Clerk of Course

The appointment of Clerk of the Course is a very responsible position to undertake as the incumbent is the Chief Executive Official of an event. The individual is responsible for the management and conduct of a meeting and under his/ her direction other executive and administrative officials are appointed.

Any individual wishing to become a Clerk of the Course is advised to carry out other roles first to give them an idea of what the role of Clerk of the Course entails by watching and listening to what an appointed Clerk of the Course does and says during the course of an event.

For Road Racing, any Organiser may nominate a probationary Clerk of the Course. The Organiser must be able to confirm that a candidate has attended ten Race Days in an Official capacity before nominating the candidate to attend a Clerk of the Course Seminar.

Once the probationary Clerk of the Course has acted as an Assistant Clerk of the Course for ten meetings they may be upgraded to a National C grade and must be nominated by an Organiser for a specific appointment at a future event.

Upgrades to National B and National A is then based on ability and experience and the criteria for upgrading is outlined in the Road Race Standing Regulations of the National Sporting Code.

For Off Road Disciplines, the pathway to becoming a Clerk of the Course is probably not quite so intense, but nevertheless any individual wishing to take on the role of Clerk of the Course in any discipline must be aware of the responsibility involved and some of the difficult decisions they have to make.

Some of these decisions will not be popular and as such the Clerk of the Course may find that a rider or entrant has lodged a protest, or the Clerk of the Course may be required to deal with a disciplinary issue. These decisions will very quickly become of interest locally, regionally or nationally, dependent on the level of the event and as such the Clerk of the Course needs to have strength of character to be able to defend his/her actions in a professional, articulate and calm manner.

The role is very rewarding, but equally can be very demanding and carries a huge responsibility on the individual which he/she needs to be aware of before undertaking the appointment.

If you are interested in becoming a Clerk of Course and want to know or ask anything further, please contact ACU Head Office on admin@acu.org.uk or ring 01788 566400.