To commemorate National Volunteer Week, Little Athletics NSW and Athletics NSW are acknowledging the officials who dedicate their time to ensure our events run smoothly – athletics in New South Wales would not survive without them.

While countless long-serving officials deserve recognition – Dennis Coker, Heather Mitchell and David Murphey to name a few – not many volunteers have had a more significant impact than the soft-spoken Rob Blackadder.

Everyone in the athletics community adores Rob, not only for his unyielding kind-heartedness but also his eagerness to help the less fortunate – he is a firm believer kids of all ages and abilities deserve the opportunity to compete.

After commencing his athletics career in England, Rob travelled to Australia in the 1970s and took an immediate interest in fun runs organised by local surf clubs. From these races, he became aware of his talent for running longer distances.

Years later, he was invited to start in the front row of the City 2 Surf while working as a physical education teacher in Sydney.

While teaching in the nineties, Rob encouraged his students to partake in initiatives that promoted Sydney’s for the 2000 Olympic Games.

“I had a class of kids, and we went to absolutely everything; we went to the opening of the new Olympic Stadium, face painted, did whatever was required to secure that bid,” said Blackadder.

“The kids had such a great time – many later volunteered at the Olympics and Paralympics.”

The Sydney Olympics, along with Rob’s undying love of athletics, was the catalyst that pushed him to officiate voluntarily for several years.

“I eventually ended up officiating out at Homebush and then it just snowballed from there,” said Blackadder.

“Since then, I’ve done school carnivals, I became an international official for the Paralympic Group, was Technical Delegate at Overseas Meets, did a lot of work in Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Samoa… everything from Little A’s through to World Masters.

“I’ve just about ticked all levels of competition and all styles of athlete.”

A significant focus of Rob’s volunteering has been his work with para-athletes – he feels overwhelming gratification when helping those that need his help most.

“It’s a pleasurable experience to spend time with people who have the time themselves to say thank you… it encourages you to do more” said Blackadder.

“At the moment I’m building seated stools for seated athletes; every stool is custom built because they have different lengths of leg, different levels of disability, different levels of stability and mobility.”

During the 2018/19 summer season, Rob collected over 6,370 water bottles from Homebush events, donating the $637 to help LANSW purchase a race runner for athletes with cerebral palsy.

LANSW Diversity & Inclusion Lead and Australian Olympian Cheryl Webb recognised Rob’s proactive work with para-athletes, referring to him as a valuable member of the athletics community.

“Rob has done some amazing things for athletes with a disability… [he] has a wealth of knowledge around all para events,” said Webb.

“[Rob] continues to support para-athletics through his fundraising initiative of collecting bottles from officials at meets and using ‘Return & Earn’ to go towards the purchase of para equipment and to keep the environment clean.

“Rob has also been great in building and supplying seated chairs for our para throwers over the years.”

When questioned about a career highlight, Rob recalled an encounter with a couple of Australia’s emerging athletics stars in the nineties that prompted his interest in para-athletics.

“There were a group of wheelchair athletes training out of a garage very close to a school I was [teaching] at… I organised my students to go down there and assist with these wheelchair athletes,” said Blackadder.

“They turned out to be quite good – one was the name of Louise Sauvage; another one was Kurt Fearnley.

“The comradery and cooperation was phenomenal – it still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.”

Despite living in an age where many assume they should be paid for their time, Rob hopes that the next generation will consider officiating athletics – or at least try it at some point.

“I would encourage anybody of any age to have a go once – if you enjoy it, then certainly you would want to continue and have another go,” said Blackadder.

“When I started volunteering, [money] wasn’t expected – you did it because you wanted to do it, and if you got thanks then it would guarantee you’d go back again next time.”

Athletics NSW Officials Coordinator Ashleigh Crook regularly works with Rob and praised him for his ongoing commitment to the sport.

“Rob is a crucial element to Athletics in NSW,” said Crook.

“He is an exceptional mentor and deserves immense recognition for his years of service to our sport.”

In 2019, Rob continues to officiate for LANSW and Athletics NSW where he has made lifelong friendships – as one of the highest-qualified Technical Manager in Australia, he is conducting an Oceania Technical Managers Seminar in Townsville next month.

Without volunteers such as Rob, the sport simply wouldn’t function.

“The nice thing about Little Athletics is that everybody can do something – you can walk, you can run, you can sprint, you can jump over things, you can throw things,” said Blackadder.

“If they’re not being pushed into it, they want to have a go.

“Not everybody will be a champion, but everybody can do something, and that’s the philosophy of our sport.”

For more information on how to become a volunteer, CLICK HERE