UMPIRING COMMITTEE SECRETARY: Peter Lovell 16 Greenfinch Lodge, Kingfisher Drive, Bristol, BS16 1UA TEL: 0117 939 4644 EMAIL: peterlovell@sky.com MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETING 15 th January 2014 PRESENT - Charles Hallows (Somerset), Peter Lovell, Colin Crayford, Mike Legg, Rod Cook, Nick White, Liz Powell (Avon), Mike Sheppard (Gloucestershire), Keith Dingle (Devon) APOLOGIES Angela Lewis (Cornwall), Chuck Baker (Wiltshire), Terry Cook (Herefordshire), Michael Harvey (Dorset), David Lillywhite, Julian Anderson, Ray Robbetts & Tony Wilcox. Action points in bold. 1. Minutes of last meeting With the correction of attendees changed to read Alison Cook and not Terry Cook these were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman. 2. Matters Arising Item 2 Document showing current figures distributed. (Attached to these minutes as Appendix 1) Item 6 Still awaiting some quotes and/or samples for West shirts, Will bring to next meeting for a decision. Item 8 David Lillywhite was voted in as the umpiring representative on the Men s League committee. PL to inform league secretary. Action PL Item 11 Update regarding funding for the Kick Staring Umpiring imitative. CH reported that he had secured approx. 1000 of funding allowing for 200 free Level 1 courses, funding promised by ASHUA, Devon, Somerset, HGWHUA and EHB. Other counties had agreed to assist in the tutoring and coaching of these umpires. CH suggested that we co-opt Graham Woolcock as a voting member to oversee this initiative, agreed by all. Action CH to speak to Graham Woolcock 3. Matters for discussion under AOB a. Travelling expenses in attending this meeting. b. Expenses incurred by the appointments secretaries. 4. Secretary s Report West Council New grants system to be put in place prior to the AGM and the umpiring sub-committee will have to apply for funding as per this system. EHB Notification received from EHB that the own goal mandatory experimental rule is to be deleted. This has already come into effect at NL and above but will not be removed in the lower levels until the end of this season. New Level 1 courses come into effect from the 1 st February 2014. All tutors have attended familiarisation meetings. Clarification received from EHB that the new structure and training will be adopted in both Wales and Scotland; therefore the wordings as agreed by us for league changes can now be forwarded to both league committees for consideration. LP had distributed a document relating to the new proposed structure for NHL candidates and asked for comments so that she could take them back to the EHB Officials Development committee the following day. A copy of this document along with the suggestions are attached to these minutes as Appendix 2. Other Correspondence None received.
5. Treasurer s Report Finance Report for the meeting to be held on Wednesday 15 January 2014 1. Review of the Finances 2013/14 Income 28,315 Expenditure 14,027 Excess Income over Expenditure 14,288 2. Cash Book Current Account 3,892 Bank Reserve 26,195 Sundry Creditor `` 1,540 Sub Total 31,627 Creditors 121 Net Assets 31,505 3. Sundry Debtors Bristol UWE Hockey Club 770.00 Cardiff University Hockey Club 770.00 4. Creditors Various Umpires who have logged, but not claimed, non-appointment expenses 5. Appointment Expenses Report There are 38 umpires who have yet the claim for their expenses for the first half of the season, and in some instances I will claim on their behalf and make the appropriate payment 5,710 6. Selection Committee The Selection Panel has met twice since your last meeting. The main discussion at these meetings was the selection of umpires for all games and considered umpires who have potential for promotion from one panel to another and those who may have potential to go further. It was agreed that those identified would be assessed at an appropriate time before the end of the season. The Selection Panel has also identified a few umpires who have potential for assessment for their Level 3 and become National League umpires. These are being targeted and hopefully will be ready for assessment early next season. This season assessing umpires has been more difficult as the effect of the shortage of umpires in the Women s game has affected the number of Assessors available. However it is pleasing to report that most of the panel umpires had been assessed by Christmas with some on more than one occasion and some also received coaching. Those we were targeted have all been assessed and this was only possible because of the quality of those who give their time to undertake this duty. We were sorry to receive Frank Hubber retirement as an Assessor. Frank was thanked for his hard work and dedication over the years and he has indicated that should we ever require him to watch an umpire he would consider it. The Appointment Secretaries have indicated in the past their problems in appointing to all games. This season, so far, a few problems for the Women s Secretary have been experienced but all games were duly covered. However with the slightly greater numbers available in the men s league there have been no serious problems except for a few very late cry off and the problems experienced in December and now January with the outdoor and indoor leagues both requiring umpires simultaneous. This together with the National Indoor Leagues has created further conflicts for the Secretaries as well as for umpires and officials who are being pulled in all directions. England Hockey has indicated that the main consideration during December and January is indoor hockey and these continual conflicts are having an effect on how we operate. Is it not time that, like most European countries, we suspend outdoor hockey during these two months and allow clubs, players, umpires and officials to concentrate on the indoor game. There are so
