On Deck and Giving Back
Meet Kathy Lydiatt, a swim official from Omaha, Nebraska.
It’s fun to see the kids you remember at age 9, 10, or 11 now swimming at the high school and college levels. It’s really neat to see how they develop and grow up and get faster.
For so many athletes, officiating offers them a way to stay involved in a sport they’ve competed in their entire lives. Kathy Lydiatt, a swim official from Omaha, Nebraska, definitely fits that mold.
“I grew up swimming. My dad was in the military, and so we would move every 2-3 years when I was young. Most of the military bases had a summer swim team, and it was a great way to meet people. I swam up through high school and did fairly well. I even swam for a while in college on a club team. And being a swimmer meant I could also teach swim lessons and help coach or lifeguard. So it’s always been a part of my life.”
Lydiatt’s dad retired in Bellevue, Nebraska, which allowed her to establish some roots and become a competitive swimmer at Bellevue West High School. Many years later, when her oldest son decided to try out for the same high school swim team, she happened upon an opportunity to coach with his team. She did this for 10 years, but due to a move, had to quit.
“I missed all the people that I had met through coaching, and I missed the sport, so I started officiating. And so it’s been 6 years now that I've been a swim official.”
Lydiatt started with U.S.A. swimming (“club” swim), as most officials do when they dive into hobby. Those wishing to be certified as a U.S.A. swim official have to complete a clinic and a test, and then spend 4-5 sessions as an apprentice, paired with someone who has ample experience. Working at the high school level is very similar: one will register with the NSAA, take the test (the rules are slightly different than U.S.A. Swimming) and watch the pre-season video. And then start working meets with experienced officials.
Lydiatt did not waste any time making a mark on the sport. She is an NSAA state tournament official, and has also used her expertise at the college and pro levels.
“I officiate at the college level down in Lincoln and Midland University, and last year I was accepted to go to the Women's NCAA Division I Championships, which was awesome. I get to do it again this year. I’ve also done several TYR Pro Meets. These are meets for the upper-level swimmers who may swim in college. But also, TYR is like a pro circuit that they can use to help them compete beyond the college level. I'm doing one of those in March near Chicago. I'm really excited to do that!”
Surprisingly, much of her work goes unpaid.
“It's all almost entirely volunteer. We do get paid for high school and college officiating. But for almost all of the U.S.A. Swimming meets, even the upper-level meets, officials volunteer. It’s about giving back to the sport.”
This is quite a sacrifice because many U.S.A. Swimming meets last 2-3 days.
“The people that you see out on the deck are there because they want to be there. They grew tired of watching their kids from the stands and started officiating. It’s a great way to meet coaches and other officials, and to watch kids progress over the years.”
As with any sport, sportsmanship is an issue of concern. But with swim, Lydiatt says unsporting incidents are uncommon.
“It doesn’t happen often, but we will see some trash-talking before relays or a swimmer may slam their goggles or use choice words after a poor performance. None of that is allowed. If a swimmer shows that behavior they can be disqualified from the event, or even the meet. We don’t see it often because swimming is very objective–it’s based on time, so it’s hard to argue a result. And there is a standard rule in swimming that the benefit of the doubt goes to the swimmer. If we can’t be sure about an infraction, then we let it go. When I’ve disqualified a swimmer for unsporting behavior it’s usually an easy call–their behavior is there for everyone to see, so typically the coaches don’t argue it. And coaches are not allowed to argue the call directly with the calling official, by rule. They have to go through the referee of the meet. So that insulates the official. And when we do disqualify a swimmer, most people don’t realize it until after the fact. So we rarely hear comments from the crowd.”
When Lydiatt started as an official, she said it was hard to disqualify a swimmer–she would feel guilty.
“You know these swimmers are working so hard, and so it’s hard not to feel bad. What I learned though is that not disqualifying a swimmer is doing them a disservice. If I don’t call it, then eventually someone will, and that might be at the state swim meet. As a coach I always wanted my swimmers to learn from their mistakes, so as an official, I think of this when I disqualify swimmers.”
Demographically, swim officials in Nebraska are a relatively equal group by gender: 23 of the 50 registered swim officials in Nebraska are female. But age tends to be a concern, as well as geography when it comes to the recruitment of swim officials.
“There are a lot of older officials, so we do need some younger blood. And geographically speaking there is a need for officials outside of the Lincoln/Omaha area, for meets at schools like Kearney, Norfolk, Grand Island, and Columbus.”
Lydiatt, in 6 short years, has progressed from an apprentice to a pro, and she gladly helps new officials who want to learn the craft.
“When I'm apprenticing someone I always remind them this isn't life and death. If you look at the grand scheme of things, no one's dying here and there's no money on the line. We’re not here to punish anyone or try to catch someone doing something wrong. We’re just trying to make sure things are fair.”
Want to know about becoming a swim official? Click here for resources to get you started!
Once again, another great post!
Love learning about officiating at such varied athletic events! Thanks MK!