Lyon seeks officials for 2015 worlds, will help with expenses
I doubt the IAAF will post a call for volunteers to officiate at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But World Masters Athletics is trolling for officials for 2015 Lyon worlds. According to the WMA website, would-be officials have until July 1, 2014, to apply. “This is only an expressions of interest form,” says the PDF application. “There is no [guarantee] that you will be selected.” But of course, mon ami. You probably have to have experience officiating at home. WMA’s info sheet also says: “Please note you will be required to fund your own travel to/from Lyon.” But the LOC will pay for travel to and from the airport and between venues and hotels. Organizers also pledge to pay for your lodging, meals, “duties” and uniform. Such a deal! Still, this opens up some interesting questions. Did the Lyon LOC not have enough officials lined up? Have earlier WMA meets advertised for officials? At least foreigners have a shot. Maybe some USATF-certified folks will answer the call. Here’s the USATF officials site.
7 Responses
Anybody who competed in Porto Alegre must have been happy and grateful for the USA officials. Some of them literally saved” our buds”! Since we could not- or very little- communicate with the Brazilian officials, somehow help came from our USA friends!
No sense going back into details, the rules should have been the same for everybody, but we could NOT understand what was “enforced”, let alone the reason.
In other words, any USATF official, who is willing to pay their way, would be more than appreciated!
The language barrier for France should be a little less of a problem – a said a Little….
Any earlier WMA meet that I have attended(that is all but one! Gatesshead)
had a few USATF officals.
It would be great to hear some comments from officials that were at those meets. We, the athletes talked with them, but for those planning to attend,
it would be a help!
Okay, make that “butts” or better – behinds?
Can’t find that word in my dictionary….
Derrières. At Lyon 2015 USATF officials will “save your derrières.”
This raises an interesting question. What is the real price/value of our voluntary track and field officials?
2015 WMA Lyon is a prestige event. A dedicated track and field official will be motivated to volunteer and for the honor of being selected.
I also officiate voluntarily for my Swedish club as part of the deal as an active member. But I am not an official and if some other body asked me to act as a track and field official, I would require at least $100 an hour. That is worth remembering in our dealings with voluntary track and field officials and officers.
The problem with your statement Mr. Treacher is if every official ask for $100.00 per hour or anything in the amount of what they are worth. We would not be able to put on any meets. With the cost of facilities going up as we speak, the sport is already at a crossroads. No amount of money is enough for the invaluable service that our officials provide, but when one decides to become an official you don’t do it for the money. You do it because the sport means something to you or it provided you with something as you were growing up and know what to be able to give something back to the sport. If you want to see officials get paid for their time then help find sponsors to support our events. Otherwise we will have to raise entry fees so high that no one could afford to compete.
Robert Thomas, you said no amount of money is enough for the invaluable service provided by officials. That’s exactly what Anthony was trying to point out with the last sentence of his post; that we are lucky to have the generous donation of a volunteer’s time otherwise it could cost in his estimate $100 an hour.
Chill out.
Just to point out . 1- WMA are asking for International Officials , Lyon LOC will provide the local officials required ( they will have more than enough to staff the event). 2- Every WMA Championships have had around 25 – 30 International Official to ensure impartiality and help with any language problems. 3- The request for International Volunteer Officials is to try and get a Global response for selection to the event. WMA as with many other sports providers are eternally grateful for the help from the IVO’s and will always try to provide as much assistance as possible. Anyone out there willing to sponser WMA events would be more than welcome.
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