Becoming an official

Bournemouth AC always needs more officials to help out at league and open events. The extent to which an official becomes involved is entirely up to them. They may choose to officiate at events at which their son and daughter is competing or they may aspire to officiate at regional or national level. The club looks to support it’s officials and will usually fund course fees. Established officials get free membership and season ticket for themselves or a member of their family.

Information on becoming an official is on the England Athletics website. However, it can be quite difficult to follow. So I have prepared the information below to assist potential officials to get started.

Please let me know if the following information is helpful and if there are any errors or broken links. Please e-mail: secretary@bournemouthac.co.uk and mark for the attention of Robin James.

Becoming an official is as simple as getting some experience and doing a couple of courses.

Getting Started

Firstly, you have a choice of becoming an official in one of a number of areas, for instance: Endurance, Field Judge, Starter, Starter’s Assistant. Timekeeper or Track Judge.

More information about these areas is here: Officiating Qualifications – England Athletics

Register

Once you have decided your preferred area you need to register on the Athletics Hub. This can be found here: Athletics Hub

Book Courses and DBS Check

When you have done this you can follow the link here: Officiating Qualifications – England Athletics Click on your preferred area and then book a training course by following the ‘Book now via Athletics Hub’ link. You will be asked to book on to Safeguarding and Health & Safety courses as well. See below.

Both Bournemouth AC and England Athletics take the welfare of athletes and officials very seriously. Once you have registered on the Athletics Hub and booked a course you will need to complete a DBS check: DBS – England Athletics  Go to the section headed ‘DBS Check Process – Online.

You also need to complete a short self guided Safeguarding course. Log into the Athletics Hub: Athletics Hub then click on the ‘Qualifications and CPD’ tab on the left hand side of the page. Then search for Safeguarding.

Your safety is paramount. You could be working in an area where 7.62kg Hammers are flying about. As a result you will also need to complete a short Health and Safety course. Log into the Athletics Hub: Athletics Hub then click on the ‘Qualifications and CPD’ tab on the left hand side of the page. Then search for Health and Safety.

Practical Experience / Getting Your Licence

Finally you need to get some practical experience. This is usually proof that you have officiated as a trainee on at least four occasions.

The practical experience form can be found here: Application-for-Level-1-Track-and-Field_v2.docx (live.com)  once completed it needs to be sent to: officialsaccreditation@englandathletics.org

Summary

So, in summary, you will need to complete three courses, a DBS check and a record of experience.  This is not as daunting as it sounds. If you get stuck at any point contact me by e-mailing: secretary@bournemouthac.co.uk and mark for the attention of Robin James.

More Information

For more information direct from the club’s Officials Secretary Juliet Dobson please complete the form below.