USATF CERTIFICATION CLINICS FOR 2009

One final official's certification clinic will be held on March 15th at OU in the "O Club" near the north entrance to the football stadium.  The clinic will be from 1 to 5 pm.  Cost is $30.00.

Also, the tests, resumes, and individual membership numbers need to be completed and returned to Carrie Behrens no later than April 1, 2009.  (No fooling....)  You can Contact Carrie Behrens at the above email link.

1. Association to national need to be at the association level, for at least 2 years accompanied with a resume indicating he meets
   worked, and both the quantity and responsibility of assignment.

2. National to master need to be at the national level for at 3 years. The candidate will be required to submit a resume of major meets
   worked over the past five years, with dates, meet name, and assignments.

Those officials that wish to get a head start on the written test can go to http://www.usatfofficials.com/certification.html and download the pdf version of the test.

1. First time officials must take the NEW OFFICIALS test.

2. Association level officials take the association test.

3. National level officials (previously certified at national level orassociation level upgrading to national) take the national test.

4. Master level officials (previously certified at master level or national level upgrading to master) take the master test.

The rule book can be downloaded (or viewed) from http://www.usatf.org/about/rules/2008/index.asp

Note:

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.