You can never have enough umpires…
Together with England Hockey we delivered a revamped course throughout the 2017-18 season to get more senior and junior players, parents and enthusiasts through the Level 1 Umpiring Course. In total nearly 150 new Level 1 umpires were added!
This will continue in the 2019-20 season and more clubs will be getting involved in the course provision especially designed for those with busy London or family lives. Every month we will run a two-evening course with the first one spent in the class room (the Draft House, Westbridge) and the second on the hockey pitch during one of our training sessions. London Wayfarers Hockey Club will share the course with our fellow SW and NW London clubs.
The course itself, and the required assessment, to pick up that all important Level 1 Umpiring Certificate, will be delivered by EH tutors together with Umpiring Officers from the clubs involved. There are 24 spaces available per course. At the end of it, you will walk away with proper hockey rules knowledge, understanding of how to umpire, a set of cards and whistle, and that all important certificate for your hockey CV.
To support this and to reduce the weekly rush to find umpires we will be asking all teams to have at least eight members with a Level 1, or put through the course before the end of 2019. This will apply to all senior teams and we encourage parents to participate as well.
For the junior age groups from U14 and above, the Introduction to Umpiring Courses will be delivered in the 2019-20 season. Our U16/U18 squads will be expected to join the regular Level 1 Umpiring courses and obtain their qualification as we build the umpire force of the future.
In the meantime, for any support on hockey rules and umpiring please ask our Umpiring Officer, Dion Oliver. Please note he is not responsible for sourcing umpires for matches.
Alternatively have a look at these links:
Learn about the Rules of Hockey