The international National Technical Official (NTO) officials course, organised by the Qatar Athletics Federation in cooperation with the IAAF and the Regional Development Centre, began at the Olympic Committee’s conference hall. The international course runs until 1 May, with 19 participants, including three women, given that the course requires no fewer than 12 and no more than 20 participants.
Lecturing on the course is our international official Abdulhakim Al Omari, a member of the Athletics Federation, who noted that this is the eleventh international course the Qatar Athletics Federation has organised since 2002 to raise our officials to world standard. Al Omari said the NTO course is the first grade recognised by the IAAF, with the Regional Development Centre overseeing it, sending the relevant materials and distributing accredited certificates to those who pass, noting that the course lasts six days, four theoretical and two practical, and comprises 33 practical and theoretical sessions covering all aspects of applying international rules and regulations. Al Omari said the federation, chaired by HE Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian federations and vice-president of the IAAF, is keen on holding upgrade courses for officials alongside the international championships it organises, such as the Diamond League meeting Doha will host in May, noting that Qatar ranks among the leading countries organising the international NTO course, and that anyone who passes the course must score at least 90% to qualify for a continental officiating course, while anyone scoring below 90% receives a certificate and becomes a national official at the level they achieved, and anyone who does not pass the course retains their existing grade with their home federation. He wished all participants success in the international NTO course and in qualifying as continental officials.
