2023
WORLD ATHLETICSCOMMISSIONSINFORMATION &NOMINATIONS PACK

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CONTENTS
1.

INTRODUCTION  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  4

2.

ROLE OF COMMISSIONS  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  4

3.

SCOPE OF COMMISSIONS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  4

4.

MEMBERSHIP .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  6

5.

MEETINGS AND EXPECTATIONS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6

6.

STEPS TO APPOINTMENT  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 76.1. STEP 1 – Application .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  7
6.2. STEP 2 - Assessment by Nominations Panel .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  8
6.3. STEP 3 – Vetting of Shortlisted Applicants  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 96.4. STEP 4 – Recommendation and Decision .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  9

7.

APPLICABLE RULES  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 97.1. Governance Rules (Book B3.1)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  97.2. Vetting Rules (Book 3.2) .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  107.3. Integrity Code of Conduct (Book D1.1) .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  10

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TIMELINE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 103

1.

INTRODUCTION

This Information and Nominations Pack sets out the steps and requirements for all persons wishing tobe considered for appointment as a member of one of the following World Athletics Commissions:• Competition Commission• Development Commission• Governance Commission
There is also an Athletes’ Commission, for which the members are either elected by the athletes or
appointed by Council under a different process, so is not included in this Pack.
The role of the Nominations Panel is to advertise, assess, and make recommendations to the Council
on the proposed appointments to the three Commissions.
Please email nominations.panel@worldathletics.org if you have any enquires concerning the information
contained in this pack.

2.

ROLE OF COMMISSIONS

The role of the Commissions is to provide expertise and to advise Council, but if requested, theymay also advise the President, Executive Board, Chief Executive Officer and Directors, and otherCommissions and Working Groups. Commissions are advisory and accountable to Council; they haveno authority to make decisions on behalf of Council or World Athletics.

3.

SCOPE OF COMMISSIONS

Commission members will be involved in discussions at the forefront of developing, innovating andgrowing the sport in the specific role of each Commission. The role of each of the Competition,
Development and Governance Commissions is summarised overleaf.
The detailed roles and responsibilities for each Commission are set out in their respective Terms ofReference which are available on the website here.

4Commission

ScopeCompetition

Members of the Competition Commission will be at the centre of discussions todevelop athletics events worldwide. Members will be directly involved in topics
such as, competition programme formats, new events, innovation within events
to make them more appealing, developing the skills of officials and much more.
Members play a pivotal role in advising, formulating and voicing its expertise onand within the multiverse of athletics on all competition related matters acrossits many stakeholders such as with the Athletes’ Commission, and accredited
professionals etc. Standard items requiring Members input and expertise
include informing the competition programme, the format and qualification
systems of World Athletics Championships and the Olympic Games, the global
calendar of competition circuits, races and events, world rankings, certificationof equipment programme and Competition & Technical Rules and relatedregulations.

Development

Members of the Development Commission have a crucial role in supporting thegrowth, development, and administration of athletics at all levels of the sportaligned to the World Plan for Athletics 2022-2030. Members will be involved intopics centred around World Athletics development and education programmessuch as informing the content on the eLearning platform (the Education Hub)and determining the best strategy to use this tool in conjunction with in-person
courses and training to recruit, retain and reward more people in Athletics,
notably our coaches, officials and administrators including ensuring gender equity
is embedded in our approach. Alongside the educational strategy, Members
will be involved in the continuous review and enhancement of our coaching andofficiating programmes. Members will also be advising on the implementationof our Kids’ Athletics programme and the ambitious targets we have set toengage children in physical activity across the globe as well as to engage withgovernments and include Athletics in schools worldwide. In addition, Members’
experience and insight will inform how World Athletics can best support andprovide services and assistance to our Member Federations (MFs) and Areas.

GovernanceMembers of the Governance Commission will be involved in a wide variety ofgovernance related initiatives. They will be passionate about governance andimproving and upholding the highest integrity, promoting better governanceand ethical compliance standards, including through the development ofeducational materials, and ensuring that these are implementable, aligned, andembedded in World Athletics, Area Associations and its Members. Recently
Members of the Governance Commission have been central to assisting World
Athletics (in co-ordination with the other Commissions) and its stakeholders inworking through complex governance issues facing the sport of athletics; forexample in 2023 the Commission worked on the roll out of a global eLearning
course on integrity and ethical standards, the implementation of a safeguarding
policy and standards to be implemented by Member Federations and, as it isCongress year, the review of the Constitution. As standard the work of theCommission also covers reviewing new and proposed rules and regulations,
audit work (whether internal or audits of World Athletics (e.g. ASOIF), andidentifying improvements to and refining World Athletics’ own governancestructure.

