British governing body announces that any competitions under their rules must comply to global guidance

UK Athletics has announced today (March 9) that the World Athletics rules concerning footwear are to be implemented across all competitions which are held under UKA rules.

Guidance from athletics’ global governing body, amended in December, which provides criteria to be met for results and performances to be deemed legal, indicated the measures would only apply to “Senior or Junior National Championships”.

However, UKA has insisted that any competition held under their rules will be treated in the same fashion, outlining that though footwear will be policed by officials, the responsibility for complying will lie first and foremost with the athletes.

A statement from UK Athletics read, in part: “While World Athletics require that the amendments apply to all ‘Senior or Junior National Championships’ and are not mandated to be applied below this level, after consultation with the Technical Advisory Group and others, the UKA Rules Group has determined that it is appropriate that the amendments to the Rule should apply to all competitions held under UKA rules both as a matter of fairness and also due to the range of events within the UK where qualifying mark, selections standards and records can be set.”

The statement added: “Adhering to these rules is therefore a sport-wide responsibility that starts primarily with the athlete. Whilst the excellent officials working within our sport will be part of this process, athletes will need to take responsibility to ensure that their shoes conform to the rules and understand that event officials will have the right to check shoes and take appropriate action.”

READ MORE: How to choose the right running shoes

Footwear has been a huge and controversial topic in athletics following the technological advances which have shown to improve performance, first in road events but also now on the track.

The latest list of approved competition shoes can be found here

You can find the full details of World Athletics’ amended Rule 5.2 of their Technical Rules here