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Certification



OFFICIALS' CERTIFICATION 

 

We currently have a great crew of certified officials in Colorado; a breakout is shown below.

Colorado Certified Officials (as of November 10, 2024)

Apprentice Association National Master Emeritus  Total  Men   Women
32 29 12 24 1 98 64% 34%

All USATF officials are certified for a four-year term, concurrent with each Olympiad.  Therefore, all currently certified officials must be recertified.  You may start the process now and complete it not later than March 31, 2005. 

Requirements for recertification include the following:

  • 2025 USATF membership;
  • recertification application;
  • current SafeSport training;
  • current background screening;
  • rules review with a passing score; and
  • recertification clinic attendance. 
Click here for more details on all of these items

Nationally, there are about 5,000 certified officials; 27% are Apprentice; 28% are Associate; 23% are National; and 22% are Master level.  70% men and 30% women

Certification Overview

The benefits of USATF officials' certification include: certification recognized nation-wide; training; opportunities to work regional and national championship meets; a USATF rule book; official's ID card and pin; and more.

Training and certification of officials is central to USATF's goal of ensuring fair and safe competitive opportunities for athletes.  USATF recognizes an official's skill development through four progressive levels of certification: Apprentice, Association, National, and Master; plus an Emeritus category. Officials are certified on an overall basis, and also for specific disciplines. 

Certification Requirements 
See full details at the USATF Officials’ Certification page at this page.

  • Photo
  • Age 18 or over
 


Send  your items to Marty Johnson or bring them to a clinic.


Recertification Clinics
These clinics are one of the requirements for recertification.  They will be conducted via a Zoom call. To see the dates and links for the calls go to the Training Clinics page on this site. 

Rules Reviews 
USATF Basic Review - You may certainly take and submit that review yourself online at this link.

If you'd like to take that review in a group setting, Marty Johnson will conduct a Basic Review session via a Zoom call on the following dates, lasting 1.5 - 2 hours:   

Timelines
New officials may apply for initial Apprentice level certification at any time.  Certified officials are recertified for each four year Olympiad at the end of the year following the Olympic Summer Games. 

Upgrades
Officials may seek advancement to higher levels of certification when they meet the criteria, as outlined in the chart below.  Advancement from one level to another is earned through knowledge of the rules  and demonstrated proficiency and achieving specific criteria for each level.  Checklists for those skills have been developed for most disciplines.  Upgrade to Association or National levels requires a National or Master level official to sign off on the “Training and Certification Upgrade Checklist” items for the candidate; an upgrade to the Master level requires a Master official to sign off.

Here are the checklists:   

Use this form to request an upgrade of your certification level.

Certification Upgrade Criteria - click here

(From the National Officials Committee Certification Regulation)

Criteria Upgrade to  
Association Level		 Upgrade to         National Level Upgrade to
Master level
Serve in current certification          level for at least 2 years 2 years 2 years
Work a minimum number of meets at the current certification level in the discipline concerned At least 8 Meets At least 10 meets; of which 2 must be outside home Assn, or be Regn’l, Nat’l, or Internat’l meet.  Serve as an event head for at least 2 meets. At  least 12 meets; of which 2 must be Regn’l, Nat’l, or Internat’l meets; plus 2 more of those, or 2 outside home Assn.  Serve as an event head for at least 4 meets.        
Have positive written upgrade recommendations from officials worked with or under From 1 Master or 1 National level official From 2 Master, or 1 Master & 1 National level official From 3 Master level officials
Complete required Rules Reviews with minimum required score Yes, for overall upgrade; or for a graded discipline with a test Yes, for overall upgrade; or for a graded discipline with a test Yes, for overall upgrade; or for a graded discipline with a test
Meet any additional criteria established by your Association Yes Yes Yes
Meet the certification level definition of being ready to: Take on more responsibility in home association meets Take on more responsibility outside home Assn, & serve as a head official within home Assn Serve as a head official at major regional and national meets