OFFICIATING INFORMATION

Officiating

SPORT OFFICIALS

The sport is run to the Rules & Regulations of the sport. The team which guide the sport using the rules are the National Officiating Panel (NOP) who set the stage from the top & the processes to implement the rules filter down through the events to the club level races. The same basic processes & rules that are or can be instigated at club level are used for National events.

General hierarchy of BMX officials

The following list shows how the officials arrange in level of experience & delivery of officiating in the sport.

  • National Officiating Director

  • National Chief Commissaire

  • National Officiating Panel

  • National Commissaires

  • Regional Commissaires

  • Local Commissaires

  • Club Commissaires

Event Officials

These teams run the three major BMXNZ events & the members run the meeting at the regional & local level.

  • Chief Commissaire & Commissaire Team

  • Staging Head of Department & Staging volunteer officials

  • Starter HOD & Starting volunteer officials

  • Finishline HOD & Finish line volunteer officials

  • Admin Commissaire

  • Points Hut HOD & Points Hut volunteer officials

  • Race Director

  • Rider Advocate

  • PR Officials

These roles are applied in a non-formal way at club level to run racing. People who volunteer at this level can build up experience & attend some training to allow them to assist at higher levels of events, where they fall into the structure above.

Volunteering as an official allows people to really give back to the sport & assist the sport to run well & delivery racing to the riders.

Officiating Training

BMXNZ & CNZ are in the process of formulating a training process to accredit official for local, regional & national levels. If the club has keen people, please contact BMXNZ to help upskill & assist these people to assist the sport.

SPORT OFFICIALS—Job Descriptions

The following descriptions of the Officials is taken form the BMXNZ Rule Book.

1.003 Race Director

The Race Director shall be responsible for the following: Establishing and maintaining a timetable of events.

Enlisting and organising of all commissaries, officials and administrative staff in numbers commensurate with the requirements of the event.

Arranging for the equipment necessary to conduct a race, acquiring, displaying and presenting trophies and other awards. The period of responsibility for any meeting shall be from the close of entries until the completion of prize giving. 

For most NZ meetings the Chief Commissaire will also carry out the duties of the Race Director.

1.004 Race Commissaires

The race commissaries shall be responsible for assuring the observance of all rules governing any event. All race commissaries should be made known to or should wear some form of distinctive clothing so that they may be readily identified by, competitors and club team managers.

One commissaire shall be designated as the Chief Commissaire and shall rule on all disputes and protests involving riders, commissaries, officials and club team managers. The Chief Commissaire may be assisted by one or more Assistant Chief Commissaires.

1.005 Chief Administration Commissaire

The Chief Administration Commissaire shall be responsible for the registration and classification of all riders at the event, the processing and posting of the moto sheets, and the processing of all results (both intermediate and final results). The Chief Administration Commissaire shall be assisted by a sufficient number of administrators.

1.006 Finish Line Commissaire

The Finish Line Commissaire shall be responsible for determining the accurate finishing order of the race, in accordance with the prescribed method of scoring used. The official finish results shall be transmitted to the administrator(s) for notation on the score sheets. 

1.007 Officials

Inspectors or Scrutineers

Responsible for inspecting every rider's bicycle and safety equipment prior to practice to assure compliance with these rules.

Starter 

Responsible for conducting the start of each race. The starter shall operate the starting gate, and perform such other actions as are necessary and appropriate to assure that each race has a safe and fair start.

The starter may recommend to the Chief Commissaire that a rider obstructing the starter from carrying out their duties be penalised. When a timing system is utilised, the starter must first confirm with the staging official any rider who fails to take their position at the start gate and then ensure that the operator of the timing system and equipment is ready before beginning the starting procedure of a race.

Race Officials (Marshals)

Responsible for monitoring the conduct of the riders on the track and for notifying other officials of conditions on the track, which may warrant their attention. The Chief Commissaire shall determine the number of race officials necessary for an event. Race officials shall be stationed along the track as positioned by the chief commissaire. Race officials shall make written notes of any rule infringements or incidents that they witness. These notes shall be made available to the Chief Commissaire upon request.

Administrators

Responsible for receiving and checking for conformance with entry regulations, all riders' entry forms and/or permit applications as well as establishing a list of entrants in each class of racing and sequentially ordering the classes.

Also, dividing the total number of entrants in each class into motos of not more than eight riders and for recording their names on the appropriate moto sheets.

Staging Officials

Responsible for directing riders into the proper staging lanes. They shall announce each race number, age group, and the full names of every rider in each race. A copy of the moto sheets shall be made available to the senior staging official.

Start Hill Officials (Staging)

Responsible for directing riders from the staging lanes to the starting gate during all rounds of racing. They shall position themselves at the rear of the starting hill and permit only those riders in the next scheduled moto to proceed up the hill to the gate.  Start hill officials shall report to the Chief Commissaire, any rider whose safety equipment does not conform to regulations.

Points Hut Officials

Responsible for recording rider placings after each moto. 

Head of points hut records any DNS or DNF calls from the starter or track commissaries.  Coordinates with finish line and camera regarding any reviews on finishing position.  Coordinates the flow of points posted for rider review.  Adjusts placings in regard to any change found by camera review.

Finish Line Area Control Officials

Responsible for controlling the passage of riders and other persons into and out of the finish line area.

They shall be stationed at each point of access or exit to the finish area and prevent the entry of parents, team managers and spectators except where medical emergencies warrant their presence. Finish line area control officials shall also be responsible for maintaining order among the riders waiting at the finish positions following their races.

Appeals Commissaire 

An Appeals Commissaire will be stationed at the Finishline area and is responsible as the liaison between Club Team Managers and the Officials.

Track Announcer

Responsible for making formal announcements concerning the competition and for informing riders, spectators, commissaries and officials of any changes to the race schedule.

Course Commentator

Provide a commentary of all races for the benefit of the spectators. The commentators shall not comment on any matter that is opposed to the interests of the UCI, BMXNZ or to the sport of BMX in general. Commentators shall not pre-judge the official results of any race, comment or offer judgement on possible rule infractions or offer any prejudicial commentary to riders on the track.

First Aid Officials 

At least one first aid unit and an adequate number of first aid staff shall be in attendance during all practice and race sessions. First aid personnel must be stationed in the infield and a clear exit route for the ambulance leading to a public thoroughfare must be provided and maintained throughout the progress of the event.

Safety Marshals (Security)

The host organisation shall provide a sufficient number of marshals to ensure the safety of the riders and spectators.

Meeting Manager/Race Director

Responsible for the overall organisation and maintenance of the facilities and arrangements prior to handing over to BMXNZ or the race director on or before race day.