Officials

Officials Committee

Cindy Slayton Chair cincslay@hotmail.com	La-Tarvia Hilbert-Shanks Vice Chair
Phil Ozell Certification Chair phillip.ozell@gmail.com
Terrilyn Webb Secretary	Darren "DJ" Johnson Communications

Officials

The National Officials Committee conducts programs to certify, train, and supervise competition officials in all disciplines of USATF. Officials play a vital role in making thousands of events run smoothly and safely and are essential for maintaining the highest levels of integrity at all levels of competition.

We invite current and prospective officials to read through the resources presented here. Questions may be directed to Association Certification Chairs or to the appropriate Subcommittee Chair.

USATF Certified Officials - Store

• USATF Certified Officials store

Certification REquirements

We always have a need for, and welcome individuals to become, certified officials. See the “Certification Requirements” listed below and contact our USATF Georgia Officials Committee Certification Chair, as listed above.

1. USATF Membership - Note: The discounted "USATF Certified Officials Membership (4 year) - Individual Membership" is appropriate for selection by existing certified officials wishing to renew their existing membership or for members who intend to become a certified official. Contact our Certification Chair (see above) if you have any questions.
2. Ages 18 or Older
3. Attach photograph to USATF Connect profile; see Guidelines for Badge Photo below
4. SafeSport Training
5. Background Screening
6. Pay the Certification Fee via USATF Connect, Officials Certification Status, Add Officials Certification Status, then pay via Shopping Cart
7. Attend a required Georgia Association Certification Clinic. These are scheduled periodically. Contact our USATF Georgia Officials Committee Certification Chair, as listed above, for details.
8. Complete the National Certification Application document and Georgia Association Certification Application document
9. Complete the appropriate Rules Reviews.
   • You can also find the Rules Reviews for the 2025 - 2028 Olympiad on the National Officials Committee (NOC) Dashboard. 
   • If you seek an NCAA Endorsement, you must complete a separate NCAA examination. The results of this examination will be sent to the NCAA, with a copy of the results also being sent to your Certification Chair. This examination is ONLY AVAILABLE ONLINE. There is no print copy, and only online submissions are accepted.
10. Understand and follow the Code of Ethics & Performance Guidelines

Guidelines for Badge Photo

For the Official's Badge you will need to attach a "head shot" photograph to your USATF Connect profile.

• This should be a passport-style color photograph taken against a solid white/neutral background with NO sunglasses, hat, scarf, etc.!
• The photograph should be about 1/2 Megabyte in size, or 250 pixels square, and be in a .JPG format.

 

Officiating Opportunities

• View list of Officiating Opportunities [link]
• To have an event added to the opportunities list, send an email to the USATF Georgia Officials Committee Chair (see email address above.)