Zoe Eastwood-Bryan (centre) along with International Technical Officials Brian Roe and Helen Roberts at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in 2023.
In a fitting recognition of five decades of service to Australian athletics, Zoe Eastwood-Bryson (SA) has today been awarded Life Membership of Australian Athletics at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting.
The honour marks a milestone 50th year of involvement in the sport for Eastwood-Bryson, whose distinguished career has spanned officiating, administration, and advocacy at both the national and international level. Over that time, she has been a respected presence on the track and in technical circles, helping shape the standards and professionalism of athletics in Australia and beyond.
Such is her standing in world athletics that next month, Eastwood-Bryson will travel to China to serve as a judge at the prestigious Chinese National Games – the largest and most celebrated sporting event in the country.
Citation written by Brian Roe for Australian Athletics
Posted: 24/10/2025
Zoe Eastwood Bryson first participated in athletics as a member of the Central Districts (later Elizabeth) AAC in 1976, competing in throwing events and has been actively involved in the administration, officiating and promotion of race walking in South Australia, and eventually across Australia and beyond, since 1980.
As well as her involvement in the discipline of race walking, Zoe has provided her enthusiastic and skilled services as an official for Athletics South Australia (ASA), and similarly beyond, since the late 1990s.
Zoe’s first interaction with race walking came in 1979 as a result of being “a bit bored” watching longer events involving her then partner – so she picked up a lap board and stopwatch and began a to-date 45 year plus commitment to her sport and South Australian Walkers Club (SAWC). This has included judging, recording, timekeeping and holding office and the coordination of the judging panels.
Zoe was president of SAWC from 2006 to 2023 and previously held the position of secretary from 1994 to 1999 and also in 2002. As a result of her continuous involvement with the SAWC, Zoe was awarded life membership in 2005. As president of SAWC, Zoe ensured that the activities of the club were supportive of all members and provided an inclusive environment for participation of walkers of all ages and abilities. She remains judging coordinator and child-safeguarding officer.
Zoe had a significant influence on the process that saw collaboration between SAWC and SA Little Athletics (SALA) leading to a resumption of joint activities in 2017. She has assisted in officiating and providing instruction at SALA events over a number of years to provide children and their parents with insight into walking as an athletics pursuit – resulting in many maintaining their involvement with race walking into the SAWC and ASA seasons.
By 1998 it was time for Zoe to get even more serious about her engagement with the sport more broadly – gaining her first qualifications in jumps, throws, race walking and administration. By then she was a state selector and a competition announcer in SA. Very quickly there was involvement in national level meets and championships and appointment as a judge for the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney – her first of now many appointments to international competitions.
Zoe has officiated as a judge at Australia Athletics race walking events since 2003 and as chief judge on many occasions since 2006.
Zoe did not hold back on both gaining further education and qualifications and immersing herself in competitions at all levels. Her next international opportunity came as a call room judge for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, followed by a range of appointments in the call room and as a race walking judge for the Pacific Mini Games and other Oceania meets and championships
After being encouraged and mentored by international judge Bob Cruise through the various national qualifications, Zoe passed the evaluation to become an area (now known as silver) race walking in 2010 – serving on the Oceania Panel for the four-year period ending in 2013. At the 2014 evaluation, Zoe was advanced to the international (now gold) panel – of which she remains a highly regarded member in 2025.
This led to Zoe being regularly appointed to major international events as a race walking judge beginning with the World Championships in Beijing in 2015 and then the World Under 18 Championships in Nairobi two years later. In 2018 came appointments as chief race walking judge for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and as a judge for the World Teams Championships in Taicang, China.
Many other appointments have followed including two more world championships – Budapest in 2023 where she was the first ever female chief judge and Tokyo in 2025 and also the 2020 Olympics.
Zoe’s commitment to training and mentoring other race walking judges extends from her home base in Adelaide throughout Australia, Oceania and beyond. She is regularly sought after as a judge for national championships and circuit races in Asia.
Zoe has previously been recognised with life membership of Athletics SA in 2018 and with the AA Platinum Pin acknowledging 40 years of service in 2020. Zoe was vice president of Race Walking Australia in both 2014-15 and 2015-16 and was awarded their 25 years’ merit award service pin recognition in 2021.
She remains a regular attendee at national championships – in and out of stadium, is a current member of the Australian Athletics Technical Committee and was call room chief judge for the 2023 World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst. Zoe was the Australian Athletics Official of the Year in 2019
Zoe’s service and commitment to her sport continues with a passion and provided the strongest credentials for her election today as a Life Member of Australian Athletics.
