Overview Certification Rules Review Contact
OVERVIEW
The high quality of track and field, cross country, and road events in the Adirondack (ADK) association at all levels - youth, scholastic, collegiate, open and masters - can be attributed to the officials who work the many meets to ensure fair and safe competition.
One becomes a certified official through their home Association. USA Track & Field certification runs for the Olympiad - between Olympic Games years. Minimum age for officials is 18 years old. The current 4-year certification period begins January 1, 2021 and runs through December 31, 2024, but officials may join at any time. Click here for a link to the Certification Requirements.
Recertification for current officials begins November 1, 2020.
All certified officials are required to have current USATF membership (and may get a 4- year membership at a discounted fee), a USATF background screening (good for 2 years), and must complete the SafeSport course online (90 minutes). SafeSport is valid for 365 days and an annual refresher (20 min) is required. An official’s fee for the 4- year Olympiad includes the rules review.
Prospective officials complete a written or online, open-book rules review. There is a general track and field module, as well as rules reviews covering various event groups and specialty areas of officiating. New officials may complete the rules review and become certified at any time. Certification runs from date of approval to the end of the Olympiad (up to a 4-year period). The rules review - either completing the test or attending a review session - must be done every 4 years.
USATF- ADK offers new officials review sessions each new certification period - watch your member newsletter and email and the Association website for notices. As needed, specialty clinics are provided in the various disciplines.
Certification Levels
"Apprentice" or "Association" are the first levels of certification, depending on prior officiating experience.
After a full Olympiad and practical experience at different types of meets, an official may apply to move up to "National" level ranking, and, ultimately, "Master" level ranking.
Every four years at the start of the new Olympiad, officials must be recertified by completing the written rules review for their certification level.
Rules Reviews
The application and certification review exams for 2021-2024 are available and are posted on the USATF Officials web site. Most renewing officials will only need to complete the review for their current level of certification - but some specialty areas do
require retesting. NOTE: If an official did not renew during a full Olympiad (currently, last certification being prior to 2017), the process must be re-started from step 1. That is, no automatic renewals if there are 4-year gaps in service.
Officials Certification Chair
Steve George is the current USATF- Adirondack certification chair. He can be contacted via email.