UKA Officials' Conference: 8 April - free places still available
Bookings are still open to for the annual UKA Officials' Conference. This popular annual event is aimed at all ages and levels of official and is a fantastic opportunity to meet other officials, share ideas and gain additional knowledge.
There is a wide range of workshops taking place on the day, from ‘Conflict management’ through to ‘Making difficult decisions under pressure’ and ‘Effective communication between disciplines’. Note some workshops may now be full.
The conference is free to attend, and takes place on Sunday 8th April at Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth, Warwick, CV8 2LD.
Workshop descriptions
1) Conflict Management (Janie Frampton)
Confrontation is a crucial part of your role as a sports official, whether we like it or not the very nature of what we do creates difficult situations. Without understanding what causes these situations, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage them effectively.
This interactive workshop takes you through a journey of understanding what causes confrontation, how to recognise your own behavioural traits when dealing with people and situations and how to effectively manage these with respect. We will do this, by sharing with you a range of skills and techniques for you to apply in order to reach a positive outcome.
2) Management of Off Track Endurance at London 2017 (Arwel Williams and Graham Heeley)
From initial meetings with IAAF and partner agencies to site visits, course and venue planning, pre and on the day management of the Marathon's and race walking events at London 2017 with learning for future major events and domestic competition.
3) Clean Athletics (David Walsh)
This workshop will look at the areas listed below and will help officials to understand what happens, dispel some myths and see how we can help each other at events.
- The change of identity from Anti-Doping Department to Clean Athletics, why it happened and how it looks now.
- What we do, what we don’t do and who we are
- Athlete Support, what are athletes required to do, how do they do it and how do we support them.
- Record Testing, when, how and who.
4) Effective Communication between Disciplines (Nicola Evans)
A stadium can be a busy place with lots of events going on simultaneously. Developing communication skills are vital for all officials, especially as the demands of competition increase.
This interactive workshop uses Lego figures to facilitate discussions between officials of different disciplines, levels and experience on improving communication to help keep a competition running smoothly on the day.
5) Mentoring (Alan Bell and Lesley Minervini)
This workshop will explore the characteristics of good mentoring with particular reference to supporting, guiding and encouraging young and new officials.
The workshop will be interactive and will include some role play (fun for all)
6) Personal Brand (Janie Frampton) This workshop is interactive and will enable you to monitor your own and others feelings and emotions in order to effectively manage your role as a sports official. Your knowledge is vast, but the rules in sport are changing. We are being judged by new criteria, not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and other people. Personal brand is a form of intelligence that involves the ability to monitor your own and others’ feeling and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide your thinking and action in the roles you undertake.
This workshop will enable you to understand the importance of your personal brand and how to use it positively and effectively as a sports official, and the impact it has on others and situations.
7) ‘Journey through the officiating pathway’
This workshop will look at the journeys of 4 officials through the officials’ pathway. This will be a discussion workshop looking at recruitment and retention and the journey through the pathway. Delegates and those leading the workshop can discuss areas which work well and areas which could be further developed.
8) Tip to Tail (Steve Marshall)
Everything you need to know about checking Javelins for Competition. Very hands on and interactive.
9) Discus (Steve Marshall)
Measuring around the plates, everything you need to know about checking discus for competition. Very hands on and interactive.
10) Making Difficult decisions under pressure (Dave Jessett)
This workshop focuses on the role of Chief Officials and Jury of Appeals and outlines the processes and procedures of how to make difficult decisions under pressure. Delivered by a well-respected and experienced Official, Dave will give examples of some of the difficult decisions he’s had to make and the processes in which he took to reach his decision.
11) FSE Pilot course (Alan Bell and Chris Woods)
The training course /module is designed for any official who wishes to develop the necessary background knowledge and skills to install, operate and manage the Timetronics Start Information Systems used at many of the regional and national events in the UK. Ultimately it is hoped that course delegates will form a pool of experienced technicians who can service the needs of meetings and venues throughout our athletics calendar.
The module will be a balance of theoretical and practical activity.
12) Level 1 Race Walking Module (Ian Richards) Level 1 Module. An introduction to the rules of race walking and the principles/ fundamentals of race walking judging.
13) Disability Track Competition Management Award Module (Moira Gallagher) - This module is in depth look into Disability Track athletics and will involve a discussion of the rules and their application to track events. It will also look at the classification of Disability Athletes and how to judge disability events.
14) Disability Field Competition Management Award Module - This module is in depth look into Disability Field athletics and will involve a discussion of the rules and their application to field events. It will also look at the classification of Disability Athletes and how to judge disability events.
15) Building Personal Resilience and Managing Stress (Pam Steele) The workshop will cover the link between stress and resilience and the causes, signs and symptoms of stress. The workshop will be exploring how positive thinking can contribute towards resilience and developing a personal action plan for building resilience relating to your officiating role.