‘Brisbane 2032 is a goal’: Young commissaire has a different Olympic dream

When you think of a commissaire – the uniform-clad officials who preside over bike races – you probably don’t think of someone like Olivia Forrest.

At the age of 21, Forrest is a young cycling fan who’s found a way to enjoy the sport from a unique point of view.

“I used to ride,” Forrest says from the AusCycling office in Sydney, where she recently began working in an events role. “I rode as an under-15 woman and under-17 woman. That’s kind of as far as I went.”

The median age of an Australian road commissaire is 58, but Forrest was only a teenager when she earned her first commissaire’s qualification.

“In 2017, I sat my Level 1,” Forrest says.

“It was a couple of months before I turned 18.”

Forrest said she was influenced by her time spent at bike races with her father, who is himself a commissaire.

“As I focused on school, I did still enjoy the sport so I decided to become a commissaire, because I used to be dad’s scribe in the car: writing down numbers of who’s in a breakaway, people who’ve pulled out, if they have spare wheels,” Forrest explains.

“I progressed from there.”

‘A lot of fun’: Commissaire highlights

Her first event as a commissaire was the Blayney to Bathurst road race, and Forrest remembers it as a “chaotic” eye-opener, but a lot of fun.

“We had a few crashes. We lost our first aid within the first 10 kilometres of the race,” she recalls.

Since then, her official’s role has become a channel for her cycling passion. But Forrest attributes much of her enjoyment to the strong friendships she’s made. The humour and banter in the commissaire group keep her going.

“In November of last year, that was the Goulburn Great Divide race. It was pouring with rain. I made the terrible choice of the wrong clothing – I only brought one pair of pants with me – and none of the commissaires have ever let it down since,” she laughs.

Record-breaking track rides are among Forrest’s favourite moments as a commissaire. (Photo: Ryan Miu)

“I really like the atmosphere. Sure, you have decisions to make, and there are some tough decisions you do have to make, but I genuinely enjoy it. I love the sport,” Forrest explains.

She’s also a track commissaire, and one of her highlights has been presiding over national records.

“I’ve timed some of the Masters ones, as well as the junior under-17 girls from Central Coast when they broke the Aussie record. I just find that so cool,” she says.

A different Olympic dream

After officiating at club level for four years, Forrest is now setting her sights on bigger goals.

“I actually would love to be a UCI Commissaire,” Forrest says with excitement.

“I think it would be interesting to commissaire somewhere else in the world.

“And the Olympic Games are coming to Brisbane in 2032. So that’s sort of a goal, to possibly do something there.”

UCI international commissaires are recognised by cycling’s world governing body as the most senior of all. They are qualified to adjudicate the biggest events, such as the Tour de France, Santos Tour Down Under and UCI Road World Championships.

Australia currently has five UCI international commissaires for road cycling, two of whom officiated at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Australian UCI Commissaire Karen O’Callaghan officiating at the 2018 World Championships. (Photo: Casey Gibson)

An injection of youth: Time for change?

As a young woman in the role, Forrest is aware she’s a rarity. She’s eager to see more new faces like herself get involved, bringing a fresh perspective on officiating.

She also believes there’s a risk of losing critical knowledge if it’s not passed down to the next generation.

“I’m one of the youngest females; that’s always challenging,” Forrest says. “We have commissaires who are 80 now, who’ve been working as a commissaire for 40 years.”

“As more commissaires retire, and they will do, we do need people to fill the gaps. If a lot of the Level 3 comms (National Commissaires), let’s say four or five disappear, you lose that field of knowledge.

Last week, AusCycling announced a pilot program to train 10 new National Commissaires under the age of 35 by the end of September, accelerating what’s usually a three-year process.

It’s clearly aimed at bringing more youth into the fold.

“We’re cognisant that we need to attract a different demographic to the role,” said AusCycling’s Kipp Kaufmann in the announcement.

Forrest agrees that change is needed.

“You do want new people to come in, so they can be trained up and get their experience. You also want older ones who can mentor younger ones.

“I’d love to see more females in the sport because we’re very few and far in between,” she adds.

Why racers make good commissaires

With AusCycling’s program in mind, Forrest hopes more racers will take the chance to participate in cycling in a different capacity.

“Use your rider knowledge to help you progress into being a commissaire. Use it when you’re making decisions,” she advises.

“If you’ve got someone who’s actually raced, and knows what it’s like being in those situations where you’ve had an altercation between you and a rider – like you’ve shoulder-barged someone – you can put yourself in their shoes and go ‘how would they feel?’”

Amid all its challenges, Forrest says a commissaire’s role is extremely rewarding.

“I know sometimes you get into situations where you have altercations between you and a rider, and they are unhappy with your decisions. There’s lots of feelings, lots of emotions. Just stick with it. You do have those moments, everyone does,” she says.

Olivia Forrest with her father. (Photo: Morgan Ho)

“But also, there’s really good things – you get to see a lot of the sport, you get to officiate, chat to lots of people, make good lifelong friends.

“Whether I’m in a car, on the start line, talking to riders, checking them off, doing their bike checks. It doesn’t really matter to me. It’s always good fun.”

Four years into her officiating journey, Olivia is turning the tables in the commissaire ranks – even within the Forrest family. At a race last month in country New South Wales, she once again found herself in the convoy alongside her father. Only this time, she was the commissaire.

“Dad was my driver. I can tell he was trying not to let his little commissaire hat get in the way.”

The Emerging Commissaires Fast Track Program is taking expressions of interest until July 15. Click here to submit yours and receive training at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong.