ATHLETES’COMMISSION
2023 ELECTIONSCANDIDATE
PACK

1

2

Contents

1. Introduction .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 42. Role, Composition, and Requirements .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 53. Steps To Be Elected  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6

3

1. IntroductionThe elections to the Athletes’ Commission will
be held during the first five (5) days of the 2023
World Athletics Championships due to be held in
Budapest, Hungary (19-27 August 2023).
In this pack, you will find the requirements to beelected to the Athletes’ Commission. There are six
positions available for election.
The Terms of Reference for the Athletes’
Commission and its 4-year Plan can be found in
the Library here.
The elections are organised by the World Athletics
Election Oversight Panel, an independent bodycomposed of five international experts onelections in sport.
The importance of athletes to decision-making
within World Athletics has been recognised in its
governance reforms.
Since 2019, the Chairperson and one othermember of the Athletes’ Commission are fullvoting members of the World Athletics Council.

42. Role, Composition, andRequirements
Read below for a description of what it means to
be a member of the Athletes’ Commission.

2.3

2.1

To be eligible to stand for the 2023 elections,
every athlete must satisfy all of the following
requirements:

Role

The Athletes’ Commission is part of World
Athletics’ decision-making process.

Eligibility• Be a current member of their Member
Federation (or a body affiliated to the Member
Federation, such as a club);

It advises the Council on the athletes’perspective(s) and serves as a link between theathletes and World Athletics.

• Be nominated by a Member Federation thatis not currently represented on the Athletes’Commission;

2.2 Composition and Term ofAppointment• Be at least 18 years old;

The Athletes’ Commission is comprised of up to18 members as follows:• Have competed in at least one of the last two
World Athletics Championships, or in the last
Olympic Games, or be a competitor in theWorld Athletics Championships at which theelection is being held;• 12 members who are elected by their peers;• Up to 6 other members, who are nominatedby Member Federations and appointed by theCouncil.

• Be able to speak and understand English
reasonably well; andOf the 12 elected members, 6 are elected at each
World Athletics Championships, so there is anelection of 6 athletes every 2 years.

• Be eligible in accordance with the World
Athletics Vetting Rules (Book B: B3.2 - Vetting
Rules).

The term of appointment is generally 4 years,
commencing on the appointment by theCouncil after the election at the World Athletics
Championships and expiring 4 years later.
The maximum number of terms that an Athlete canserve is 3 (i.e., 12 years).

5

3. Steps To Be Elected

3.1

Overview

These are the steps to the 2023 Athletes’ Commission elections:
What?

When?

Step 1 – Eligibility (vetting) of athletes seeking to run
for election

16 March 2023* – Deadline** to submit Eligibility
application

Step 2 – Nomination Form signed and sent byCandidate or Member Federation

16 May 2023* – Deadline** to submit Nomination Formfor eligible Candidates

Step 3 – Publication of Candidates’ list and start ofCampaign Period

1 August 2023 – Candidates can campaign once theofficial List is published

Step 4 – Elections

19-23 August 2023 - Athletes vote at the WorldChampionships and results are shared with the Council

Step 5 – Council approval and appointment

After election results are validated by the Election
Oversight Panel, Council confirms the appointment of
new Athletes’ Commission members*Athletes and Member Federations must contact compliance@worldathletics.org to apply for the Eligibility
process and to submit Nominations.
**These deadlines will be strictly enforced – applications received after the deadlines will not be
considered, in fairness to the Candidates who complied with the timeframe.

63.2

Detailed Steps• Has at any time not complied with the law; or
has been the subject of any public controversy,
that is likely to adversely affect the reputation
or interests of the sport of Athletics or World
Athletics; or,Step 1 – Prospective Candidates apply to bevetted
Anyone seeking elections at World Athletics mustfirst be declared Eligible by the World Athletics
Vetting Panel.

• Is unwilling or unable to deal with any potential
or actual Conflict of Interest.
The eligibility verification also applies to persons
who have already been vetted, although in this casethey will benefit from a “fast track” vetting process.

The Vetting Panel is the independent body incharge of verifying the track record, integrity
and reputation of anyone seeking a role in World
Athletics.

