How being an athlete helped me as an official

Stephanie Brooks has competed for Yate and District AC as an athlete since 2011. In 2018, she began officiating for her first club - North Somerset AC - as they wanted more people to help at local and league events; she thought officiating would be a good way to help the club.

Steph attended a training course with national level officials and tutors Sally and Nick Higman in 2018 to start her knowledge on officiating in athletics and she says she still looks to them for guidance.

Her dad got her involved as he was already a Level 2, and he and club member and official Martin Fisher also helped her on her officiating journey. Her mum is also now a Level 4 Field Judge.

The best bits

Steph enjoys the commitment from other officials and the friendships she has formed over the years with other local officials of all levels. But being in the competition environment is her favourite place:

"I love seeing the reactions from athletes when they have improved on their own personal bests - being an athlete, I know what that feels like."

By being both an official and athlete, Steph can empathise with the athletes from an official's standpoint but as an athlete she can query something to an official if it doesn’t feel right after a performance.

Officiating at the SIAB in 2023 in Cardiff was also a fantastic memory for her.

"It was the first time both athletes and officials saw that I could do both roles - being an athlete but also being an official at those competitions, and proving who I could be in the athletics community."

Experience does not always come with age 

Steph thinks the most common misconception with officiating is that it is done by older officials and have been for the last 30 years. She says she is proof that people can officiate at a young age alongside being a dedicated athlete.

"People think because I am young, I have no or little experience in the officiating world. In reality I am surrounded by people who understand and have the experience of those situations and can therefore guide me on how I can better approach certain situations."

Steph's advice to someone who is thinking about becoming an official

"The advice I would give to someone who is taking on officiating is to go for it. Without officials there wouldn’t be any competitions to hold; officials are one of the most important groups that exist within athletics and there are still many clubs that don’t have many qualified officials and are in dire need of them."