Officials Certification Program
Track 1 Officials with a National Governing Body (NGB) officials' certification and/or an International Sport Federations (ISF) officials certification should participate in Track 1 of the Special Olympics Officials Training and Certification for the respective sport. Track 1 provides an introduction to Special Olympics, officiating Special Olympics events and any necessary rules and sport equipment modifications.
Track 2 This track is designed for persons with neither sport-specific officiating certification(s), nor Special Olympics experience. Participants should complete Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Special Olympics Officials Training and Certification. Part 2 of the sport-specific officials training focuses on the competition venue, games management and the various officiating positions of the sport.
Completing Certification For both tracks, once Part 1 is completed — generally a 60-120 minute session depending upon the sport — the Part 3 - The Praticum of the sport-specific officials training must be completed. This part entails officiating ten hours or five Special Olympics sport-specific competitions under the observance of an experienced Special Olympics official and/or competition staff member.
Once they have officiated the required amount, participants of each track perform the following to complete his/her certification:
- Complete the Special Olympics Sports Training Certification form
- Get the local Area Program staff member to sign-off on the completion requirements.
- Send the completed form to the Program office
|