European Athletics staged a Race Walking Level II (RWJECS) course in the Madrid suburb of Alcobendas, Spain on 22-23 September, attended by 42 candidates from 26 Member Federations.
The course takes place every four years and is designed to years to renew the panel of European judges who will be appointed for European Athletics competitions. In Alcobendas, there were 17 new candidates from 15 Member Federations while another 25 current panel members, representing 17 Member Federations, were re-evaluated.
The basic principles of the course are to ensure that judges at this level are able to:
- Interpret race walking techniques properly.
- Apply the competition rules correctly and consistently and interpret the competition rules appropriately.
- Be updated on the most recent rule changes and their application.
- Have a clear understanding of the management of competitions.
- Have a precise knowledge of the duties of a race walking judge.
- Be familiar with penalty communication system.
- Have an understanding of road measurement procedures.
- Know the principles of doping control at competitions.
- Understand the protocol of the competition briefings.
The RWJECS Level II course follows a standard syllabus that contains 18 units and includes the following contents:
- The duties and role of a Level II race walking judge.
- In depth study of IAAF Competitions Rules.
- Organisation, management and direction of competitions.
- Duties and role of a Technical Delegate at race walking competitions.
The final examination of the course participants is based on the following elements:
Practice (video observation)
Assessment of the ability to judge correct techniques and the ability to immediately detect technical faults of varying degrees. Evaluation consists of a video observation of 20 minutes in duration and 20 questions.
Practice (oral examination)
Assessment of the precise knowledge of competition set-up, appropriate communication skills with officials and athletes, as well as the ability to interpret rules correctly, even in exceptional circumstances. The evaluation is an oral examination with three questions and lasting 15 minutes in duration.
Knowledge (written examination)
Assessment of knowledge and understanding of recent rule changes, of the appropriate interpretation of competition rules and the application of competition rules. This is a written examination of 30 questions and 90 minutes in duration.
The lecturers in Alcobendas were Steven Taylor (GBR) and Jean-Pierre Dahm (FRA), both Level III Judges.
The five first ranked of the current panel members will be invited to the Level III Examination which will be held in London on 2-4 November 2018. The European Athletics Race Walking Judges Panel will be defined based on the results of Level III and Level II exams.