Become an Official
One of the last projects organised by the Hillary Commission before its transformation to SPARC was a programme titled “Calling the Game” aimed at increasing the number of officials at all levels of sport in New Zealand. A bumper sticker issued as part of the publicity material proclaimed ‘LOVE THE SPORT – Become an Official” and that slogan summarises the reason for the involvement of most officials in a great variety of sports in New Zealand. In the case of Athletics there is clearly little opportunity for making a fortune as an official and some significant degree of dedication to the sport is essential. That dedication is what the bumper sticker identifies.
The reasons why any one individual becomes involved as a competition official are many and varied, but most active officials were attracted to Athletics either as a result of their own earlier (sometimes current) participation as a competitor, or to support their children. The fact that so many of our current officials began their involvement helping out at a local club and have moved on to service at Provincial, National and, for some, International levels bears testimony to their belief in supporting the opportunity for participation in such a great sport and the camaraderie evident both between the various members of an officiating “team” and (in appropriate circumstances) between officials and competitors. No matter how dedicated they might be, not everyone is going to have the opportunity to experience the “buzz” of working on an Olympic Arena, but even at the lowest levels of competition there can be a great degree of satisfaction in supporting young (and notso young) participants to strive towards their own personal goals.
We all know that Athletics, over the full range of events, is a much more complicated activity than the underlying “Run-Jump-Throw. For our sport to thrive there are four essential components -competitors, officials, coaches and facilities. I hesitate to suggest that the greatest of these might be officials, but they certainly provide an essential component! If you would like to find out what officiating is about the best place to start is usually a local club. Other officials are only too keen to get some assistance in running the various events and if you approach them will hopefully provide you with some basic instruction,just to get you started. Although at a later stage you might well choose to specialise in a particular event or groups of events (e.g. throws or jumps or track) it is best initially to try a variety of positions as this will give you a better idea of what is involved. If you find that you are enjoying your participation you should look out for opportunities to attend an appropriate training course, which will cover the basic competition rules and officiating skills. Each Centre has an appointed Officials Coordinator with responsibility for organising such training. The important thing is to give it a go and you will hopefully find satisfaction in helping athletes participate and the continuing friendships which have brought many of us back to the track or cross country course year after year.
Rod Syme, National Technical Officials Committee.
(Reprinted from Athletics New Zealand News Issue 140)
Officials Information
For Officials Courses and general information please contact the Officials Coordinator.
Athletics NZ Officials information click here
Officials Coordinator:
Karen Gillum-Green 06 758 1569 kgillum-green@clear.net.nz
