2nd March 2022

MEET THE OFFICIALS - ALISON JORDAN

ALISON JORDAN

Photo Finish Judge, level 5, Track Official level 4 and Field Official level 1

How long have you been an official?

I have been an official for almost 26 years! My father was an official, so I grew up around tracks and I sort of fell into officiating. I was an average club athlete in my younger days, first in Somerset where I grew up and then later with a local club (BRAT – Birmingham Running, Athletics, Triathlon) based at the University of Birmingham. I could watch the track from my office window when I was a postgraduate student and as soon as the others in my training group started arriving, I would go down and join them.

Where are you in your officiating journey? (Level/discipline) 

I am an international photo finish judge (Level 5) and I also have Level Four track and Level One field.

I am on the current European Athletics photo finish panel and so have covered European team events and European age-group championships. I am also an international photo finish judge for World Para Athletics.

What interested you about officiating?

I got injured and it was suggested I could help out as an official to keep involved. I realised that the club needed officials to get points at meetings, so I did the officials course and basic level exam which is how you qualified back then. Then, when serious illness struck and I retired from competing, I decided to concentrate on the officiating side of athletics and I have kept that going ever since.

As a track athlete I knew the track reasonably well even if I did only know the hurdle heights in feet and inches, but because my dad was a starter I decided to be at the other end of the track!

When I sat my basic level exams I was the youngest in the room – around 24 years old at most. I put in my availability for various meetings around the Midlands and one time, much to my surprise, an appointment came back in the photo finish team. I enjoyed my stint and must have done OK as a few months later I got a call from Sandy Forrest asking if I could help out at the English Schools as a photo finish judge.  I have never looked back.

Favourite moment as an official

As an official you have to be prepared for the unexpected.

At the World Championships in London in 2017 I was operating the lap indicator board for the 5000m heats. It was a very wet Wednesday evening and, all of a sudden, Hero the Hedgehog, the mascot, appeared half-way down the track holding up signs. I couldn’t see what was written on them, but what was really unnerving was that every time I changed the number on the lap indicator, he gave me the thumbs up. I was just hoping that if his signs had a number on them, it was the same one as I had! Eventually I found out he had motivational messages on the signs he was holding up.

At the Paralympics in Tokyo last year, I was the International Photo Finish Judge. There were several close finishes, but, of course, being the IPFJ meant I was the one staring at the race image of the Men’s T64 100m final and had to make the call about the dead heat for the bronze medal between Jonnie Peacock and German athlete, Johannes Floors. Despite being lucky enough to be working in a room with air-con, I was sweating a bit that night!

What do you love most about officiating?

I love the camaraderie – the other officials are like a second family to me. We tease each other and there’s banter but we know there is always someone on the end of the phone or in a WhatsApp group to chat to.

We are a close-knit family and I think that’s why we all stay involved; that, and the desire to want to ‘give back’ to the sport.

What are your ambitions in officiating?

I would like to carry on officiating as long as I can. I’d like to make more progress with my field official qualification, and I also want to have a better understanding of the waveforms from the start information systems.

What would you tell others thinking about becoming an official?

Give it a go. Sometimes officials – well, probably mainly me – may come across a bit bonkers and you may not know what type of official (track, field, etc) you want to be, but you’ll find a niche somewhere. We take it seriously when we are working, but we have fun as well. There is something for everyone, so come and join us and you never know where it will take you.

Using only three words describe what officiating means to you.

  • Rewarding
  • Giving-back
  • Camaraderie