Sixteen British officials reach World Athletics referee level

Every race you've ever run on a track had someone with a stopwatch, a flag or a clipboard making it count. So it's lovely to see some of those people get the spotlight. Sixteen British Athletics technical officials have passed the World Athletics Referee Examination at Bronze level, an internationally recognised step on the officiating pathway.

They are Gemma Bates, Debashish Biswas, Scott Cooper, Mark Flitcroft, Joseph Flitcroft, David Lipscomb, John McOmish, Marion Osborn, Tim Palmer, Pauline Pearson, Amy Price, Kay Reynolds, Daniel Seechan, Tony Shaw, Robert Walker and Chloe Williams. Congratulations to every one of them.

Why this matters for clubs

It's easy to think of officiating at international level as a world away from a county league match on a Saturday afternoon. It isn't. The skills are the same ones, built up over years of turning up to club fixtures, and officials who progress take that knowledge back into the sport at every level.

Chris Moss, Development Director at British Athletics, put it simply: "A huge congratulations to everyone who has successfully attained Bronze level accreditation." He also pointed to the UK recently hosting two major championships as a reason why depth of technical knowledge matters so much. After a summer that brought the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow and the European Championships to Birmingham, that's hard to argue with.

Fancy having a go?

Here's the bit I always want to say: officials are some of the most welcoming people in athletics, and most of them started by helping at their own club. You don't need to have competed, and you don't need to know the rule book on day one.

• Ask your club who looks after officials. Most clubs are glad of anyone who can help at home fixtures.
• Start with something simple, like timekeeping or helping on a field event, alongside an experienced official.
• When you're ready to take it further, there are courses and a licence for officials, run through UK Athletics and the home country federations.

If you're a parent who spends meetings in the stand, it's also one of the best seats in the house. And if you're not sure where your nearest club trains, you can find tracks near you and the clubs that use them.

Source: British Athletics