5As detailed above, each Commission operates under Terms of Reference which set out roles andresponsibilities. The current Terms of References (here) will be reviewed and updated for 2023-2027
with input from the Commissions before being approved by Council.
In addition, each Commission will develop a four-year plan aligned with both the World Athletics
Strategic Plan 2024–2027 (to be approved by the World Athletics Council in late 2023) and theWorld Plan for Athletics 2022-2030. Each Commission’s four-year plan sets out the work and specificoutcomes to be achieved during its term. The four-year plan is reviewed and revised annually toensure alignment with the work being undertaken by the relevant World Athletics Department(s). For
reference, the current four-year plan for each of the Commissions are available on the website here.
The Chairperson of each Commission is ultimately responsible for the work of the Commission,
which includes but is not limited to setting the agenda (with the relevant World Athletics Director),leading and coordinating progress of the work, chairing meetings, agreeing on meeting schedules
and reporting to Council. Chairpersons will be required to report at least twice each year on theCommission’s progress against its four-year plan and to make any recommendations to it.
Each Commission will work closely with, and be supported by, the relevant World Athletics Director(s)and other staff, as required.

4.

MEMBERSHIP

Each Commission will have between eight (8) and twelve (12) members including at least two (2)Council Members. The President will be an ex-officio member of each Commission.
A person cannot be a member of more than two Commissions at the same time, unless theNominations Panel considers there are exceptional reasons for doing so.
The term of appointment is for approximately 4 years from the date of appointment (expected to belate September 2023) until the conclusion of the 2027 Election Congress. Current members of eachCommission may apply for reappointment for a further term of office.
The members will be appointed by Council, on the recommendation of the Nominations Panel.
Commission members will be appointed based on merit taking into consideration the individual’s
knowledge, skills and expertise in the subject matter of the relevant Commission. Additional
secondary criteria for appointment are that each Commission should preferably comprise at least one
person from each of the six Areas; at least 40% of each sex; and a member to represent the Athletes’Commission.
The Convenor of the Nominations Panel is Gord Orlikow (CAN) and the full members of the panel canbe found here.

5.

MEETINGS AND EXPECTATIONSEach Commission will meet at least three times in each year of their four-year term.

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At least one of the three meetings annually will be held in-person, usually in Monaco. The othermeetings of the Commissions will be held remotely using video conferencing.
The first meetings of the new Commissions are expected to be held in late October 2023 (date to beconfirmed).
Due to the important role of the Commissions, there is a steady flow of work throughout the year.
The Commissions typically have small sub-groups of members working on specific workstreams andprojects between meetings, and additional time commitments may also be required when dealing
with urgent matters or if a Commission member is appointed to a working group or panel to ensure
connectivity back to the Commission. Commission members are therefore expected to participate inCommission related work between meetings by email, and/ or remotely.
In addition to the Commission meetings, the Chairpersons of all the Commissions meet at least oncea year to collaborate on shared initiatives as well as to be updated by the Chief Executive Officer andrelevant Directors, and to align ongoing and future work.
Membership of Commissions is voluntary; however, World Athletics will pay a per diem of USD150 per
day for each in-person meeting of the Commission together with travel, accommodation and meals, inaccordance with World Athletics policy.

6.

STEPS TO APPOINTMENT

There are 4 steps in the process to be appointed as a Commission Member:• Step 1 - Application• Step 2 - Assessment by Nominations Panel• Step 3 - Vetting of Shortlisted Applicants• Step 4 - Recommendation & Decision

6.1. STEP 1 – Application
Persons wishing to apply to be a Commission Member must complete the following and submit it tothe Convenor of the Nominations Panel, by no later than 11 June 2023 (23:59 CEST), by email tonominations.panel@worldathletics.org.
a. the completed Application Form. The Application Form is available for download on the World
Athletics website [click here] and by Circular;
b. a letter detailing the Applicant’s suitability for one of the Commission Member positions(against the criteria listed in section 6.2 of this Pack below), outlining their skills and experience, how they will contribute to the Commission and the reasons for applying; and,c. a CV and names of two referees.

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Applicants should seek the endorsement of their application from the Member Federation or an Area
Association, of which they are a member or otherwise associated. If an expert wishes to apply toa Commission, they may either seek the endorsement of the World Athletics Chief Executive (jon.
ridgeon@worldathletics.org) or apply directly.
The Nominations Panel must first consider Applicants who have been endorsed by Member
Federations and Area Associations. If the Nominations Panel considers the skills, expertise knowledge
and secondary criteria of the Applicants are insufficient for the Commission, it may consider
applications from experts recommended by the Chief Executive Officer.
A Member Federation or Area Association can endorse more than one Applicant. If a Member
Federation or Area Association endorses an application, the Member Federation’s or Area Association’sboard, executive committee or equivalent body should pass a resolution approving its endorsement ofthe Applicant/s.
If the Applicant obtains an endorsement, the Application Form must be signed by the Applicant andthe most senior officer (e.g., President, the Secretary General or the Chief Executive) of the Applicant’s
Member Federation or Area Association. If the Applicant is the most senior officer of the Member
Federation or Area Association, the form must be signed by the next most senior officer of theMember Federation or Area Association, as applicable.
Applicants:• must be 18 years or older• cannot be members of World Athletics Staff (which also includes the Athletics Integrity Unit)• cannot be members (unless a Council Member) of any World Athletics independent body (i.e. theindependent bodies listed on this link)• must be declared Eligible as set out in Article 65.2 of the World Athletics Constitution in accordance with the Vetting Rules.
Applicants should be able to speak and understand English reasonably well.