many other weeks during the year that outdoor hockey can be played, now that we do not conflict with having to play on grass pitches and on cricket wickets!! Last season the appointments for the final few weeks, when important promotion/relegation games were played, were made on a week to week basis. It has been decided that this should be continued as it was found to be a sensible way forward. It allowed greater flexibility and ensured the right umpires were appointed for these matches. Some umpires have expressed a wish to umpire in both gender leagues. The Selection Panel considered this request, and has begun to assess umpires in games in either panel although it has been difficult where women game umpires wish to umpire in the men s game. It is hoped by the end of the season a number of umpires will be eligible to umpire on both men and women panels. This will give the Appointment Secretaries greater flexibility and also permit the umpires greater opportunities to progress. It was agreed that PL would write the league committee with a copy to EHB regarding the clash between outdoor and indoor. Action: PL 7. Appointment Secretaries Reports. Ladies: Appointments to the Ladies league are still very difficult because on most weekends we only have the minimal number of umpires available. Three candidates are to be assessed in January. The JACs are to take place on March 16 th and March 23 rd all at Clifton College, with there being only one venue it is hoped that it will be easier to find enough umpires and counties are to nominate any umpires, especially young umpires, who would be available to officiate. Men: There is little to report at this stage except to say that all League and EH Cup matches in the first half of the season were covered.this was thanks to the good availability of umpires. This coming week-end[the first of the second half of the League season] has been a problem yet again this year with the clash of the Men's League programme and Indoor.Three appointed umpires withdrew from West games yesterday so that they could umpire Indoor.These late withdrawals do create extra work and leaves us thin on numbers to cover West games.it would be great if these clashes could be avoided and also that the Indoor umpires required were known a little earlier!the situation would have been very difficult if it had not been for the postponement of a Premiership match because of the unavailability of one player[on International duty]! My thanks as always to Colin Crayford as chair and the Selection Panel for their continued help and support 8. Men s League Representative Report I attended the Davis Wood Hockey League meeting held on Wednesday 20 November, although having only been notified that I had been appointed to this role on the evening of Monday 18 November I had no time to prepare and attended more as an observer than a participator. As a member of the Selection Committee I am aware of any issues directly affecting umpiring in the Premier Leagues, but for future meetings will be contacting each of the County HUA's to enquire as to whether they have any issues that they wish me to raise. There were two items discussed at the meeting concerning umpiring. The "Kickstart" funding request was not terribly well received despite there being a large umpiring contingent on the League Committee. There was a reluctance to make any firm commitment to funding and certainly a sum in the region of what Charles had suggested to Terry Cook was never a possibility (see the League accounts on their website, they are not sitting on the vast sums of cash that other organisations are!). A major concern was that committing a sum of money to the West would more or less commit them to making a similar contribution to South Wales should they make a similar request. In the end a recommendation was made that we should apply for funding through the small grants scheme, although the maximum amount payable under this scheme is 500 there is nothing to stop us applying annually. The second item was the rule change required with the new categories of Level 1 umpires. However there was no real discussion on this as no proposal had been received from this Committee and it is imperative that the proposed change is with the League Secretary before the next meeting on 12 February or it will not be discussed there either!
9. Indoor Hockey Co-ordinators Report December and January have seen the usual hectic period for indoor hockey within the West. 8 tournaments ran from the end of November to the week before Christmas, they include school's under 16's and under 18's, clubs under 16's and under 18's and the senior men's and ladies tournaments. As a result of this number of tournaments 49 umpires in total were appointed. The indoor season continues to clash with outdoor league fixtures which has the obvious impact on umpire availability, resulting in some tournaments, particularly when there are 3 on one day having the bare minimum number of umpires or less, for example I had to use the same umpire at a tournament in Plymouth in the morning and then a tournament in Wellington in the afternoon. Having said all that it was pleasing to be able to appoint to all tournaments and also to see several 'young' umpires giving the indoor game a go. Good displays were seen from Ben Garrod, Tom Martin and Tom Marks. Further to the conclusion of the West tournaments I took the opportunity presented by a shortage of umpires at National level to nominate Mark Williams, Andrew Pring and Jamie Hooper for