News Detail
December 16, 2019 - New 2020 Requirements for Coaches and Officials
Concussion Protocol Training
This requirement is new for all coaches and officials in 2020. Though several states have previously passed concussion education requirements, USA Swimming will now require all coaches and officials complete Concussion Protocol Training by January 1, 2020. Your certificate of completion should be sent to your LSC to update SWIMS. Once SWIMS is updated, deckpass will update a few days later.
- Courses from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), as well as individual states’ required courses will satisfy the USA Swimming requirement. (For example, if a coach lives/coaches in a state with a concussion education requirement, he/she must only complete this requirement and will not need to complete an additional course). Many high school coaches will have already completed the NFHS training.
- For USA Swimming membership, coaches and officials must successfully complete concussion and head injury education at least once. Individual states may require annual or continuing education and coaches/officials must abide by the requirements of their home state or states in which they coach or officiate.
- This requirement is necessary to avoid personal liability for concussion/head strike incidents, ensuring our insurers will continue to provide liability insurance protection to USA Swimming, coaches, officials and clubs.
USADA Coaching Advantage Tutorial
Starting September 1, 2019 all coach members will be required to complete an annual USADA Coaching Advantage Tutorial (CAT) course by January 1, 2020. This 20-minute video course (presented in four modules) was added following discussions with the Age Group Anti-Doping Task Force and will be available on the LEARN platform, covering WADA code, checking medications, the testing process and a coach’s role in the clean sport movement. The latter is an incredibly significant element of the training that is crucial at all age levels.
The course is free and only takes about 25 minutes to complete. It can be found on the Learn platform via www.usaswimming.org/learn. Requests for help can be sent to learn@usaswimming.org. Completion date will automatically updated into SWIMS. Renewal date for this course will be one year from completion date.
