NEWS

Work in progress: Building the Technical Official Team

By Paul Groves | 24 Nov, 2016

We saw last week that there had been a course for Technical Officials held in the Netherlands. Well, last weekend, in Madrid, a further course was delivered to further develop the skills and experiences of a further tranche of officials. The ITU Education programme has bedded in well in Europe and we are fortunate to have not only a very keen team of officials but also, a solid team of facilitators who provide education for all levels.

ITU overseas the three levels of Technical Officials Courses:

  • Level 1 - One day and a half course provides the participants with the theoretical and practical training required to make them capable of officiating at National Events as a Technical Delegate and at Continental events as a Technical Official.
  • Level 2 - The two-day course is designed to enhance the skills of the participants in officiating Continental Cups, Multisport Continental Championships, and Multisport Series Events as Technical Delegates. The knowledge they will gain will be also be used at World Triathlon Series, World Cups and Major Events as Technical Officials.
  • Level 3 - The 3 days course covers World Triathlon Series venue and technical operations, Olympic policies and procedures, paratriathlon operations, team relay operations, communication strategies among TOs, athletes and coaches, and sustainability.

Whenever there is an ETU or ITU event, you will see officials working at these events. Those who have been through the ITU Education Programme will often been supported by national officials from the host federation who will be guided and supported by the TO Team and now, with many of the National Federations in Europe following the ITU TO Education Programme (ITU ATOEP), we are seeing a higher level of officiating across Europe.

This approach from ITU targets developed National Federations with an existing Technical Officials’ Education Programme and provides the opportunity for these NFs to have their existing programmes accredited.

Those who were in Madrid last weekend will now have a huge project to complete as part of their education. Following an intense two-day course, they now have to submit for scrutiny a project that they were given as this will further show that they have fully understood the theoretical work that was covered in the classroom.

Many thanks to one of the course facilitators, Jorge García, who has provided a selection of images from the weekend. As the delegates dug deep into the Event Organisers’ Manual (EOM) they were able to bring the text to life as various scenarios were presented to them.

From Jorge, “The seminar was really productive. Howard and I decided to split the teams in two; red team and blue team, with proper team dress code, in order to create a team atmosphere. With this idea, they felt that all the time they had to work and play as a team; one team one goal. We had the opportunity to spend time enough with the practical exercises, giving them the guidelines, and they had to innovate and create the solutions for the exercises, with the materials that they had in the room. They were really surprised about the way we delivered the seminar; and as one of them said ... this is like receiving a masterclass. The Madrid ITU Level 2 Technical Officials seminar is finished and I am once again proud to help in the development of the sport, by delivering an amazing seminar. Many thanks to my colleague Howard Vine for this work with the team, and also special thanks to the new upcoming TOs. Looking forward to work with you soon.”

Péter Klósz, President of the Romanian Triathlon Federation, who successfully hosted the ETU Târgu Mureș Cross Duathlon Championships this year and who will be hosting the 2017 ETU Transylvania Cross Festival, “In this weekend I attended the Level 2 TO course in Madrid. The course was led by Jorge Garcia and Howard Vine. I had the opportunity to work with both in a couple of competitions in past. There were three intense days in which I learned a lot. The course was very interesting and interactive. After four years and more than 15 international competitions and a lot of national competitions where I worked as a TO, I realised in this course, to my surprise, that I still have much to improve and learn. Especially since I was appointed from the Technical Committee as Technical Delegate at the Aquathlon European Championship next year in Bratislava. It’s a great honour but also a challenge for me. I am glad for the Technical Committee’s trust, because I like to work in multisport competitions and I’m sure this European Championships in Bratislava will be a successful event. I want to thank to Jorge and Howard for everything I learned from them and this course and what I “stole” from them in competitions in which we officiated with them.”

Péter makes a very valid point here – even after working at so many events, there is still something to learn. At every level of officiating there is always something to learn; either from other officials, athletes, coaches, organisers, the media or the spectators.

This course in Madrid saw a greater number of women present than in Egmond. It is essential that our TO Family is balanced and gender parity is an important aspect.

Carmen Gómez is one of the up-coming Spanish officials, “Well, about the course, the first think I can say is that it was brilliant! I was used to other kinds of courses but this was really interactive and the weekend was gone in the blinking of an eye. I have learnt so many things; having a completely different perspective about the TD job in a big event. And I really liked the practical part as it allowed me to understand more deeply all the information and how to work as a team with my course partners. I really looking forward to work with all of them in the future!  I have been assigned to Las Palmas next year, 26th of March, as aTD. In fact I am absolutely excited about taking this new challenge, I really want to work as aTD with my TD and put in practice my new knowledge.”

Also from Spain, Águeda Soria, who had worked in Quarteira and Lisbon this year as SFTO went to the course with some trepidation but came away happy. “It is difficult to express all my feelings about last weekend’s experience. I knew that we were going to work hard (very hard) but, in the end, it has been a wonderful experience. I shared these days with a fantastic group of people from different countries and I learnt (and refreshed), in a dynamic way, a lot of knowledge with two fantastic teachers. Recently I had the opportunity to live as self-funded two ETU events in Quarteira and Lisbon and I hope to repeat in the near future with the idea to put into practice all knowledge learned during these days. Thanks for this magnificent opportunity.”

