Playing a part in greatness. Officials - the unsung heroes of athletics 

When you see the golden moments at championships, whether they be world records at the Olympic Games or a personal best at an England Championships, it is the officials who make those opportunities possible - working hard in the background to make sure things work like clockwork.

From looking at the picture of a race in photofinish to measuring a triple jump, there are so many different officiating roles out there at grassroots and national level for officials to get involved with.  

At the final England Indoor Championship of the season, we caught up with Marc Ritchie, Technical Officials' Development Manager at England Athletics, to learn more about the role officials play, and what development opportunities there are in the officiating pathway.  

Supporting officials of all levels 

As an active official himself, Marc’s main role at our England Championships is to support the officials, making sure they are happy, that they are well supported by England Athletics and their fellow officials to ensure they are able to fulfil their duties. Most of the officials at the national championships are level 4; however one thing Marc is passionate about is implementing a development plan to provide opportunities for lower-level officials to develop and taking the next steps in their officiating journey within the sport.  

“Our national championships nurture officials by giving them the opportunity to upskill and gain further knowledge by working alongside experienced colleagues in a friendly and welcoming manner.  

“There are a number of officials who are level two and three in Sheffield today and they have been supported by higher level officials across different events on the track and field. This has proved very successful throughout last year and this indoor season, and we have had great feedback from the lower-level officials and technical experts so far.  

“For the last couple of years, we have offered a shadowing opportunity for anyone either inside or outside of athletics to come and get a taster of what officiating has to offer and this has also proved very popular.” 

Grassroots vs national level officiating 

Whether you are a parent retrieving javelins for your child’s club at a YDL competition or you have been selected to represent at the Commonwealth Games, many of the principles of officiating are the same, as Marc explained: 

“National championships differ from grassroots in the sheer scale of the event. The England Championships welcomes athletes from across the whole country as opposed to grassroots events at county or regional scale. However, fundamentally every event or competition is the same regardless of size - you still have the same officials doing the same roles.  

“Whatever the scale of competition, everybody supports each other but at the national championships there is just a little bit of extra technology and more planning involved. There may be additional roles such as in the call room or athlete registration, but the vast majority of track and field roles remain the same. No matter where you are on your journey, it’s great to see people want to progress through the pathway and try something new.  

Officiating highlights 

“As I am an official myself, I am probably biased having been involved in the sport for over 20 years, but officiating is amazing and something that is suitable for everyone regardless of your background and experience.  

“It is such a supportive environment and enables people to learn and develop new life skills inside and outside of officiating. It gives people the ability to be part of something that is pure enjoyment. It is a special feeling when an athlete achieves something amazing, and you can say you played a part in that.  

“Everyone in officiating is there to support their peers, nobody is there to trip you up or say you did something wrong. 

“If anyone out there has thought about volunteering or getting into sport, try officiating, you will not regret it.”