Officials should be reminded to immediately raise their hand for a disqualification. If they have to think about it for any length of time, it is probably not a valid call. However, officials should not hesitate to make a call. Swimmers at all levels make mistakes. The chief judge should know his officials.
National meets have a local chief judge to help the national chief judge.
If possible, officials should perform several different jobs. Officials should be balanced. One end of the pool should not be neglected to put eight officials on the other end. One official per two lanes is ideal for an LSC meet. Oftentimes, referees and starters double up.