"Athletes - asking no unfair advantage, resorting to no questionable practices and doing nothing small or mean to gain an end. Athletes should be sportsmen in the finest sense, always honoring teammates and opponents with their best effort, accepting victory with pride and humility while accepting defeat with goodwill." *

As I continue my career as a USA Track and Field certified official I periodically find myself in conflict with athletes and coaches regarding the athlete’s compliance with the rules. I find that these misunderstandings of the rules and not by an international violation of the rules.

The governing bodies of track and field require that officials know and firmly enforce the rules while being objective and courteous. The rule books published by these governing bodies are neither perfect nor complete. The rule books do not cover all unusual situations and in these cases the meet referee, no the event official, must make a decision as how to fairly proceed with the competition.

What makes this situation worse is a lack of consistency in the rules published by the various governing bodies. As an athlete advances from high school, to collegiate, to national, and finally international level competitions they find that many of the rules are not the same. It’s always distressing when an athlete is eliminated from a competition because they were following the wrong rules.

It is not the event official’s job to teach an athlete the rules just prior or during a competition. The responsibility for knowing the rules rests with the athlete and their coach. Coaches need to establish training programs to ensure that their athletes know and understand the rules.

Coaches and athletes can also be part of the rule making process. Event officials will welcome questions and suggestions on how to better manage competitions. My officiating speciality is the vertical jumps. I am presently soliciting suggested changes to the vertical jumps rules form athletes and coaches. I believe that we can implement changes that will simplify the vertical jumps rules by virtue of making them more consistent.

Finally, please remember that your event officials are unpaid volunteers who graciously donate their time and to officiate your event. Being courteous to them when you question a ruling is very important. Officials are always proud of a competition that provides athletes with the opportunity to excel. Taking the time to thank the event officials for their work is something that keeps them coming back.

*Position Statement - 1994 NCAA Track and Field Rule Book.