Race walk judges must make decisions about race walkers by viewing a progression of steps within a prescribed viewing area. While walkers at a distance might alert a race walk judge to possible lack of adherence to the definition of race walking, it is within this prescribed viewing area that a judge must observe and decide whether to sanction a walker or not.

The prescribed viewing area starts when the walker is coming towards the judge and is at a 45 degree angle and continues until the walker is going away from the judge and is at a 15 degree angle. The judge can watch the walker before and after, but should not give a yellow paddle or red card when they are outside of this zone. The correct prescribed viewing area is shown in the following figure. It is 6.5 meters long, in which the walker will take a progression of roughly 6 steps before leaving the viewing area.

So, the question then is how far back should the judge stand to view the 6.5m long viewing area? The answer can be arrived at with a simple mathematical equation. Observe the following figure. Standing perpendicular to the viewing area, the judge is at a 90 degree angle with the walker. If the viewing area starts at a 45 degree angle, then the triangle is a right triangle.

So, using high school geometry, if one side of the right triangle is five meters, what is the length of the other side of the triangle from the 90 degree angle? The length of the side at the 90 degree angle is the same for both. The distance then from the judge to the walker, when the walker is directly in front of the judge, is five meters. If the judge stands closer to the walker, the prescribed viewing area will be smaller not allowing the judge to observe a progression of steps as prescribed in the definition of race walking.

Should a judge take a position on the inside of a track to make decisions, particularly if the judge is concerned about flexion of the inside leg? If the judge’s view is not obstructed and if the judge stands back far enough, it is possible to do so. Keep in mind the track curb might restrict the judge’s view.