other tape on the body is not permitted unless approved.
• A World Record will only be recognized by World Aquatics if approved swimwear has been used.### Lane Rope Specifications
• Lane rope length should have a negative buoyancy, with at least half to two-thirds of the wave reducing components submerged.
• The take-up reel of the lane rope requires a tool to lock tensioning into position and prevent unauthorized tampering.
• The lane rope should be equipped with a tension spring to absorb sudden high point loads and a wire withstanding a tensile force of 12kN.

Lane Rope Installation

• In an 8-lane pool, lane ropes should extend the full length of the course, secured at each end wall to anchor brackets recessed into the end walls.
• The anchor should be positioned so that the floats at each end wall of the pool are on the surface of the water.

Lane Rope Composition

• Each lane rope consists of floats placed end-to-end, with a minimum diameter of 0.10m and a maximum of 0.15m.
• The floats extending 5.0m from each end of the pool should be red in color.

Lane Rope Color Scheme

• Lane 1 and 8: 2 GREEN ropes
• Lanes 2, 3, 6, and 7: 4 BLUE ropes
• Lanes 4 and 5: 3 YELLOW ropes

Lane Rope Tension and Spacing

• Lane ropes should be firmly stretched with a tension of 1-1.2kN.
• There should be no more than one lane rope between each lane.

Marking Lane Ropes

• At the 15-meter mark from each end wall of the pool, the components should be distinct in color from the surrounding components.
• In 50-meter pools, the components should be distinct to mark 25 meters.
• Lane numbers made of soft material can be placed on the lane ropes at the start and turning end of the pool.