Umpires are an
incredibly important part of the game of hockey, and without their help and
commitment each week, we wouldn't be able play! At St Andrews Ladies Hockey
Club, we have a long and strong history of producing high quality umpires and
we encourage all our junior and senior players, as well as junior parents to
learn to umpire.
Whilst learning to umpire may
seem like a daunting task at first, with the help of our experienced umpiring
mentors, you and/or your child/ren will have the basics down in no time and the
confidence to blow the whistle on a game when called upon! Mentoring
predominantly occur on Friday nights (JT1-4 games) and Saturday mornings (U13
turf or all junior grass games), however accommodations for Saturday afternoons
(senior grass) or Sunday afternoons (Division 4-6 turf games) may be
organised subject to mentor availability.
There are two types of Umpire Mentors:
·
On-field Umpire
Mentor
·
Off-field Umpire
Mentor
On-field
mentoring
An on-field mentor accompanies the learner umpire on the field during the
fixture and assumes one of two roles:
§
Engaged Mentor (blowing the whistle) – are required to umpire the fixture, with
the learner umpire no further than 1 metre away, ‘shadowing’ them.
§
Disengaged
Mentor (not blowing the whistle) – are present to
‘shadow’ the learner umpire no further than 1 metre away, while the learner
umpire officiates the match.
Only ONE person will be
responsible for blowing a whistle during the fixture.
On-field mentors assist the learner umpires by showing
them positioning, signalling, explaining rules where necessary, prompting
decision making, areas of control, teaching them all facets of umpiring.
ON-FIELD
Umpire Mentors are allowed on all
divisions up to and including Division 4, JT2 and MM2.
ON-FIELD
Umpire Mentors are NOT allowed on Division 1, 2,
3, JT1 and MM1 – at any time.
Off-field mentoring
An off-field mentor accompanies the learner umpire to pre-match duties
(e.g. coin toss) and then observes the learner umpire from the side line during
the fixture.
The off-field mentor takes notes and approaches the
learner umpire at half time and full time to discuss their observation.
Off-field mentors are NOT responsible
for blowing a whistle during the fixture.
An off-field mentor should not enter the field of play
except in extra-ordinary circumstances.
Circumstances where it would be appropriate for the
off-field mentor to step onto the field may include an increased risk of danger
to the players (losing control of the match) or umpire (behaviour management of
players).
OFF-FIELD
Umpire Mentors are allowed on all
divisions.
If you and/or your child/ren are interested in
learning to umpire or would like more information about our mentoring program,
please email hockeystandrews@gmail.com