Welcome
Introduction
Becoming an official is a great way to be involved in athletics – you will be involved in the competition and often from the best seats in the house!
Australia has a very successful officials program with a strong network of people who travel to events to ensure the competitions run smoothly and to the rules.
To find out more about Athletics Australia's Officials Education Scheme, please refer to the Athletics Australia Officials Education Scheme General Guidelines document.
How to Become an Official
If you would like to become an official, the first step is to contact your local athletics club or member association and talk with the person who co-ordinates the officials in your state or territory. You may wish to go to your local interclub competition and officiate for a few sessions to see if you enjoy it.
To officiate at a state or national championship event or one of Athletics Australia's premier events, you will need experience, formal training and qualification.
There are three levels for officials in Australia
C Level
To achieve this level of qualification, you will need to have a few days experience, then sit for a series paper. This is a multiple choice, open book exam which is based on the IAAF Handbook. Officials can also be tested for this exam verbally.
C Level qualifications are the minimum required to officiate at a state championships or Athletics Australia event.
B Level
To achieve a B Level qualification, you will need to have held your C Level qualification for at least 12 months before sitting for the B Level exam. The B Level test is similar to the C Level in that it is a written test. The knowledge required to achieve B Level is significantly greater.
A Level
This is the top qualification level in Australia. To achieve an A Level, you will need to have held your B Level qualification for at least 2 years before sitting for the A Level exam. The exam is an in-depth written exam that tests not only knowledge of the rules, but a person's ability to interpret the rules and make decisions about certain incidents based on them. This ability to interpret the rules is tested because this is the key part of being an event referee or chief.
The highest level of official qualification in the world is an International Technical Official (ITO). Australia has three ITOs.
Officiating for walks and out of stadium events is slightly different to this. To find out more information, please contact your member association.
To find out more about Athletics Australia's Officials Education Scheme, please refer to the Athletics Australia Officials Education Scheme General Guidelines document here.
Officials Education
Each state and territory has an officials Education Liaison Officer who runs up-to-date education seminars.
For more information on officials seminars in your state or territory, please contact the relevant member association.
Nominations for Technical Officials at National Meets
Athletics Australia calls for nominations for technical officials as required to fill positions at national competitions and meets held around the country. Nomination forms and relevant information, including lists of appointments, are made available as they come to hand.
For information on applying to officiate at state championships and local events held within your state or territory, please contact the relevant member association.