Umpiring

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  Rule changes 2017 – summary

THE FULL MONTY: FIH Rules of Hockey (2017).

If you are a qualified umpire and not yet affiliated to our Club, please give us a try – you’ll be very welcome and you’ll be offered umpiring opportunities most Saturdays throughout the regular season.

Upcoming home fixtures & umpires

N.B. IF YOU UMPIRE A GAME IN THE MEN’S LEAGUE, PLEASE BE SURE TO ENTER YOUR FULL NAME AND EH UMPIRE REG NUMBER ON THE MATCH CARD. You should also ensure that the SCORE is recorded correctly on the Match Card; that applies to Women’s League games as well.

Please contact Mike Dutton – 01392 881950/07488 287257 – if you want to help out with the umpiring.

N.B. fixtures with asterisk (*) by the time are suitable for Level 1 unassessed umps

Sunday 15th April – rearranged league fixture

11:00 SIDMOUTH: Ladies v Teign 2 – RC & Gus (reserve MD)

Umpiring News

Please check out the Umpiring News page for latest info about Level 1 Courses and alternative umpiring opportunities  in our area

Allocation of umpires

Currently our Umpire Development Officer (UDO) Mike Dutton looks after this aspect. During the main season, he will email all Club umpires each Sunday or Monday referring them to this website page, asking for their availability for the games requiring umpires over the following weekend or two. On the following Thursday a “Confirmed umpires” email will go out, directing umpires, relevant team captains and fixtures secretaries to this website page again; this confirmation notice will always include confirmed DHUA-appointed umpires and may, if necessary, request further volunteers to fill any umpiring slots that are still vacant.

NEW (Jan 2018) Ad hoc requests to umpire for other clubs (neutral games)

If you are approached directly by another club for your umpiring services, could you please refer the request to Mike Dutton; he will then check to see if the Club can spare you (or an alternative ump) for the fixture in question; if so, Mike will (in most cases) ask Graham Woolcock at DHUA to give us a “Club Appointment” to that game, or appoint a named umpire of our choice  – this can often be done at short notice. We may, on occasion, be more understanding as far as Honiton Hornets HC is concerned as we have in the past benefitted by using a few of their home fixtures (at Ottery) as development games for the our unassessed umps;  this is not possible this season (2017-18) as Hornets are in Petroc 1, a division in which unassessed umps cannot be used.

Our  Affiliated Umpires (with England Hockey Umpire Registration numbers)

LEVEL 2: Rob Cann (275501), Charlie Pritchard (278175)

LEVEL 1 Assessed : David Ackland (255560), Ian Davis (274066), Karen Dutton (250436), Mike Dutton (273051), Steve Ellison (289070), Jon Hext (277250), Angus McVey (386595), George Powell (333675), Jon Mutter (285898), Caroline Biggs (272921), Maggie Heal (409814), Tom Gardner (385246), Jack Ellison (409812), Guy Rudolph (403639)

LEVEL 1 Un-assessed: Peter Rider (421228), Jane Roberts (411746), Eaun Webber (420999), Eddie Rudolph (439635)

LEVEL 1 (inactive for 2016-17): Paul Baker(255225), Simon Baker (263343), Keith Baker (289407), Adrian Posta (305529), Greg Jolly (309080), James Tribble (259423)

Occasional guest umpires (not affiliated): Jonty Rider (332346), Alex Mitchel (357293)

Aspiring Umpires: Simon Olive,  Jennie Stogdon,  Maddy Roberts, Martha Keats, Dan Weedon

Umpiring notices

The Rules of Hockey

The latest issue (2017) of the FIH Rules of Hockey. (a pdf document)

Umpire Training Modules

All umpires are encouraged to follow the link below where you’ll find new online training modules. These are intended primarily for new and inexperienced umpires and combine quite a number of video clips with some clear, concise guidance and explanation. Following the successful completion of a short test, users can also download a certificate of awareness. Rules education and testing is now available.

Please go to England Hockey Online Training Hub. Note that, to access this area of Hockey Hub, you need to be registered and log in first. Registration is free and takes only a few minutes.

Updated Red Card and Matchday Misconduct Offence Regulations (posted Sept 2016)

The main change is to bring consistency across the game to the penalties imposed when a Red Card is shown – the changes are already in effect so you will need the new form for any matches that you umpire from now on.

Where a player has been shown a Yellow card for a minor offence and then commits the same offence again, a Red Card should be shown – however, this offence will only result in suspension from that match – there is no further ban imposed. NB. the form must still be completed for all Red Cards awarded for whatever reason.

Points to Note:

A red card can be awarded to any coach/physio/manager whether there is a team sheet or not – and if such a person is awarded a red card, the team must play with one less player for the remainder of the match.

The Red Card does not necessarily have to have been shown for a Red Card offence to have been committed – being asked to leave the arena is the same as being awarded a red card.

You cannot rescind a red card after the match (other than in cases of mistaken identity – when the true culprit should be identified and issued with an MMO).

