CHRIS COHEN

Field Judge and Competition Director

Do you have an athletics background?

As a teenager, I was a reasonable standard athlete, was a finalist at English Schools and represented the north of England several times as a triple-jumper. When I went on to college, I joined Derby and County, now Derby AC, as a triple-jumper but also did a bit of high jump and long jump. At college I also started doing a bit of coaching, then became a teacher and continued with the coaching. I also got involved in team management. I taught PE at secondary schools in Derbyshire and continued to coach several evenings a week.

What interested you about officiating?

I was coaching a couple of very good athletes (triple-jumper, Fiona May and high jumper, Michael Powell) and I found it was very time consuming. When Fiona moved away and Michael retired, I decided I would concentrate on officiating, thinking it might take less time!

I really wanted to stay involved in the sport and as a former field event athlete, I wanted to be involved with the field events. As a field events official you do get to work closely with the athletes and really make a difference to their competition, in a good or bad way.

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

I started doing a little officiating at Derby to start with and as I got more and more involved, I processed up through the grades, right up to level 5. I also got involved in Paralympic athletics in the late 1970s. I went to Stoke Mandeville and then got involved in sports politics and became Chair of IPC Athletics (now World Para-Athletics).

As well as officiating and teaching, I was running the organisation as a volunteer, which I did for more than 20 years.

In 2004 I retired from teaching which was perfect timing as London won the Olympic and Paralympic bid in 2005. I was fortunate to be appointed Paralympic Manager for the Games, which was only possible having retired from teaching.

At about the same time I became an International Technical Official having passed the European Athletics exam so joined the panel to officiate at European events. As I got a reasonably high score, I was then asked to take the IAAF (now World Athletics) exam and passed that one so became an International Technical Official, meaning I could officiate at overseas meetings and championships.

During the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics I was Competition Director, which led to other appointments later.

My first major international appointment was as Technical Delegate for the European Championships in 2014 in Zurich and then the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz in 2016.

In 2017 I was employed as Head of Competition for both the World Athletics and World Para-Athletics Championships in London and acted as Competition Director during the events. Following that I was asked if I’d take on a similar role at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha so I spent around ten months of the 18 months lead-in to the event in Doha.

While I was there the Tokyo 2020 team came to observe and out of the blue they asked me to take on the job again for the athletics competition at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. So last summer I spent about three months in Tokyo.

I retired as the chair of IPC athletics after the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 as they were evolving and full time, professional staff were being recruited. I was heavily involved in world and European athletics by then, so I decided to concentrate on the volunteering side.

I have continued with grassroots athletics throughout my officiating journey officiating regularly at schools’ competitions and club meets as well as being secretary of English Schools Athletics for a few years. I try to do a couple of meetings each year with Derby AC and Chesterfield AC as I have links with both clubs, although this has been difficult in the last couple of years.

And this year continues to be a busy one. Last month I was a member of the Jury of Appeal at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. I will be a Technical Delegate and Competition Director in Eugene in July for the World Athletics Championships then straight back to the UK to be the Technical Delegate at the Commonwealth Games, followed, after a couple of days at home, by the European Championships in Munich in August where I will be Chief International Technical Officer.

Favourite moment as an official

There have been so many over the years but the one that stands out now happened just last summer in Tokyo. I was the Competition Director so when there was a tie in the high jump I was the one on the radio to the referee explaining to him what the next step was and basically I read out the script I wanted him to give to the two athletes (Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy) explaining that they could either carry on with a jump off, or they could have a gold medal each. I emphasised the fact that there was an opportunity to have a gold medal each! It was such an amazing moment because of the response of the two athletes and everyone watching in the stadium and on TV watching at home. It really sticks in the memory.

What do you love most about officiating?

The ability to influence the outcome of competition and contribute to the athletes’ performance in a positive way.

The friendliness of everyone involved – I have made so many friends over the last 40-odd years – athletes who have been involved with over the years as well as the officials and volunteers who have I worked with over the years.

I always say I will keep doing it while I enjoy it and I still enjoy it – particularly working with so many friends.

What are your ambitions in officiating?

I always wanted to officiate at the highest level possible and wanted to do the best I could in every aspect of my career.

I have been fortunate in the last few years to have appointments at the Olympic Games and World Championships and that is very special. I have been an ITO and Competitions Director at top events which has been amazing, but I’ve always felt fortunate to reach that level, having started just for the fun of being involved in a sport I love.

In the last few months I have been appointed as the Technical Delegate for Paris 2024. It has always been an ambition to officiate at the very highest level and especially to be the chief official at the Olympic Games. All being well, that will come to fruition in Paris in 2024. I have also been appointed at the Technical Delegate for European Championships that follow on in Rome that year.

That may be the end for me, but who knows.

What would you tell others who are thinking of becoming an official?

Definitely do it!

But be positive and look beyond the challenges that others may present to you, and especially for younger officials, do what you can and what you’ve time for and enjoy it. There will be plenty of opportunities as you get older to do more and become more involved.

Also try to ignore those who may moan – be it about expenses or the standard of refreshments. Just keep doing it and think about why you’re doing it and if you enjoy it, keep doing it.

It is very important to keep young people involved.

Describe what officiating means to you in 3 words

• Friendship
• Enjoyment
• Challenging