What conduct, uniform and ongoing requirements apply to officials?

Question

Accepted Answer

Two fundamentals: safety and fairness. Safety is vital and absolute, and outweighs all other aspects of officiating. Conduct: be impartial regardless of past or current ties to clubs, organizing committees or countries. Do not coach competitors (encouragement is fine if given equally). Never publicly criticise another official, athlete, coach, team or organizing committee: raise problems privately through the correct channels. Report your own mistakes to the Chief Official. Accept an assignment only if you plan to honour it and are qualified for it, be there before you are needed, and tell the Chief Official early if you cannot attend or will be late. Discussion of race decisions stays within the Competition Committee. Uniform: the CKC-approved officiating uniform: white shirt (unless clothing is supplied by the host or CKC) and grey, navy or khaki bottoms. Official badges, hats or other identification may be worn, but no other insignia or club colours. Code of Safety: all sprint officials must know and follow the CKC Sprint Racing Discipline Code of Safety. Keeping national accreditation (Level 4 to 5): each year you must be a member in good standing of CKC, be active at the local and/or divisional level in the previous year, and maintain your professional development training. If requirements are not met after the second year, accreditation may be revoked or suspended. Loss of accreditation: can follow poor judgment, unsportsmanlike conduct, biased decision making, repeatedly applying an incorrect interpretation of the rules, or breaches of CKC policy. Source: Canoe Kayak Canada Officials Manual (rev. March 2023), sections 1, 3.1.3, 5.3, 10 and 11.