Race Walking rules

The Centurion qualifying races always operate under the rules of the race walking governing body.

In the UK this is the Race Walking Association (RWA) but where ever a qualifying race is held, the IAAF rules of race walking should also apply.

The Rules

1 The Contact Rule:
Each walker must have at least one foot in contact with the ground at all times.

2. The Knees Rule:
The leading leg must be straight at the knee when the foot touches the ground and remain straight until the leg is vertical.

The method of judging

Race walking is classified as a "technical sport" which means that it is a judged sport and in order to enforce the rules, judges are positioned around a course and to ensure that competitors comply with the rules.
The duty of a Chief Walking Judge is to organise the team of judges allocated to walks, whether on the track or on the road.
Second, the duty of each individual walking judge is to apply the rules of walking and method of judging to the walkers taking part.

In race walking, no electronic aids are used in judging competitions as the rules stipulate that any breach of the regulations must be visible to the naked eye. 

Therefore, when a judge sees a walker in danger of breaking one of the rules, he or she may caution the walker once.

This is usually is done by displaying a yellow baton with the offence identified by a symbol on each side:

> for knees or _~ for contact.

The next step:

The judge then notifies the Chief Judge:

If the walker is breaking a rule, the judge fills in a disqualification card with the walker’s number, the  fault and the time, and then signs the Card.
There should be at lease one Judges’ Runner to convey the card to the Chief Judge or the Chief Judge’s Recorder (the official who checks the paper-work of the individual judges);
When the card has been checked for completeness, the Chief Judge or Recorder puts the walker’s number on the penalty board, normally near the finish of a lap, with a red cross or red magnetic "blob" next to it.

This means that the walker can see that he or she has lost a ‘life’.

If a walker gets three disqualification cards - each from a different judge, the Chief Judge shows the walker a red baton, which is the disqualification sign. The walker then leaves the track or road and removes his or her numbers. This can also happen after the end of a race, if the third card comes in late in the event.

If there are sufficient judges, the Chief Judge does not do any judging: His/her duties are then to see the race judges are equipped with blank disqualification cards and slips on which cautions and disqualifications can be recorded; distribute the judges round the track or road so that they are fairly equally spaced, and place the penalty board so that the walkers can see it (but the judges cannot).

All judges work independently and it must be ensured that they cannot be influenced by the actions of other judges.

At the end of a race, any disqualified walker can ask the Chief Judge the reasons for the disqualification cards.

The Chief Judge collects the slips from the judges and fills in the master sheet showing all cautions and disqualifications.

At major walks (eg Championships), the master sheet is circulated to all judges so that they can compare their judgements.

Judging consistency is a good thing; on the other hand, a walker may be perfectly safe going uphill but technically bad going downhill or vice versa.
 

You can download the IAAF Competition Rules (pdf document) here  (links to external website)