The Herald Today (Friday)

On the back page of today's 'Herald' there is a big article about the excellent Shona Malcolm. Shona was a good athlete who started helping the young ones at her club when she was still competing, then became a coach. The coaching was extended into working with the disabled and she has had some success with her athletes in all categories. Nowadays however she is maybe best known as an official and is to be seen working at YAL, SAL and Indoor meetings as well as at all the major championships. On many an occasion she is out on both Saturday and Sunday in the same weekend.
There used to be many like her who filled more than one role in the club and in athletics who didn't think they were doing anything unusual. They weren't for their time - it is maybe the current situation in all clubs and across the British Isles which makes it seem so nowadays. We always had officials and coaches from two broad groups - former athletes and parents. Some parents came into the sport when their children were active but then left again when the child moved on to some other activity. There were many cases however where it seems looking back that they were using the child as a way to get into the sport themselves. Bob and Ishbel Peel came into the sport when their daughter Moira was competing for the club and stayed to become top officials in the sport well after Moira had left it. Jim Sweeney came along with his son Steven and watched what was going on and then one Sunday we turned up at Mountblow to go for a run and there were some clothes already hanging in the dressing room - Jim had beaten us to it and was out for a run. Jim went on to become club president. Isobel and Scott Govan would never have come into officiating had their two sons not been involved but it was not long before they themselves had a career as officials independent of anything that Mark and Donald were involved in.
So - don't be backward in coming forward. If you are interested in becoming official officials speak to Donald or Phil or email me and we will help you get the kind of job - track or field, wind gauge operator or starter or whatever sorted out. The club needs officials, the sport needs officials and with the Games in Scotland in 2014 there is a direct career path open to any new official who is competent.