Welcome to umpiring at Winchester HC
We’re here to help you develop your umpiring skills, explain some of the formalities about umpiring, and provide further learning resource.
At WHC we encourage anyone and everyone to practice umpiring because every game of hockey requires two umpires and the more competent the umpire the more enjoyable each game should be.
This information is suitable for everyone; players, coaches, parents, juniors and seniors alike, some of whom might simply want to obtain a better understanding of the rules of hockey or perhaps to start umpiring. Whatever the motivation - you can start to get involved right here!
ENgland Hockey official umpire development pathway
There is a formal Umpire Pathway as illustrated above but many people may find might find this rather daunting especially if you are just beginning. Everyone has to start somewhere and what we are trying to do is to encourage anyone who wishes to participate. For this reason, we will concentrate on the various groups of people within WHC and consider how we can assist with your progression through the umpiring ladder in order that you can participate at whatever level you choose.
The key groups of people associated with the club are;
1. Senior Players – generally Over 18’s but some Over 16’s are already very competent and understand the rules of hockey very well;
2. Junior Players – those very young players are only just beginning to learn whilst some older Juniors already have a good grasp of the rules;
3. Parents – many parents take an active interest in their children’s sporting development and some have a good understanding of the rules of hockey (current and ex-players) whilst other parents have a different understanding by watching games and discussing the rules with their children or whilst standing on the side lines.
Whichever broad group you might belong to, there will be inevitably a difference in knowledge and possibly confidence but we have tried to create a simple umpire pathway to access the system to suit you. You will need to decide where you might fit into the system then we can assist you to progress.
The vast majority of WHC members will find themselves within one of the following categories;
A - Club Umpire (Introductory)
B - Club Umpire (Unassessed)
C - Club Umpire (Assessed)
The reason for saying this – 86% of all hockey games played in England are umpired by someone in the above categories!!
5 typical stages of umpire development most people can relate to;
A - Club Umpire (Introductory)
· Stage 1 - Ideally the umpire pathway will involve a first stage of reading the rules (yes, the whole rule book please as you need to know all the rules not just some of them!) followed by an informal discussion about the interpretation of any rules which are not quite clear.
Having said that a basic knowledge of the fundamental rules should enable you to umpire very junior games.
· Stage 2 - Observing a couple of games and watching experienced umpires is always helpful, especially in the company of another umpire so you can discuss decision making whilst watching the game.
· Stage 3 - Experience some umpiring first-hand either just before or even after taking the Level 1 course before undertaking some umpiring prior to the assessment. Ideally an umpire mentor should be with you just to answer questions and to help.
B - Club Umpire (Unassessed)
· Stage 4 - Competence - When you are ready to be formally assessed, either Richard Macer or Graham Beck will recommend to HHUA (Hampshire Hockey Umpire association) that you undertake an appropriate level match when you will be assessed by an independent umpire to 'qualify' to umpire league games.
At this stage having learned and understood the main rules, albeit you remain un-assessed, you may now umpire club games. If you volunteer to umpire certain senior league games for the Club you will be able to claim £10 for each game which may help with travel or even pay towards your next game of hockey.
It is worth noting that the majority of umpires in the country remain at this level, and without whom there would be very few games of hockey played most weekends! For which we thank you very much.
C - Club Umpire (Assessed)
· Stage 5 - When you have been formally assessed and passed, you are then eligible to umpire all Club League Games (other than those games with HHUA or SHUA appointed umpires) and help the playing membership of the Club to enjoy their hockey. The £10 is payable by WHC for any league games you are prepared to umpire.
At the time of writing (October 2019) WHC has 21 qualified Level One Umpires.
Should anyone wish to progress further, WHC can assist you by recommending you to HHUA in order that you can umpire higher league games.
Stage 6 - HHUA - When you have sufficient confidence and experience you can undertake neutral umpire appointments on behalf of the County Association and umpire games across the Counties of Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey, Wiltshire and Dorset with travel expenses reimbursed. Umpire Coaching and further assessments are offered by Hampshire HUA to develop your umpiring skills further should you wish, leading to higher league appointments. HHUA is particularly keen to encourage young umpires ie: U18, to reach their potential.
At the current time WHC has only 5 regular HHUA Umpires which is a lower number that in previous years and it would be tremendous to increase this number so we can continue to support our senior teams and other clubs in the region.
Stage 7 - SCHUA - Umpires who are very skilful, competent, confident and fit could qualify for umpiring within the wider South Region before reaching the National Umpire Association enabling you to umpire the highest level games including world championships and the Olympics.
Gathering information and learning
The England Hockey Hub has a wealth of information available to anyone who wishes to learn and experience the art of umpiring hockey games. See the latest online courses, blogs and presentations here. There is an on-line test you can undertake either as a beginner or as a refresher just to test your knowledge of the rules. If you successfully complete the online course, you can download a certificate – vis:
Create your own learning profile on: Hockey Hub and sign up.
On the Hub site, go to the Green Box (top left of screen) and click ‘UMPIRE”, you can then choose from any of the following;
Rules of Hockey;
You’re the Umpire – this provides a series of videos to watch and listen;
Umpire Development Modules; this tab enables you to review different elements of umpiring including;
· Decision communication;
· Umpiring the aerial ball;
· Umpiring stick tackles;
· Umpiring foul play;
· Umpiring attacking free hits.
The England Hockey material mentioned above, whilst very helpful, is really aimed at the more sophisticated end of the scale using international games as examples of different interpretation of the rules. Do not become despondent because the vast majority of games are not played like this at Club Level. I would say 99% of games are not played at this pace or level of skill but they are interesting as they raise a host of discussion points!
Chris Horton, a Member of HHUA and a parent member of WHC (whilst his children were playing hockey) has prepared some very useful notes entitled; ‘Umpiring – First Game Survival Tips’ which is a must read for anyone thinking of umpiring.
How WHC can help?
Wherever you might be in terms of your knowledge and understanding of the rules of hockey and umpiring there are people in the Club only too happy to help. Graham Beck is very keen to help at any stage in your personal umpiring development and Richard Macer is never far away. We are trying to schedule a Level One Umpiring course for anyone who wishes to undertake the course with a view to umpiring at some point.
Mentoring
If you would like someone to observe whilst umpiring, Graham would be delighted to assist and offer some positive comments; there will be no negative comments!
Club umpire & Level 1 assessment
Once you have the basic competencies, you can umpire club games (whether senior of junior) and you may wish to remain at this level. It is entirely up to you. Mentoring can still be offered as you wish. All you have to do is ask. The more practice you obtain the better prepared you will be should you ever wish to be formally assessed.
If you want to umpire more senior league games (for example Ladies 2nd XI fixtures require a fully qualified Level One Umpire) then we can arrange for you to be assessed. Just let us know.
Lastly, should you have any questions, please contact Graham Beck at lukenbeck@gmail.com or call me on 02380 262372.
Graham Beck - Club Umpire Developer