Sanctioning

The purpose of sanctioning is to communicate to race participants, event partners and the general public that a designated event is being conducted in a fair, safe and responsible manner, in accordance with the rules and standards of the sport based on the nature of event being offered and where the event is registered as a competitive event, results achieved will be recognized by other national governing bodies for the sport and World Athletics.

When a member branch of Athletics Canada issues a sanction and an organizer accepts a sanction, it is understood that:

• The event organizer will abide by all rules and regulations implicitly or explicitly referenced within the description of the sanction they are receiving;
• The sanctioning body will advertise the event on its calendar of events and provide support to organisers consistent as specified by the sanction;
• The event organiser will advertise the event as a sanctioned event in accordance with the guidelines described within the sanction;

IMPORTANT: Course certification and sanctioning are different. Course certification specifically references the distance and change in elevation of a course while sanctioning referrers to the standards and rules which will be upheld during an event. Sanctions must be renewed annually.

For sanctioning information in your province/territory, contact your local branch.

World Athletics(WA) Labels

Each year, WA awards a designation referred to as an WA Road Race Label to leading Road Races around the World. Labels are issued for Marathons, Half-Marathons and other official distances where world records are maintained as well as recognition of some "Classical" races over non-standard distances.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Labels are issued. The requirements are significant and races wishing to receive an WA label must seek the endorsement of Athletics Canada.