Candidates who pass the vetting will be sent aletter confirming their eligibility.

To take part in the process, prospective
Candidates should contact the Complianceand Risk Officer by writing to compliance@
worldathletics.org no later than 16 March 2023
(23:59 CET).

Step 2 - Nomination Supported by a Member
Federation
Any athlete seeking to be a candidate must benominated by a Member Federation.

No application will be considered after thedeadline.

A Member Federation can only nominate one
candidate. The decision to nominate must be
made by the appropriate Body in the Member
Federation and in accordance with its Constitution
or applicable Rules and Regulations.

Vetting consists of a verification of a person’s
background and personal information to ensure
the Candidate:• is able to meet the high standards of conductand integrity required of the position;

Only Member Federations whose athletes are
currently not members and whose athletes willend their mandate on the Athletes’ Commission
in 2023 can nominate Candidates to the 2023
election. The following Member Federations haveathletes on the Commission for the 2022-2025
term and therefore, are not eligible to nominate acandidate in 2023: BUL, CAN, JPN, NED, SUI andUKR.

• is of good character and reputation; and,• has fully disclosed all Significant Interests and is
free of any actual conflict of interest.
Relevant criteria for the Vetting Panel include if
the Candidate:

The Nomination Form must be signed by theCandidate and a senior Officer of the Candidate’s
Member Federation (i.e., the President, theSecretary General or the Chief Executive).

• Is or has ever been the subject of aninvestigation or disciplinary action, (whetheror not in any sporting context including within
Athletics), resulting in adverse findings about
the person’s credibility, integrity, honesty orreputation; or,7

It must be received by World Athletics atcompliance@worldathletics.org by no later than
16 May 2023 (23:59 CET).

• The elections will take place during the first 5days of the Competition (between 19 and 23
August 2023).

The Candidate Nomination Form is available in theLibrary section of the World Athletics website.
Only this form can be used.

• Signage and relevant information will be
displayed within the Athletes’ accommodation
centres indicating the exact location andopening hours of the Voting Centres.

Step 3 – Campaign• All athletes holding a “TA” accreditation at theWorld Athletics Championships, Budapest
23 have the right to vote. Only one voteper accredited athlete is permitted. Thevote must be made in person, via the official
voting process, upon presentation of a valid
accreditation card.

The Election Oversight Panel will confirm to each
Candidate whether their nomination is compliant
and has been approved. Once approved:• The Candidates will be asked to record a video
message under the guidance of the Election
Oversight Panel to complement the short-written
message provided in their Nomination Form.

The vote will be undertaken by secret ballot andto be valid, the voting ballot must indicate six
names, no more, no less.

• A list of all the approved candidates (with theircampaign material) will be sent to the Member
Federations and published on World Athletics’
website, no later than 15 days before theelection (i.e., around 1 August 2023).

After voting has closed, the Election Oversight
Panel will validate the results and inform WorldAthletics. The outcome of the election is final andthere is no right of appeal.

• The publication of the list of Candidates will
launch the “Campaign Period”.

Step 5 - Council Approval• During the Campaign Period, Candidates canpromote their campaign in accordance withthe Candidacy Rules (Book B: B3.4 CandidacyRules) and any guidance issued by the Election
Oversight Panel. This will include, for example,
sharing a video message or campaign material
on social media.

Following the elections, the World Athletics
Council will review the election results andapprove the appointments of the elected
Candidates to the Athletes’ Commission.
The Council may, in its absolute discretion, decide
not to confirm a Candidate who has been elected,
if in the Council’s opinion there are exceptional
circumstances warranting such decision.

All campaigning must be done with honesty,
dignity and moderation in all spoken and written
statements.

The names of the elected athletes will beannounced before the closing of World Athletics
Championships Budapest 23 and published onWorld Athletics website. Member Federations will
also be informed of the results via Circular.

Step 4 – Elections
The location of the World Athletics Voting Centres
will be confirmed approximately one month before
the 2023 World Athletics Championships:89www.worldathletics.org@WorldAthletics©World Athletics 2022.
All rights reserved.
106-8, Quai Antoine 1er, BP 359
MC 98007
Monaco Cedex