Following on from our other interviews with those playing a vital officiating role in Paris, we spoke with Margaret Werrett just before she left England for France. Margaret has been a Technical Official for over 40 years and took her International Starter exam 10 years ago. But what got her ‘started’ in the first place? As is the journey for many athletes, coaches and indeed officials, it began with an inspirational PE teacher. Although an athlete at school and university, Margaret wanted to follow in the footsteps of her PE teacher Charlie Meldrum who had spent time explaining the role and was keen to answer her questions about starting.

We spoke to Level 3 Track official from Avon; Carolyn Devereux to find out what she enjoys about officiating,  her last-minute call up for the World Indoors and her advice to someone thinking about joining the officiating community.

Chris Cohen was the first British official to be TD at an Olympics and a Worlds! Not a common role as it's generally reserved for major international events, but as a start to our new series of Competition Management roles (many of which are in place at Regional Level and above) Chris was kind enough to give a general rundown of what the Technical Delegate does.

The Paris Olympics athletics programme kicks off with the men's and women's 20km Race Walks. And one of our own British officials will be volunteering there as an International Race Walking Judge on that first day. He's no stranger to Olympic officiating; this will be his third.

With the outdoor track and field season in full swing we managed to catch up with an officiating family; father, son and daughter trio to find out how officiating became such a big part of their family.

Continuing our series of interviews with British officials who will be volunteering at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, we got the chance to ask Chris Cohen a few questions about his officiating journey and experiences along the way. This year is a notable one for Chris – not only is he celebrating 50 years of officiating, but 2024 is a first for him – and for our country; his first time as Technical Delegate at an Olympics. The TD is the most senior competition management position and Chris is the first British official to be TD at an Olympics AND a World Championships! His role is to oversee overall competition organisation from appointment to completion of competition reports.

We caught up with top level Technical Official Alison Jordan at the Loughborough International this year and talked about her experiences and her officiating journey from County champs to Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Officiating gives you the chance to leave your unique mark on the sport. We caught up with Mark Ellis to discuss his unique officiating dynamic with son, Dominic, and how they are giving back to athletics together.

India Hollingworth has been on the start line for some of the biggest moments in athletics, including Mo Farah’s last track race before he made the switch to marathon, and Usain Bolt’s last 100m final. Having taken up athletics at school, starting as a 1500m runner before moving onto high jump and then triple jump, she also began officiating and loved it.

We caught up with North West Inspiring Official award winner Lydia Kelly to discuss her officiating journey and advice to others looking to get involved.