Everything you ever wanted to know about Official Observers but were scared to ask.
FAQ 1 – How do I become an Official Observer?
The first thing you must do is download and read two reference documents -
1. The Sporting Code Section 3 – this document is produced by the International Gliding Commission (IGC). It's normally updated in October each year, although the current version was updated in January this year.
2. Annex C – this is a plain English explanation of the sporting code and contains a lot of interpretation and clarification to make the code easier to understand.
The documents can be downloaded from the IGC Documents section of the FAI Website.
https://www.fai.org/igc-documents
Once you've done this you should go to this link https://bit.ly/2ZX7oBD and work through some worked examples which are similar to the Official Observer test.
Once you feel confident that you have a good understanding of the code, you may use this link https://bit.ly/2ObySRe and take the test.
This test will offer you 10 questions, drawn from a bank of questions.
The pass mark is high, but remember that if you get a question wrong, you do get a second chance to have another go for each question and if you fail the test, you can sit it again as many times as you like. It is also an open book exam, and it's all about education.
Once you successfully pass the test you will be emailed a certificate, which you should download and then upload to your profile on GoMembership. Next, create an Official Observer credential.
1. Log in to GoMembership
2. Click My Profile
3. Click Credentials
4. Click Add Credentials
5. Select Official Observer Badge/Aus Record exam from the drop down list
6. Click Next
7. Enter Online exam as Authority
8. Enter date of exam as Start Date
9. Expiry date will fill automatically
10. Leave Issuing Officer MID blank
11. Click Next
12. Attach the certificate
13. Finish
FAQ 2 – I used to be an Official Observer. Is my status still valid?
There are two ways to find out if you are recorded in the GoMembership system as an Official Observer
The first way is to download the Official Observer report.
1. Log into GoMembership
2. Click Menu
3. Click Reports
4. Click Customer Reports tab
5. Click GFA Members Reports
6. Download the Official Observers report
You can now check if your name is on the list.
Alternatively, you can go to your own profile and look at your credentials.
1. Log into GoMembership
2. Click My Profile
3. Click Credentials
4. Select ‘Active’
Check the list to see if an Official Observer Credential is listed.
FAQ 3 – I thought I was an Official Observer, but I can't find any details using FAQ 2.
In this case, the easiest solution is to simply sit the test again. If you're a current OO and familiar with the documents you should have no trouble in passing the test.
Then simply follow the instructions in FAQ 1 to upload the new credential and all is good.
FAQ 4 – How do I find an Official Observer at my club?
That’s easy. You just download the Official Observer report from GoMembership and check the list.
1. Log into GoMembership
2. Click Menu
3. Click Reports
4. Click Customer Reports tab
5. Click GFA Members Reports
6. Download the Official Observers report
FAQ 5 – How do I revalidate my rating?
GoMembership will send an email reminder one month before your rating expires with a link to three questions. If you answer these correctly, you will be sent a certificate to use to create a new credential in your profile. Follow the 13 steps in FAQ 1. If for some reason you don’t manage to revalidate before the old credential expires simply take the full Official Observer test with 10 questions.
Pathways
The member surveys we have conducted ask for clarity on the pathway to achieve a particular rating.
A new document is now published here https://bit.ly/37ULkvY to address this. It contains pages to show how each rating is achieved. The document below is one example of many.
