Notes For The Clerk of Course

For a smooth running meet no one is more important than the Clerk of Course. They have the power to make the meet look professional, and they can, more than anyone else, prevent confusion and missed swims on the pool deck. The meet starts at 9:00am. How many have seen a swarm of swimmers all hovering around the Clerk at 9:05 who is about to scream and is spending more time handling the unruly mob than getting the cards out on the table for pick up? A common sight, nothing starts the meet off worse than exactly that. If the meet is due to start at 9:00 then that is what people expect, a poorimpression has been made right at the beginning if the the first whistle is not blown precisely at 9:00.

Many meet managers print their time cards and heat sheets either late the previous night or very early the morning of the meet. This allows all the changesto be made and the cards and heat sheets are as up to date as possible. One word of warning though, don't leave it so late that in the event of a computer malfunction insufficient time remains to get the problem fixed. All the clerk has to do is accept the late scratches, pull these cards and line off the swimmers name from the master heat sheet. Most clerk will not re-seed (unless there has been an unacceptable number of scratches) as this generally will generate confusion to the Ref., the timing system operators, the recorder/scorers, meet manager and lastly, the heat sheets should have some form of value. The referees should also be advised of the scratches. It is a good plan for the Refs. to hand in the heat sheets to the clerk just prior to the start for updating. From then on the clerk must inform the Ref. of any changes to the info already published in the heat sheets.

When any changes are made to the seeding, if swimmers are scratched at the last minute, or deck entries are made, the Referee must be informed. This is sometimes a real pain, especially if a large number of changes are made but by not doing so, the clerk may create further problems behind the blocks. How many times have I seen a Referee who is expecting an empty lane, put a swimmer in who hasmissed a heat (whatever reason), only to find a swimmer has been deck seeded by the Clerk there. Growl. How about the times a empty lane appears and the Ref. goes off in search for that swimmer when that swimmer was scratched. A number of occurences can occur if the Ref. does not have the full picture.

What else can a Clerk do to make the meet run better? Well, in addition to the board indicating which event is being marshalled, a microphone is a must. Do not be afraid to use it. Marshalling can be announced and calls made for swimmers to pick up their cards. Announcements for coaches and spectators can also be made. It all makes the meet go that much better. In heats and finals the microphone is of even greater importance, but more of that in the next paragraph.

If you are running a meet that has finals you must keep an eye on who has not picked up their card. It is of the utmost importance that the primary swimmer has been called at least twice over a reasonable period of time. If the primary swimmer fails to show then the referee has to be notified well in advance of the race. At this time the referee will want to call the first alternate. Adjust your time lines so that the race starts on time without any stoppage to wait for a swimmer. It can be seen that the use of a microphone is of the utmost importance and without one the meet will suffer and lack the professionalism it deserves.

One last thing, scratches must be in accordance with the meet information or "Swimming Rules". Don't forget, if you are using a scratch box it must be locked and watched at all times scratches are being accepted.

The clerk is a key person in running a swim meet and has a major role in establishing the tone of the meet. By the efficient dispersal of the cards to swimmers as well as reasonable marshalling, the meet will run well. The position does sometimes carry with it the elements for frustration but remember to be flexible and always keep your cool. Best of luck.

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This page last edited by Duncan Laidlow, June 26,1997. If you would like to see additional information included please contact me at

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