Fellow Colorado USATF Officials

Fellow Colorado USATF Officials,

This is the 3rd in a series of occasional e-mails in 2014 to provide information to Colorado track and field officials.

1. Outdoor Schedule. Attached is the officials’ outdoor schedule for the remaining meets this calendar year as we know it now. Please get in touch with the contact person for several of these meets to offer your assistance. We especially encourage you to work the meets in bold type – those which are conducted by our Colorado Association. I have updated this schedule with the latest information from the Youth committee, so it should be up to date.

2. USATF Membership. A reminder -- if you’re not a member of USA Track & Field for 2014, you’re not a certified official for 2014. The certification fee you paid is good for the years 2013-2016. But, USATF membership is also required annually ($30 per year) in order to remain as a certified official. You may renew your membership online by clicking on the membership link. We currently have 18 officials who have had their certification suspended due to non-renewal of their 2014 USATF membership.

3. USATF Rulebook. The 2014 USATF Rulebook is now available for purchase online. Through the efforts of the National Officials Committee and USATF, the price for USATF certified officials is $5.00, plus shipping. To obtain this special price, click on the rulebook link. You’ll need to provide your 2014 USATF membership number and password, and use a MasterCard or Visa credit card. Officials newly certified in 2014 will receive a rulebook as a part of their paid certification fee. All others must purchase the book themselves.

4. Officiating Opportunities. If you are interested in working some meets outside our association, click on the opportunities link. This is a good way to build your meet resume if you are interested in moving up to National or Master certification. It is also a good way to meet some new officials, see other parts of the country, and learn some new tricks of the trade.

5. NCAA Officials’ Certification. I know I sound like a broken record, but we still don’t have a definitive word on the NCAA/USATF relationship with regards to meet officials, registration, and certification. While we have been anxiously awaiting the announcement, some details are yet to be worked out. The program will involve some or all of the following: registration, training, testing, selection, assignment, and evaluation of officials. Beginning with the 2015 season, all officials selected to work NCAA national track & field and cross country championship meets will need to be NCAA certified. Since applications for the 2015 indoor championships are usually done in the fall/winter of 2014, be prepared to register if you want to work the NCAA indoor championships in 2015 at the D1, D2, or D3 level. For competitions at local schools there will be no change; that is, officials will not need to be NCAA certified. Training courses, certification levels, and the mechanics of the process are being developed. Almost all of this will be accomplished online. That’s all the info we have for now; we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

Thanks, Marty

Martin Johnson Officials Committee Chair Colorado Association, USA Track and Field (c) (719-209-1892, [email protected]