Sheila Nelson was essentially forced into becoming a swimming official.
That just comes with the territory when you're a swim mom.
To keep meets running smoothly, clubs rely heavily on parents to count laps, time races or watch for stroke infractions. For 14 years, Nelson was one of the regulars volunteering for duty at the Aquatic Centre while her daughter Caitlin swam competitively with the Prince George Barracudas.
Now that Caitlin has moved on to coaching, the 58-year-old Nelson is under no obligation to show up as an official. She wants to be there, knowing she has a chance to raise her credentials to international calibre. Having just returned from the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic trials last week at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Scarborough, Ont., she knows the longer she stays in the game, the better her chances of making the cut as an international or Olympic official.
"You just have to show up and do lots of meets," said Nelson, one of the referees for this weekend's Dental Moose Meet at the Aquatic Centre.
"It's been my goal to be a FINA (Fdration Internationale de Natation) official for the last five years, ever since I got my Level 5. I just got into it as a swim mom and I really enjoyed it. What makes it great are the people you meet. I have people I consider friends all over the country and if I wouldn't have done this I never would have met those great people."
At the trials, Nelson was an inspector of turns, meaning she watched for rule infractions and improper technique as swimmers approached the wall to make their turns in the 50 metre pool.
"There wasn't any controversy but there were certainly some infractions," said Nelson. "Sometimes the coaches disagree and sometimes they don't. I didn't have any infractions."
Nelson is not alone in her desire to join the five-ring circus, Larry Chrobot is also chasing his Olympic dream, having been indoctrinated as a poolside referee when his kids were competing as Barracudas. Chrobot is also a Level 5 official and he and Nelson have been flying the Prince George flag at national meets for several years.
"It's pretty neat to have two people from Prince George who have embarked on this journey," said Nelson. "Larry's been at it as long or longer than me and he's on the same track. It would be great to get to an Olympics or an international-class meet. They have them all over the world."
Their experience at the Pan Am Games pool last week was the second time they'd served in the meet to determine Canada's Olympic and Paralympic team. Nelson and Chrobot both attended the 2012 trials.
Only officials with FINA certifications or who are close to that level are allowed to work the finals at the national trials. Nelson and Chrobot did put their skills to work as referees during time trials between preliminary races and finals. The time trials gave swimmers one last chance to achieve best times and qualify for national B teams during the six-day meet.
At national meets, the race timing is electronic with touch pads on the wall of the pool, backed by high-speed photo finish cameras, which takes some of the pressure off the officials.
"The highlight for me was just watching the swimmers," said Nelson. "There were probably 10 Canadian records set and it was exciting just to be there. The announcers knew when they were ahead of a Canadian record and that got the crowd going."
Next on the national schedule for Nelson and Chrobot are the Canadian age group championships in Calgary, July 27-Aug. 1 and the Canadian championships in Edmonton, Aug. 4-7.