NPUA assessment. I can report that both Mark and Andrew were successful and following a good performance at the national schools under 18 tournament last weekend Jamie has his assessment this coming weekend at the men's division 2 tournament. I also put forward Tom Marks for consideration to be appointed to the national junior tournaments and note that with the latest batch of appointments he has his opportunity to impress at the clubs under 16 tournament. I think this is probably the most successful season for West indoor and makes all the time and effort worth it! 10. RYUAG 11. Technical Officiating Report My main role in the first half of the season was to organise the administration of all the West indoor tournaments which involved 10 competitions held over three weekends. The tournaments and table officials were:- Saturday 30th November - Schools U16 Girls (Cheltenham) - Liz Powell/Tim Horsfield. Sunday 1st December - Schools U18 Girls (Cheltenham) - Liz Powell/Tim Horsfield. Sunday 1st December - Schools U18 Boys (Wellington) - Ray Robbetts, Dani Bunt, Hazel Bound and Kieran. Saturday 7th December - Clubs U18 Boys (Marjon) - Ray Robbetts. Saturday 7th December - Clubs U16 Boys (Marjon) - Dani Bunt. Sunday 8th December - Clubs U18 Girls (Marjon) - Liz Powell, Hazel Bound, Dani Bunt. Sunday 8th December - Clubs U16 Girls (Marjon) - Liz Powell, Hazel Bound, Dani Bunt. Saturday 14th December - Ladies Senior Clubs (Exeter) - Liz Powell, Hazel Bound, Dani Bunt. Sunday 15th December Men s Senior Clubs (UWE) - Liz Powell, Ray Robbetts, Dani Bunt, Hazel Bound and Kieran. My sincere thanks to all those officials who gave up successive weekends. As can be seen we were quite shorthanded on several occasions and the need for extra officials to be become involved is vital in order to ease the workload over three very busy weekends. The same names appear again and again. Once again, can I make an appeal through county reps to canvass individuals who may like to take up table officiating at various tournaments, both indoors and out. My final thanks go to Nick White and the teams of umpires for the excellent way in which they officiated at all these tournaments. 12. County Reports. Avon 17 candidates have gained their Level 1 umpire award since the last meeting. One Level 1 courses was held late October with a total of 21 candidates attending and passing their theory. Further Level course arranged for 2 nd February at UWE, places are still available. Several umpires are showing a desire to progress their umpiring and they will be given further coaching during our summer league. A coaching/meeting is being arranged for all of our under 16 umpires on 2 nd March to coincide
13. AOB. with the Avon Junior Festival at Yate and it is hoped that other young umpires under 21 will be there to help with the coaching. A club rules evening was held in November and a further two rules evenings for clubs are being arranged in the near future. Cornwall No report received Devon Nothing to report Dorset Dorset held a new style Level 1 course in November with 12 candidates. The new format was very well received, especially the practical session out on the pitch, which provoked a lot of good discussion. Tony Wilcox has been busy assessing candidates from his old style courses in the county and 8 have gained their level 1 status since the last meeting. Gloucestershire Since the last meeting, information has been received of four successful assessments to Level One. There are currently 153 umpires on the Gloucestershire active list, of whom 32 have now returned their match record cards. HGWHUA continue their recruitments efforts within the county. On the 11 th November 2013 a meeting was held in Cheltenham with clubs in the north of the HGWHUA area and the next evening, in Chippenham, with clubs in the south of the HGWHUA area. In both cases, the invited clubs receive appointments from HGWHUA, twelve out of twenty clubs sent representatives. Various topics were discussed, including umpire candidate development, 'pair and share' (one appointed umpire, one club umpire), junior umpire development, pre-match and post match mentoring of club umpires. One outcome was that Cheltenham HC organised an umpire coaching match in December, where a series of club umpires were coached by HGWHUA umpires on a friendly match between two local teams. Herefordshire The only item I have to report is that I will be holding a L1 course at Hereford HC on Jan 20 th and 27 th, the last one under the existing L1 qualifications. The uptake is very poor and I suspect it will be non-existent when the new L1 course kicks in, especially if the nearest centre is likely to be in Gloucester or Cheltenham. Somerset One level 1 course at Taunton with 13 candidates all passing their theory paper. 3 umpires have gained their Level 1 umpire award. Wiltshire Nothing to report. 14. Meetings for the forthcoming year Wednesday 23 rd April 2014 Wednesday 16 th July 2014 All at Ruishton Inn Chairman s Signature. Date.
Appendix 1 Club / Umpire Statistics for the West as at 1st January 2014 County Avon Cornwall Devon Dorset Gloucestershire Herefordshire Somerset Wiltshire Total Men's Clubs 0 6 18 0 13 2 23 7 69 Men's League Teams 0 13 58 0 38 4 88 24 225 Women's Clubs 28 9 26 9 19 4 13 9 117 Women's League Teams 70 15 51 18 38 6 29 26 253 Total West Clubs 28 15 44 9 32 6 36 16 186 Total League Teams 70 28 109 18 76 10 117 50 478 Level 1 Umpires 335 86 260 108 141 39 220 196 1385 Level 2 Umpires 14 0 21 2 10 4 11 12 74 Level 3 Umpires 2 1 6 0 2 0 7 0 18 Candidate Umpires 220 44 85 66 56 14 132 29 646 Total Active Umpires 571 131 372 176 209 57 370 237 2123 Qualified Umpire Coaches 19 3 14 0 4 0 13 5 58