From Blackburn Cycling Club to Paris: Commissaire Karen O’Callaghan's rise to the top

Almost 50 years. That’s how long Karen O’Callaghan has been officiating bike races.

From humble beginnings in the suburbs of Melbourne where she was just trying to avoid having to study on a Saturday afternoon, O’Callaghan has gone on to become one of the premier Commissaires on the planet, and will now head to France for the 2024 Olympic Games, where she will take on the role of Jury Secretary for the Commissaire Panel in the Track events. 

Having officiated at Paralympics, world championships, and numerous Olympic Games, there’s not too much O’Callaghan hasn’t seen over her time in blue, and AusCycling spoke to her prior to departing for the Games to discuss her journey on the sidelines.

Firstly, congratulations on the appointment. From what I understand, almost 30 years as a UCI commissaire. Do you still get a thrill at being appointed to an Olympic Games?

Oh, of course. To me, it's the pinnacle, just like for the cyclists. There's the Olympic Games – which are only once every four years – and the World Championships. And it's only a few Commissaires that get to do the Olympic Games; it's not a huge panel that goes. I'm doing the track, so it's quite limited in the number of International Committees that are appointed.

Did you set out to be a career Commissaire or did it just sort of happen that way?

 1976 is when I started as an official. So, it’s a bit longer than being an International Commissaire, but my dad and my brother were racing at Blackburn Cycling Club here in Victoria, and I was trying to get out of studying on a Saturday afternoon. So, I asked to go and watch them race. About three weeks later, the club official said that they were going to cancel the races because they didn't have a judge, and there were nearly 200 bike riders there, and my dad just called out, ‘Karen will do that!’ So, they gave me a pen and paper and told me to walk down to the finish line and get as many numbers as I could. So, that was how I started.

I did club racing for a number of years, and then my dad became president of Cycling Victoria, and they were running a Commissaire’s course. And he said to me,’ you should do the Commissaire’s course,’ and he’d do it with me. So, that's how I became a state Commissaire, and then later on, a national Commissaire. (But) it took me a while to be nominated by the national federation to do the international course. I had to fight for that because they were nominating the men in front of me. And when I asked them why they hadn't nominated me, they said, ‘Oh, but we didn't think you'd be interested because you're a mother.’ We'd done a UCI course previous to that, and I'd been named as dux of the class, and yet, others that had done the course with me had been nominated to go to the UCI International Course before me. 

What are some of the major changes you've noticed over the years at UCI level?

There’s been more acceptance of women as Commissaires, because I can remember an international team manager, I went up to him to ask him to move his numbers because we couldn't see them on the finish line – I was the chief judge for an international race – and he said, ‘you can't tell me that’. And I said, ‘why?’ And he said, ‘because you're a woman.’ And I went, ‘but I'm a Commissaire.’ And he said, ‘we don't have women Commissaires in Europe.’ So, for a number of years, it was almost you felt like you were a novelty. And I think there's been a change in attitude. There was a level of respect for the Commissaires. Iif you spoke back to the Commissaire, then he used to just double the fine. So, the riders accepted the penalties without argument, whereas now they’re more vocal. They argue the point. They don't show that respect to the Commissaires. We've become more familiar as Commissaires.

There can be a lot of pressure at track events because of the tiny margins involved, and also because of that increasing familiarity. Is it getting tougher to be a Commissaire in that type of environment?

I would say yes, (but) it's easier in some ways, in that I try and educate first. So, I'm never a Commissaire to just hand out a penalty. The first time it's usually, back in Australia, a warning. And if there's no change in behaviour, the next time they do it, then it's probably a penalty. But now, there’s an attitude that the rider’s know better, and unfortunately, sometimes they aren't up to date with the rules. 

What makes for a good Commissaire in those types of situations that we've described?

I've learned that I shouldn't take anything personally [laughs]. You have to always stick to the issue and I think you have to have good communication skills to be a Commissaire. There has to be a bit of a strength of character and I think that there has to be a maturity in the person. If you don't have that maturity and level of life experience, it could be very difficult to handle those situations where there is a level of conflict and difference of opinions. 

Thinking about the other Olympic Games you’ve officiated at, what makes for a good event from a Commissaire’s perspective?

A good Games is when all of the services and facilities are there to enable us to do our job. For example, the judge referee needs to have a good video system and support staff that are there to enable them to review any of the incidents that might occur in any of the sprints. I'm secretary to the panel for Paris, which means that I'll be responsible for the seeding of riders and creating start lists and checking of results. Communication with the data people and the timing company will be critical to enable me to have all of the start lists available for the Commissaires in a timely manner, and to enable good results to be provided to broadcast and websites etcetera, in a timely manner. For a Commissaire, it's that cooperation between all of the people: the staff, the organisers, the team managers, and the Commissaires.

What is the enjoyment you get out of officiating at this level?

I enjoy officiating at all levels. I still do club races, and I still do races in Australia as well as at an international level. I've also trained a lot of Commissaires as part of my role on the technical commission and I've always said that the first thing you need for bike races is the riders, and the second thing you need are officials, because if you don't have officials, it's just fast training, right? And I just enjoy seeing riders given the opportunity to do their best. I can't guarantee that every rider will have the opportunity to win, but the job of a Commissaire is to make sure that it's fair and that it's safe. If they have the opportunity to do their best at whatever level, then that's the enjoyment I get. I've watched riders start off as juniors, and now I'm seeing their children now racing and just to see the growth of riders and them bringing their family back into the races. 

From an Olympic Games, has there been an individual performance or a highlight that you were there to be a part of and see firsthand?

Yes, from the Sydney Olympics. As chief judge, you’re concentrating on making sure that you're getting the right results, and you can't show any emotion or bias, because it's important that we are unbiased in our role. But in the Madison, because you could see the progressive points, they got towards the end and I'd been adding up the points and checking the points, and I realised that Scott McGrory and Brett Aitken were going to win the gold. To me that was, I had a few moments to savour, of them actually winning that gold medal.

If there is one thing about being a Commissaire at an Olympic Games that you could share with someone who is just starting out as an official, what would it be?

I think it's the excitement of actually being part of the Olympics. It's the fact that in some small way, you’re part of the event, and it doesn't matter what job you have, every little bit is a contribution to the event overall. If it's a successful event, you as a Commissaire have been part of it. That's what I hope when I come back [from the Olympics]; is that it's all run smoothly, events haven't been delayed, and the right decisions were made.

Track cycling is competed over August 5-11 at the Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines National Velodrome in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France. 

Sections of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.