Club Umpiring
Around 85% of umpiring in the SE area is carried out by club umpires, and 70% of those also play.
League regulations specify the various levels of qualification needed for games*, but meeting those requirements is a constant challenge for clubs.
*"Teams in grade 3 divisions should liaise with their appointments secretary and the club liaison officer to ensure that the Area Officiating Committee (AOC) are aware of their club umpiring situation and needs. Where appropriate (and on invitation) the AOC may appoint a single umpire to a fixture to assist in developing club umpires at this level."
We understand that challenge and have a range of measures in place to help.
SE Hockey Objectives
- To improve the quality of Club umpiring.
- To see ‘more umpires, better umpires and happier umpires’ throughout the SE.
- To encourage Clubs’ umpires to support their club umpires and push for radios to be used.
- To encourage Club Umpires to take on a few neutral appointments with SE Hockey.
More umpires
Documents on this page provide ideas to clubs on how to find and develop club umpires internally. SE Hockey will endeavor to carry out an annual review of all clubs - mainly by self-assessment - to find out how clubs are coping with the challenge they face, and to encourage them to use the ideas and support available. This will also ensure a full development and coaching programme can be achieved during the season.
Better umpires
We encourage all clubs to have an internal Level 1 assessor, if possible, to speed up the qualification process and pass on experience.
We have an umpire development feedback process, which teams are encouraged to use. This is available for all SE matches - whether umpires were appointed by Area or club. Everyone understands that umpire development within clubs is extremely limited.
Happier umpires
We encourage clubs to show their support to their umpires by practical measures, in addition to mere thanks, and we have a welfare reporting system which allows umpires to report incidents to us, irrespective of whether the correct cards were issued in a game.
Contact and support
- Clubs’ primary point of contact is with clubs.umpires@southeast.hockey. Clubs need to maintain their own point of contact - their Umpire Liaison Officer (ULO).
- Online drop-in sessions are held periodically for clubs to discuss umpiring issues generally.
- Club Umpiring Development Days (CUDDs) can be requested, which bring experienced coaches and assessors to a club to help - particularly with Level 1 assessments. These can be held at any club with 2 home games on the same day, and usually involve local clubs together.
- Clubs may apply for funding to develop their internal umpiring set-ups. Any such funding is conditional on a written plan and specific outcomes, such as a number of members achieving Level 1 assessed status.