We had a great ETU Triathlon Championships in Eilat a few years ago. Since then the Federation has been working hard to build upon the areas of weakness that were identified in that event and one of the officials who has taken a lead in that area, Yuval Raiz, has been using his experiences at ETU events over the past few years to apply best practice to the numerous races that form the Israeli events calendar. With new impetus, following this intensive course, we can all hope that in the future we will be able to return to Israel for races that will have stepped up to the new mark.

For Yuval, “After officiating few year as Level 1 TO in several international events I decided I need to go to the next level and become a level 2 TO. I registered for the Level II course that took place last week in Madrid, hosted by the Spanish Federation. Unlike other courses this one was 2.5 days starting on Friday afternoon and finished on Sunday afternoon. We were 8 students from Spain, Hungary, Romania and Israel and 2 great facilitators, Jorge Garcia and Howard Vine. On top of the formal knowledge transfer both Jorge and Howard shared with us their experience and guided us into how we could use this new knowledge in any given potential situation. I’m going to use the knowledge that I gain in few weeks from now at the Israel Triathlon Championship, where I’m going to be the Technical Delegate. I looking forward to get practice in my next assignment in an ETU event in 2017.”

Noelia Rivas, another of the Spanish officials, “We have spent a wonderful weekend working hard every day. I have had the opportunity to meet a group of TOs of an incredible level both technical and human, and the teachers Howard and Jorge have offered us a practical and dynamic course that will surely reinforce our knowledge. I am honoured to have been proposed for this level 2 course and I will try to do my best on the final exam.”

Juan José Juste Pérez echoed Jorge’s comment about the interactive and team-working elements of the course, “In my opinion, this seminar has been instructive and based on working group, (so much important in our job as referee). Practises were fun but, on the other hand, extremely useful and constructive. Step by step, I will absorb all the knowledges I have learnt in the way to practise and develop them in future competitions.”

In 2017 there will be an Assistant TD at the Cross Festival. Györgyi Bazsó-Bodnár, a Hungarian based in London, will be working at the event that spans several days to allow the athlete to race both Duathlon and Triathlon events, as well as the many side events. She has worked at numerous major events, including the iconic Tiszaújváros. “Regarding the course: it was a really great weekend filled up with our love for Triathlon.   Was really intense but also fun. We got the chance to see a how much preparation is needed to deliver a fair and safe event and how important it is to work closely with the LOC. Jorge and Howard were brilliant.  I think they find the right tone/way to share their knowledge with us. The weekend had a really great atmosphere and we got lot of real life examples. I really liked the role plays and when we needed to prepare the different part of the course. This all will be really useful on the events. This weekend helps to make sure that we all know how to bring alive a plan. And not to forget to still be flexible and proactive to deliver a great event. I am assigned to ETU Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon European Championships in Târgu Mureș, Romania on 27-30 July. I am really excited about to get this opportunity to help deliver these events. I believe that this course in Madrid combined with that fact I am coming from Tiszaújváros (where I am the part of the organizers for 12 years) gives me a really good base to help my Technical Delegate. I have worked before with Péter Klósz before and were together on this Level 2 course. This definitely will help me to create a good relationship with the LOC. I think I am ready to be a part of an event where I have different responsibilities from what I have experienced before. I am really grateful that I have been given the chance to prove myself in Romania.”

Finally and also from Hungary, comes Adrienn Tóth. She too has experience at numerous major events. She described the long weekend that was crammed with work. “It was a pleasure to be in Madrid on the ITU Level 2 seminar. The course started at 5pm on Friday and ended at 5:30pm on Sunday. During this time we went through all parts of an international and continental event, with emphasis on the responsibilities of a Race Referee and Technical Delegate. For me the most interesting section was that on pre-event planning, such as the venue planning, maps, allocations, risks, etc. The course was pretty proactive and we had a lot teamwork exercises. It has shifted an international event into an entirely new viewpoint from my side; more global and more extensive. For that a good example is that I never really considered before the problems with tides (probably because here in Hungary we do not have this issue.) Jorge and Howard are pretty good teachers; very helpful and well prepared. I hope I am going to be able use this knowledge in the near future. Also many thanks to the Spain Federation to their hospitality.”

All officials on both courses are now working hard on their assignments. Once completed, they will be sent to Thanos Nikopoulos at ITU HQ where they will be marked and wherever feedback is needed, that will be sent out. In the New Year one of the big projects undertaken at HQ is the updating of the Technical Officials’ Database. It will be great to see all of our delegates on the Level II lists and to see them applying their new skills at events in 2017.

If you are interested in working as a Technical Official then you need first to establish yourself as an official in your own National Federation and then, once ready, you can be nominated for a place on the Level I Course. It is a long journey, it involves hard work and long hours but the pleasure of being part of an event that really works well, where the athletes have a fair and safe race and where the spectators share the delight of a great event, well, that is a feeling that has no price on it.