National Officials Committee (NOC)
As the national governing body for the sports of athletics, USA Track & Field is responsible for training and certifying those officiating these sports through its National Officials Committee.
According to Section H (Officials) of Article 17 (Administrative Divisions) of the USA Track & Field Bylaws, the National Athletics Officials Committee shall:
Certify, train, and generally supervise officials of all disciplines of Track
& Field;
certification of officials;
committee directs;
when officiating;
Officials' committees concerning the training, certification, and other
activities that it is conducting; and
requested, with forms, examinations, clinic programs and other material
or know-how to assist the Association Officials’ committee in carrying
out its duties.
Certification: Consistent with guidelines provided by USA Track & Field's National Officials Committee, each local USA Track & Field association is to elect or appoint an Officials Certification Chairman. Each association chairman is to provide an ongoing program to train and certify the officials needed for athletics competitions throughout the geographic area served by the association up to the Master Level Referee position. Progressive levels of certification have
been established by the National Committee to recognize greater degrees of experience, training and demonstrated competence held by individual officials. These are the Association, National and Master levels of certification.
Certification of officials through USA Track & Field establishes the minimum standards of proficiency. Training and certification of track and field officials is central to USA Track & Field's goal to insure fair and safe competitive opportunities for its members. The training and certification processes promote a serious and professional approach to officiating. Seeking certification demonstrates the official's commitment to excellence, proficiency and personal
development. As the official gains experience, exposure to correct officiating practices and additional training, USA Track & Field recognizes this skill development through progressive levels of certification -- Association to National to Master. Each certification level is subject to review each Olympiad. Officials inactive or minimally inactive during the previous Olympiad may have a specific skill area or their entire certification level reduced by one level.
Progressive Levels of Certification: Prior to becoming a certified official, prospective candidates are encouraged to function at the Pre-Association level for one year. This permits the novice official to gain a range of officiating experience and to appreciate the expectations and responsibilities inherent in being an USA Track & Field certified official. A non-certified person that is helping “officiate” at a meet is considered to be a “pre-association” level official.
There are three levels of certification, Association, National, Master and one level for retiring officials Emeritus. Advancement from one level to another is not automatic. It must be earned through diligent service.
ASSOCIATION: Everyone when first certified by USATF will be an association level official regardless of the number of years they have been officiating. The “grandfather” clause was dropped several years ago. The individual should submit, along with the application, a resume of the meets at which he/she has worked prior to applying for certification. The person is required to attend a certification clinic. The person is required to pass the association level exam with a satisfactory score of 85% or better. A person can be certified with just one skill indicated. A change is that a new official may indicate a maximum of six skills only on the data sheet. An association level official upon re-certification in a new Olympiad may have skills added even if he/she has not worked enough meets to qualify for the national level.
NATIONAL: An association level official who has been working at that level, as determined by the local association, may be advanced to the National level. The official must request advancement to the National Level and his/her request will be reviewed by a panel composed of Master level officials from the association. The panel will review the years of officiating at the association level, the meets worked, and both the quantity and level of responsibility of assignments. Requests for advancement should always be accompanied with a resume of meets worked for at least the previous two years, showing date, meet, and assignment worked. If during the first year as an association level official the individual is identified as an outstanding official the certification chairman may initiate a waiver. The review panel made up from five to seven Master level officials along with the certification chair will pass on, or approve/disapprove candidates recommended for National Level certification. A National level official must have at least one skill shown at the National level and may have others shown at the Association level
MASTER: A National level official who has been working at that level for a minimum of an additional three years (beyond the time worked as an Association level official, minimum of five years total) and has worked a sufficient number of meets at that level, as determined by the local Association, may be advanced to the Master level. The official’s application for advancement will be considered by the review panel described above. This level of certification is only for outstanding officials. The candidate will be required to submit a resume of major meets worked over the past five years, with dates, meet name, and assignments. These should be State, Regional, National, and International meets. The candidate should have attended advanced officials’ clinics and/or participated in a leadership role as a clinician. The candidate should have worked as a chief of an event a minimum of 25% of the meets worked. Remember anyone advancing to this level should be capable of running an event or area of expertise at one of our National Championships.
Should an individual feel that he/she was denied advancement to the next level unfairly, that person may submit a request in writing to a National level Committee for review after contacting the Vice Chair of Certifications for the current chair of that committee.
EMERITUS: An emeritus status can be granted to any level official that is RETIRING from officiating. This level should be reserved for very deserving and outstanding officials ONLY. The status should be one of honor and not solely granted because the official wishes to retire as an active official. Some basic criteria, though not inclusive, which should be considered for determining whether or not a retiring official merits the emeritus status are listed below:
Number of years of service as a USATF official (including AAU & TAC )
Awards received such as Andy Bakjian, Horace Crow, Charles Ruter, Presidents Award local and National Awards etc.
Major meets officiated (State, Regional, National, and International)
Service as an officer at the local and national level
Service on a USATF (AAU/TAC) local or national committee
Service as an outstanding clinician
The EMERITUS official will no longer be eligible to work National meets but may continue to be affiliated with the local association in a non-officiating capacity.
NATIONAL MASTER REFEREE CERTIFICATION
In 1991 as part of an overall upgrading and uniformity rule, the National Officials Committee passed a resolution to take over training and certification of all Masters Referees starting in 2005. This program was modified in 2004 to establish an Association certification and a National certification for Master Referees. A Master Referee Subcommittee of the National Officials Committee has been established.
This program is now operational and Certification Chairs have received guidelines, application forms and tests. Anyone interested in applying for certification as a National Master Referee may contact Jim Skelly, Master Referee Subcommittee Chairman at 1527 Hacienda Drive. El Cajon, CA 92020. (619)-258-0713 or e-mail: jskel1@cox.net.