The recorder should verify the swimmer’s name before they start but at least when they get out of the water. Three (3) times will be recorded if the timers recorded the start and finish faithfully. If a timer missed the start, a hand should be raised to alert the head timer. If a timer is not confident of the time they have recorded on their watch, their time should not be recorded, but timers should not make judgments on deck. If they start and stop their watch on cue, but the time is not matching the other times, ask for a new watch. If it appears to be timer error, ask for a new timer.
The correct procedure is to use the middle time from the timer sheet for each swimmer. This should eliminate any outliers and result is a reasonably accurate recorded time. Sometimes the errors on the timer sheets require interpretation and supposition (times for swimmers recorded on the wrong lines, handwriting errors in times (e.g. 2:00 seconds instead of 20:00 seconds), etc.). If there is any question of interpretation, there should be consensus among the individuals at the scorer’s table. In the event of a question about the time, first consult with the lane that wrote the results, then the referee and coaches, then the team reps who can raise the issue with the commissioners. In practice this should be the last resort, and the decision of the commissioners is final. We don’t want to see a meet decided on a technicality at the scorer’s table. Meets should be decided in the pool.
A timer sheet coming to the scorer’s table should have the times legibly listed from the 3 timers in the lane on the correct line for each swimmer. Nothing should be circled and nothing should be written down for the “official time” The circling should occur at the scorer’s table.
If a swimmer is disqualified, “DQ” should be clearly recorded on the swimmers line and the Official should write the reason for the disqualification on the timer sheet. Even if the official tells the swimmer the reason for the DQ when they get out of the pool, it should be recorded in case the swimmers forget and because the coaches can make corrections for future swims. Recording DQ on the timesheets gives everyone a point of reference.
The scorer’s table should have 3 people with at least one representative from each team: one to circle the middle times, one to read the times off, and a third to enter the times into meet manager. After an event has been recorded and scored, the results should be printed and verified against the timer sheets. If team A does the data entry, then team B should verify the printed results against the original timer sheets. This provides the best opportunity to catch errors. Sometimes errors are not caught until a parent complains. In these cases, everyone should go back to review and correct any errors found as soon as possible.
The purpose of the work at the scorer’s table is to faithfully record the results of the meet and the times of the swimmers, errors in timer sheets and scoring are not the fault of the swimmer. When in doubt, make a decision in favor of the swimmer.
