Sports officials must be able to bring control to chaos, understand fairness, promote safety and encourage good sportsmanship. A sports official must have the positive characteristics of a police officer, lawyer, judge, accountant, reporter, athlete and diplomat. They are also someone who can be put in a position of authority and handle the responsibility without being overbearing. Along with the rules of the game you must fully understand your role before, during and after the game has ended.

(Sport New Zealand, 2017)

A Streetlifting Referee’s responsibility requires a proper balance between science and art. The science of this vocation is defined through the required movement standards and rules; these can be processed and understood with enough study and preparation. The art resides in the application of the memorized facts at full speed.

The art, as well as the science, both require ample practice and a level of dedication to one’s craft. The International Streetlifting Federation, as the governing body of the sport of functional fitness believes that a professional and proficient team of officials is a fundamental pillar in building sport acceptance among Olympic recognized sports.

Fundamental to a Referee’s professionalism is understanding appropriate expectations prior to, during, and following an event. Some of these are restrictions to an individual’s behavior in relation to teams and athletes, fellow Technical Officials, event staff and the general public. As part of the innate responsibility of being a sport official, certified Referees are expected to adhere to the rules outlined throughout this manual. Failure to adhere may include revocation of Referee certification and / or demotion in defined Referee position.