INTRODUCTION

First I am going to give you some History on USATF. Then about the levels of officials and the requirements. Thirdly, I am going to tell you how / why I got involved, what the benefits are and finally how you can become an official.

BODY

Lets take a look at the background. Track and Field came to the US in 1860. In 1873 the Inter Collegiate Association of Amateur Athletics of America held the first Races and in 1888 the AAU or Amateur Athletic Union held the first championship.
 January 30, 1878, (rower and runner) William B. Curtis founded what became the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in New York City. The AAU governed the sport until 1979, when the first Amateur Sports Act decreed that the AAU could no longer hold international franchises for more than one sport.
 In 1992, the name was changed to USA Track & Field (USATF) to increase recognition for the organization and the sport in the United States.

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 Why have Officials?
 Officials play an important role in making thousands of events run smoothly.
 Officials are essential for maintaining the highest levels of integrity at all levels of competition.

 How do I know who the officials are??
2009 USATF Officials

 Who do they officiate??
 High School
 College
 Olympic Trials
 Olympics
 Huntsman Sr. Games

There are 5 Certification Levels
 Association
 National
 Master
 National Master Referee
 National Technical Referee

 Association
 Attend a training clinic
 Satisfactorily complete examination on the rules of all aspects of the sport
 Submit a completed certification form to the Association Certification Chair.
 Pay required fees

 National
 Serving as an Association level official for at least two years
 Submit a resume listing meets at which he/she officiated during the prior two years.
 A National level official should be able to head up an event at a major meet in an Association and work as an official at national championships.

 Master
 Master level certification is reserved for a limited number of the most outstanding officials who have achieved mastery in a specific area of officiating
 Serve in a leadership role in their area of specialization at a national or international competition.
 Provide two written recommendations outlining their qualifications. (one from a current Master level official and one from a meet director or coach)
 Minimum of three years experience at the National level.
 Indicate his/her area of mastery from the following categories of officiating: Starting, Track Events, Vertical Jumps, Horizontal Jumps, Throws Combined Events, Distance Running Race Walking
 A Master level official should serve in a leadership role to develop other officials in his/her area of expertise. He/she should be able to be a lead official at a national championship.

 National master Referee
 The Master level certification as a referee is reserved for a very small number of outstanding officials who have demonstrated their ability and competence as lead officials and who have a great deal of technical and practical knowledge of the rules.

 Five areas for certification:
Track Referee
Field Referee
Combined Events Referee
Race Walking Referee
Long Distance Running Referee (includes Cross Country)

 National Technical Official
 Added in 2002
 Reserved for Master Level Referees who want to become internationally certified to work international meets in the United States.
 To be considered you must be a Master Referee in at least two of the five disciplines (see above) for a minimum of three years in each discipline.
 Each certification level is subject to review each Olympiad. Officials inactive or minimally

 Source
 WWW.USATF.ORG

 How I became an Official
 Brookes First Jump

 Why Become An official
 Lasting Friendships
 Free stuff !! Shirts, shoes, food, travel - tax deduction

 Source http://www.seniorgames.net  For more information www. USATF.org

CONCLUSION

I hope you learned some History on USATF and about the different levels of officials. As well as, why I became involved and the benefits that are priceless benefits from being an official and how to become one