Technical Official Courses

Technical Officials are invaluable to our sport, our community and our competitions. They are the Referees that adjudicate lifts; the Speakers who drive competitions along and the Marshals who manage the teams and lifters.

Learn the rules of the sport and how to operate in various Technical Official roles, supporting BWL competitions.

Why become a Technical Official?

As a qualified Technical Official you will be able to start your journey to become part of a national team who have the opportunity to work throughout the country, officiating at national and regional competitions.

Licenses

All Technical Officials work as British Weight Lifting and once qualified, in order to officiate at a BWL licensed competition or event, you must maintain a valid licence.

The Technical Official Licence allows BWL to regulate the standards of officiating to maintain high standards within our sport. Technical Officials can also benefit from liability insurance.

For further details on how to apply for a licence, please go to the Coach and Technical Official Licencing page

There are four courses that make up the Technical Official pathway.

Level 2 Technical Official (Olympic Weightlifting)

Is this course for me?

This course is the first on the Technical Officials Pathway and following its successful completion you will be able to apply for a Technical Official Licence and start officiating at competitions across the UK.

What will I learn?

The course is designed to teach you all the rules and regulations for the sport of weightlifting and test your skills and knowledge to become a Weightlifting Referee.

The course consists of eight different sections which will cover all aspects of the competition. Modules include:

The competition - the Technical Officials' roles and responsibilities; the weigh in; competition structure; bodyweight categories; national age group guide; national qualification totals; Technical Officials at competitions
The Snatch - technical aspects to the lift; what makes a "good lift"; what makes a "no lift"
The Clean & Jerk - technical aspects to the lift; what makes a "good lift"; what makes a "no lift"
General rules – during the lift; lifting attire and equipment; deciding a competition winner

The course is completed solely on a distance-learning basis with online support offered throughout the learning process.

There are timed elements to this course. Once you have logged in and started the course, please do not log out and leave the course as the timed elements could expire.

An exam constitutes the final 50% of your overall course mark. This is completed by a mix of multiple-choice questions and number of lifts for you to adjudicate via the online platform.

What Will I Be Qualified to Do?

Level 2 is the first on the Technical Officials Pathway. Following the successful completion of this course you will be able to apply for a Technical Official Licence and start officiating at competitions across the UK.

Upon successful completion of this award and upon gaining your Technical Official Licence, you will be qualified to officiate at Tier 1, 2 and 3 events across the UK.

In order to allow you to start gaining event officiating experience as soon as possible, all qualified Technical Officials will be contacted by competition staff regarding officiating duties.

Roles as a Technical Official include Side Referee, Centre Referee, Speaker, Time Keeper, Assistant Marshall, Marshall, Technical Controller, Weigh in Duties. Technical Officials roles are selected dependant on experience.

Prerequisites

This is an entry level course. You must be at least 16 years of age on the day of purchase and have some experience of the sport and competition.

Course delivery: E-learning only

Length of course: 3 – 4 hours

Standard Price: £60 + VAT

Member Price: £57 + VAT

Book Now

Become a Level 2 Technical Official: BOOK NOW

Level 3 Technical Official (Olympic Weightlifting)

Is this course for me?

Designed to test your knowledge and experience as a Technical Official in Olympic Weightlifting, this course will allow you to progress up the pathway as a higher qualified Technical Official.

What will I learn?

Covers a mixture of questions designed to test your knowledge and experience as a Technical Official in Olympic Weightlifting to help you progress up the pathway to become a higher qualified Technical Official.

As part of the course you will be asked to submit a signed code of conduct and following this section of the course, you will need to complete two invigilated groups at a competition to complete the course.

What Will I Be Qualified to Do?

Upon successful completion of this award, you will be qualified to officiate at a host of events across the UK.

Holding a Level 3 award you will be able to officiate at Tier 1, 2 and 3 events.

Roles include Side Referee, Centre Referee, Speaker, Time Keeper, Assistant Marshall, Marshall, Technical Controller, Weigh in Duties. All roles will be selected dependant on experience.

Prerequisites

You must hold a level 2 Technical Officials certificate, have completed 4 x tier 3 competitions and 2 x tier 2 competitions and hold a valid BWL Technical Officials licence.

Course delivery: Online and practical

Length of course: 1 hour E-learning / Invigilation at a competition

Standard / Member Price: £15 + VAT

Book Now

Get your Level 3 Technical Official (Olympic Weightlifting): email courses@britishweightlifting.org

Level 4 Technical Official Award (IWF Category 2)

Is this course for me?

Following the IWF rules, this is the next stage in the Technical Official pathway for Technical Officials who are qualified to Level 3, have been active at competitions for a minimum of 5 years and who wish to progress to IWF Category 2.

What will I learn?

You will be asked to take the Level 4 exam which has 100 questions. You will then be asked to invigilate at a national championship (Tier 1 & 2) where you are required to adjudicate a minimum of 100 completed lifts.

To become a Level 4 Technical Official (IWF Category 2) you must reach a pass rate of 90% with the combined invigilation and exam questions.

What does this course qualify me to do?

Once you have passed your IWF Exam, you will be qualified as a Technical Official at all BWL tiered events, European Championships, Commonwealth Games, other International events. This excludes the World & University Championships and Olympic Games.

Roles include Side Referee, Centre Referee, Speaker, Time Keeper, Assistant Marshall, Marshall, Technical Controller, Weigh in Duties, Jury at National Events

Prerequisites:

You must be a Level 3 Technical Official and have been active at national level competitions (Tiers 1 & 2) for 3 years.

Course delivery: Online and practical

Standard Price: on enquiry

Book Now

Get your Level 4 Technical Official Award (IWF Category 2): email courses@britishweightlifting.orgT

Level 4 Advanced Technical Official (IWF Category 1)

Is this course for me?

Following the IWF rules, this is the next stage in the pathway for Technical Officials who are qualified to IWF Category 2, have been active at national (Tier 1 & 2) and or International championships (European Youth up to Senior) for 2 years and who wish to progress to IWF Category 1.

What will I learn?

Technical Officials take the same exam as the Level 4 course and must adjudicate 100 lifts.

To become a Level 4 Advanced Technical Official (IWF Category 1) you must reach a pass rate of 95% with the combined invigilation and exam questions.

What does this course qualify me to do?

Once you have passed your IWF Exam, you will be qualified as a Technical Official at all BWL Tiered events, all International events including Olympic Games, World & University Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Roles include International Referee, Jury Member, Competitions Secretary and all of the listed TO roles.

Prerequisites:

You must be a Level 4 Technical Official / IWF Category 2 Technical Official and have been active at national (Tier 1 & 2) and or international championships (European Youth up to Senior) for 2 years in this role.