On behalf of everyone at England Athletics I would like to wish all those competing in this summer’s England Athletics outdoor track and field championship programme the very best of success and enjoyment. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our hard-working volunteer Technical Officials and Event Staff, without whom this event programme would not take place and to whom we are deeply grateful for their commitment, focus, and dedication. I would like to also thank our host venues, particularly Birmingham Alexander Stadium but also partners at the Manchester Athletics Arena.

Coreen Beckford has chaired the Officials Education Management Group for the past 18 months, during which time they have made significant progress in advancing officiating qualifications, overcoming challenges, and establishing a clear plan for the year ahead.

At the beginning of each month, the number of under 11s registered by clubs are monitored by England Athletics, and for every 30 x U11s registered, clubs receive a free place on our Coaching Assistant course. This scheme is in place to offer support and benefits to each club that chooses to register their under 11 athletes as a commitment to supporting clubs in need of more volunteers and coaches. To see the real impact of this initiative, we recently caught up with Ian Jennings, Quad Kids and multi-event coach at Aldershot Farnham & District. We explored how registering their under 11s has led to parents and older athletes stepping up into volunteering and leadership roles within their club.

Athletics has a set of Rules for Competition and a series of official notification periods for proposed changes to them. The invitation to make proposals for changes to the UKA rules for the UKA Rule Book for 2026/28 went out at the beginning of April 2025 and we remind you that the process is open until 25 June 2025. Guidance on the process and the form for submission of proposals are contained in the Rules of Competition page on the UKA website.

John Armour's journey as a Starter began because his son was competing. John is now a Level 2 official, and looking to his officiating future, he says he would love to keep on going and the ultimate goal is to be an official on the start of line of an international race.

Moira Gallagher is the Tri Regional Officials’ Group Upgrading Secretary for the North. She's a very experienced technical official, having initially qualified as a timekeeper and track official in the early 1970s, and was Meeting Manager at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. In her role as the TROG upgrading secretary for the North, Moira details below some advice to officials thinking about or are in the process of progressing to Level 3 or 4.

Paj Valley has always had a love for athletics, which was the first sport that he really competed at during school. Paj moved to other sports but was pulled back to it because of his son who had equally found a love for it and is still competing. It was a natural progression to spread his knowledge by becoming an official.

As we look forward to an exciting summer of outdoor championships in 2025, we wanted to share our gratitude and appreciation to the dedicated officials who will be instrumental in making these events a success. We are delighted to share the list of officials who will be helping our athletes at our upcoming outdoor season.

When you see the golden moments at championships, whether they be world records at the Olympic Games or a personal best at an England Championships, it is the officials who make those opportunities possible - working hard in the background to make sure things work like clockwork. From looking at the picture of a race in photofinish to measuring a triple jump, there are so many different officiating roles out there at grassroots and national level for officials to get involved with.  

Freya Webb is a club athlete turned official, having qualified in a number of disciplines is now a Level 3 field judge. In February this year Freya officiated at the UKA National Indoor Championships in Birmingham for her first national selection event. As is common for a first appointment, Freya was an athlete steward.