Officiating Journey

Officials truly are the beating heart of athletics and running and at the heart of all the action. England Athletics wants to inspire Officials by providing direct support through our track & field journey and our endurance journey. Both journeys benefit from structured qualifications, practical competition experiences and ongoing development opportunities throughout. Its never been simpler to get into Officiating with our four easy steps. Make a start by booking on to your course online today…

Step 1

To start your Officiating journey, you must complete a level 1 qualification, with the discipline of your choice, choosing from Field Judge, Track Judge, Timekeeper, Starter and Photo Finish. Only one discipline needs to be completed, plus an online Health & Safety course which you should book onto first (before your discipline module).

to book on to the online health and safety before any discipline? And then potentially a link to it.

Please see a list below of upcoming qualifications:

To book on a course, click on the button below and use the search function to find your preferred level 1 qualification.

Book now

If there isn’t a course in your area, please complete the expression of interest form below:

Step 2

Before becoming a licensed Official, you must complete 4 practical competition experiences, where you will be able to meet and learn from qualified and knowledgeable Officials.
If you are interested in taking part in any of the events listed below, please get in touch with the relevant County Officials’ Secretary (click here for a list). For Sportshall events you should contact Adam Burgess, adam@sportshall.org. Note Sportshall events start at 12.30pm unless stated.

Step 3

To have a valid Officials’ licence, you need to have a current DBS check, which should be renewed every three years.

Step 4

The final stage to complete your qualification and become a licensed Official, you will need to complete and submit your application for accreditation. This includes details of your qualification, plus a record of each of your 4 practical competition experiences. Completed applications should be sent to officialsaccreditation@englandathletics.org.

Track & field

Individuals who wish to work in a track & field environment supporting competitions using an athletics track (such as 800m-10,000m track competitions, sprints and hurdles, jumps or throws) should take the track & field journey.

Endurance

Individuals who wish to work in a purely non-track based environment have a journey specifically designed for their needs. This journey is for those officials who work exclusively with athletes competing in road running, fell, cross country or multi terrain events.

Becoming a road running Race Director or Event Adjudicator

Race Directors’ Club

The runbritain Race Directors’ Club has been created to be a resource to help race organisers to deliver better events. After registering and logging in you can access:

• Support and Information such as the Race Directors’ Handbook, plus the fact sheets which support this
• Licensing – Firstly, apply for a licence for your event. On successful application your event is automatically added to the event diary and the facility to open your race to online entry on the main site will become available.
• You are also then entitled to access the runbritain Race Director Courses at accredited and intermediate level

England Athletics hold Gun to Tape workshops which aims to help distance running clubs, and new or existing event organisers putting on road or multi-terrain races. This introductory workshop provides clubs with both inspiration and information around setting up a new event or revitalizing an existing one. See ‘Development & opportunities’ for details.

Event Adjudicators

All UKA / runbritain licensed road races are scrutinised by an Event Adjudicator to ensure compliance with licence standards.

If you are interested in this role then please go to the runbritain website and login to the site and click on the green ‘event adjudicators’ tab underneath the welcome message. Here you will find details and a series of FAQs on the role.