An MMO is used for any offence for which a red card would have been awarded that takes place on the day of the match before the whistle to start the match or after the final whistle.

Any offence involving violence or the verbal abuse of an official cannot be treated as a minor offence and will result in a 16 day (minimum) ban.

Regards,
Peter Hammond
Chief Coach
(chiefcoach@devonumpires.co.uk)

Umpiring Opportunities at the Club

We are fortunate to retain a good umpiring base at the Club with 22 qualified umpires (2017-18 Season), 4 of whom have Level 1 un-assessed status. We’re always on the lookout for fresh umpiring talent and anyone interested in becoming an umpire should contact the Club’s Umpire Development Officer (UDO) Mike Dutton. Mike, an accredited EH Umpire Developer,  will continue to make it his business to help bring on budding talent (young or not-so-young) and guide him/her through the qualification process, in close association with the DHUA. All our umpires are officially “affiliated” to Sidmouth & Ottery HC, and listed as such on the DHUA website.

Currently, it is a requirement of the DHUA (and England Hockey) that player-umpires must umpire a minimum of 3 games per year to retain their “active” status; for non-playing umpires the minimum requirement is 5 games per year. Games umpired must be logged on the DHUA website where each umpire has his/her own password-protected “personal area” already set up. Umpires who fall short of the required minimum number of games during any one year up to 30th June may be “de-activated” by DHUA; in that event, he/she will then need to be re-assessed before their status can be re-activated to resume umpiring league games, but they would be able to umpire friendly fixtures.

We retain strong links with the DHUA and, for the 2017-18 season, we have a B Club Agreement (promoted from C Club during the 2016-17 season) which lays down various benefits for the Club, e.g. prioritised allocation of umpires appointed to our home games, free coaching for umpires, together with the Club’s reciprocal responsibilities such as payment of fees for appointed umpires and making some of of our club umpires available for appointments to neutral games (away from Ottery St Mary and Sidmouth). In addition we are required to have in place an Umpire Development Program which, amongst other things, charts the way forward for our Club in terms of identifying and developing new umpires, and re-invigorating the existing umpiring base as much as possible, in close partnership with DHUA. Note that we are required to pay annual registration fees to DHUA on behalf of our “active” umpires (£15 per umpire aged 21 or over).

Within England Hockey, DHUA remain very much at the forefront of efforts to improve the quality and consistency of umpiring and, with that objective in mind, their long term program known as RDU (Re-invigorating Devon Umpiring) continues.

Team captains’ responsibilities at the game (in relation to the hosting of DHUA Appointed Umpires).

Each Club Team should have an Umpire Liaison Officer (ULO) designated on the day of the game; this can be the team captain or another member of the team to whom the responsibility is delegated by the captain. The role of the ULO is to approach DHUA Appointed Umpires prior to the game to check on their needs etc, and generally to host the umpires throughout their stay as valued guests of the Club. Bear in mind that all appointed umpires submit feedback on the hospitality they receive, and scores are used by DHUA for statistical and award purposes.

In turn, captains or vice captains are expected to submit online feedback to DHUA about the performance of Appointed (Neutral Pool) umpires as soon as possible after the game (relevant details will be supplied to all team captains shortly before the start of the league season). In the medium to long term, this feedback will allow DHUA to better direct their refresher coaching resources to where they are most needed. We, the Devon Hockey clubs, requested this feedback facility about 3 years ago and DHUA are reaping the benefits
which, over time, cascade back down to the clubs in terms of improved and more consistent umpiring standards. Note that failure to submit the necessary feedback could mean fewer umpires appointed to our club fixtures, affecting mainly the Men’s 1sts and 2nds.

Notices

Umpiring Courses

Note that the cost of the course is currently £50, to be paid online, and you will be required to complete an online Rules test before attending. The Club will refund the course fee when (after completing the course) you’ve umpired a minimum of 5 games for Sidmouth & Ottery. Please first register your interest with Devon Hockey (Devon Hockey will need to have a rough idea of numbers interested before arranging a course in Devon).

Umpiring courses around the country. Please the notes carefully and see if there is a suitable course in our area. If so, BOOK ONLINE NOW. To continue, you will need to set up an England Hockey account (with username and password) but don’t let that put you off (you’ll then need to wait for an email back from EH before you can proceed further). The online Rules test is pretty basic – and remember, Mike Dutton can help you along the way after you’ve done the course, with initial mentoring and coaching as necessary before you exercise your option to request (free) coaching through DHUA.

Umpire Training Modules (England Hockey)

All umpires are encouraged to follow the link below where you’ll find  new online training modules. These intended primarily for new and inexperienced umpires and combine quite a number of video clips with some clear, concise guidance and explanation. Following the successful completion of a short test, users can also download a certificate of awareness. Rules education and testing is now available.

Please go to England Hockey Online Training Hub. To access this area of Hockey Hub, you need to be registered and log in first. Registration is free and takes only a few minutes.