6.2. STEP 2 - Assessment by Nominations Panel
The Nominations Panel will review and assess all the applications. It may hold interviews and undertakesuch other enquires as it sees fit including contacting referees.
In deciding on the recommended applicants to be Commission Members, the Nominations Panel isrequired to:a. consider the specific skills, expertise and knowledge of the Applicants in the subject matterof the Commission;b. ensure each Commission preferably comprises of at least one person from each Area, at least
40% of each sex; and a member to represent the Athletes’ Commission.

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The Nominations Panel will decide on a shortlist of Applicants and request they complete Step 3 below.

6.3. STEP 3 – Vetting of Shortlisted Applicants
All shortlisted Applicants will be subject to an Integrity Check by the Vetting Panel in accordancewith the Vetting Rules. No shortlisted Applicant may be recommended for appointment until they are
declared Eligible by the Vetting Panel.
The Vetting Panel is a separate and independent body of World Athletics.
The process involves completing a form and the Vetting Panel carrying out an Integrity Check.
The Integrity Check requires the Vetting Panel to be satisfied that the Applicant is able to meet thehigh standards of conduct and integrity required and is of good character and reputation (i.e. being
declared Eligible).
Applicants who have been previously declared Eligible by the Vetting Panel still need to go throughthe process, although depending on when they were last declared Eligible may benefit from fasterprocessing times.
Applicants will be sent a letter confirming whether they are Eligible or not.

6.4. STEP 4 – Recommendation and Decision
Following the completion of Step 3, the Nominations Panel will make its recommendations for theCommission members, including proposing Commission chairs, to the Council. This is expected tooccur at the end of September 2023.
Once the Council has approved the recommendation, all Applicants will be advised of the outcome.
All Commission members will be required to sign a Letter of Appointment.

7.

APPLICABLE RULES

There are a number of World Athletics Rules and Regulations which specifically apply to Applicants
and will apply to the successful appointed Commission Members. All Applicants should review theseprior to submitting their Application. They are summarised below and each document can be found in
the Book of Rules available here.

7.1. Governance Rules (Book B3.1)These Rules set out the procedures for the Commissions, as well as the Council, Executive Board andother bodies within the World Athletics governance structure.
Rule 5 sets out the process for the appointment of the Commission Members; the nature and scope ofwork of the Commissions; the meeting procedures; and relevant authority.

97.2. Vetting Rules (Book B3.2)
These Rules set out the role, composition and responsibilities of the Vetting Panel and the criteria andprocess for Vetting including for the Integrity Check.

7.3. Integrity Code of Conduct (Book D1.1)
This Code is central to World Athletics’ integrity standards. It sets out the high standards of conduct
expected of all World Athletics Officials or persons seeking to be a World Athletics Official. Membersof Commissions are World Athletics Officials.

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TIMELINEDATES

ACTIVITYCONTACT /WHERE TO FINDINFORMATION

4 May 2023

Advertisement for Commission Members
published.

https://www.
worldathletics.
org/about-iaaf/
documents/2023elections-appointments

All Member Federations/ Area Associations
informed by Circular.

Information and Nomination Pack available on the nominations.panel@World Athletics website.
worldathletics.org
Any questions about the application process canbe asked of the Nominations Panel Convenor,Gord Orlikow.
4 May to 11 June
2023

Applicants who wish to do so, to obtain support
from a Member Federation or Area Association(or for experts, the World Athletics CEO asapplicable).

https://www.
worldathletics.org/
about-iaaf/structure/member-federations

All Applicants to prepare their Applications.
Member Federations and Area Associations
contact details are listed on the World Athletics
website.
11 June (23.59 CET)
2023

Submission of Candidate Nomination Form by
Member Federations or Area Associations.

11 June to 30 June
2023

Review of Candidate Nomination Forms by theNominations Panel.

July 2023

Nominations Panel establishes candidates whoare shortlisted and informs them.

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nominations.panel@worldathletics.org

DATES

ACTIVITYCONTACT /WHERE TO FINDINFORMATION

Late July to August2023

Shortlisted applicants contacted by theCompliance & Risk Officer.

compliance@
worldathletics.org

Vetting Panel undertakes Vetting of shortlisted
nominees and sends outcome to applicant.
All shortlisted nominees must be declared Eligibleby the Vetting Panel.
Late August/ early
September 2023

Process to call for nominations of Council
Members and Athletes’ Commission members(or representatives) following the Congress andelections.

Mid-late September
2023

Nominations Panel makes recommendations toCouncil of proposed Commission Members,including proposed Chairs.

Late September 2023

Council appoints the Chair and members of theCommissions.
All applicants informed of the outcome of theprocess
List of Commission Members published on theWorld Athletics website.

Late October 2023

First meeting of the Commissions (date tbc).

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https://www.
worldathletics.org/
about-iaaf/structure/commissions

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