Polite request to all athletes - please read

As you may have seen, we have had to ask for help with our field events several times this session due to a lack of officials. This year, several experienced officials have been on the receiving end of targeted abuse, both in person and on social media, and have rightly decided that they no longer want to carry out these VOLUNTARY duties.

All of our officials, whether track or field, give up many hours of their free time to stand out in all weathers, so that athletes can take part in their chosen disciplines and enjoy the various leagues and stand-alone fixtures that this region has to offer. They do this for no financial reward, and often give up the chance of competing themselves to allow other athletes the privilege of competing.

Nobody is perfect, you may not agree with every decision they make, and if you have a genuine grievance there are proper channels to go through, but please think twice before posting on Facebook or similar social media. Ultimately, if we continue to lose experienced officials at the rate we have this year, we may be unable to offer the same level of choice of events in future leagues.

As registered EA athletes, everyone agrees to follow a code of conduct and every athlete should also familiarise themselves with the rules of competition. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing - to have safe, enjoyable and competitive events. Thank you, we look forward to seeing lots of you at the penultimate match of the season on Monday (entries remain open until 5pm Saturday due to a late opening).