RACE COURSE MEASUREMENT AND USATF CERTIFICATION

Course certification is another benefit provided by USATF in order to insure fair competition, and create an accurate standard among road races. A USATF Certified course is the universally recognized indicator of an "accurately measured" road course. All Association, National, and World records for the various distances must be set on certified courses, insuring the accuracy of race performances.

Certification of a course is not the same as sanctioning an event.  Application for one does not affect the other. CERTIFICATION is the process of accurate measurement and recording of race course information under the guidelines and procedures of USATF. SANCTIONING is the process through which an event is provided with benefits such as liability insurance for the event organizers, sponsors, and volunteers, and extended medical insurance for participating USATF members. In sanctioning, a race organizer agrees to conduct his event under standard, safe conditions and to provide race results and a Post Event Report

COURSE CERTIFICATION

When certification is desired for any road course that is measured in Florida, the application should be sent to the State Certifier for Florida.   He will review the details of the measurement.  If they meet the requirements of USATF (i.e. the course is accurate and properly measured), he will issue a USATF Certificate.
 

The State Certifier (as of 4/1/07) is:
 Everett McDowell,   1256 Stoney Brook Lane,  Dunedin FL 34698
(727) 644-7608   emcdowell5@tampabay.rr.com 

The procedures for measuring a course are contained in the booklet Course Measurement Procedures which can be purchased from the USATF office in Indianapolis. However, for your convenience, USATF has documented all of the requirements and forms and made them available online at the Road Running Technical Council web site:   www.rrtc.net

The necessary forms on which a measurement must be documented, and the applications for certification are found in both the book and the on-line version.  Courses can be measured by anyone with the required equipment and using approved procedures.  The publications mentioned above explain all of the requirements. The forms must be completed and sent to the State Certifier.  The cost to certify a course is $30.00.

If you read the information available at the web site or in the book and still have questions, Everett McDowell, Florida State Certifier, is willing to provide advice in properly completing the necessary forms.

List of Existing Certified Courses:
The Road Running Technical Council (RRTC) website lists all active and inactive courses in the US by state online at www.rrtc.net . Also, hardcopies of any certificate, including a map of the course on the reverse side, can be obtained for $2.00 from the RRTC website  www.rrtc.net )