NOTICES/ADVICE TO UMPIRES & UMPIRES FOR HOME FIXTURES
SEASON 2011-12
The link to the right is useful if you want to look at all the upcoming Fixtures & Appointments (so far) for games that fall within the DHUA jurisdiction. When the page opens, click on "Report the Fixtures/Appointments" - if you only want them for the next 7 days, click on "Quick Report - Next Week's Matches". Or you can use the other boxes to select fixtures & appointments for specific Clubs, Teams etc. |
DHUA Fixtures & Appointed Umpires |
Note: The "Club Appointments" (usually to games not involving your own Club) are effectively DHUA appointments - if you agree to do one of these games you will receive an email from DHUA confirming that you have an appointment, and it will appear as such in your personal area of the website, together with contact details for the two teams involved and the other umpire. During the week leading up to the game, you should be contacted by the home team to confirm arrangements. After the game, you will need to enter Match Feedback in your personal area of the DHUA website, a simple box-ticking exercise which includes an option to claim mileage expenses (about 30p per mile) for the journey to & from the venue. Note that the game will automatically be added to your Match Record; you don't need to do that manually. |
Home fixtures & Umpires
Sat 28th Jan
12:30 Ladies vs Okehampton - from DA, MM & MD
14:00 Men vs Sidmouth - appointed umps Martin Stoneman & Bob Whitell
Club Appointment to neutral game (28th Jan): one umpire please - MD
| *16:30 | Isca D v West Dorset A @ Exeter University (Sand based) |
Sat 4th Feb
12:30 Ladies vs Exeter Uni (two umps required - tbc)
14:00 Men vs Ashmoor (appointed umps likely)
Sun 5th Feb
*12:30 Ladies development team vs Exeter Uni (two umps required - RD?? plus A N Other)
Sat 11th Feb
*11:00 Ladies 2 vs Sidmouth 2 (two umps required - tbc)
14:00 Men A vs Okehampton (appointed umps likely)
15:30 Men B vs ECVH C (possibly one or two appointed umps)
Sun 12th Feb (Devon Trophy quarter-final)
12:30 Ladies vs ECVH 2 (appointed umps likely)
Sat 18th Feb
14:00 Men vs University of Exeter D (appointed umps likely)
Sat 25th Feb
12:30 Ladies vs Dawlish (two umps required - tbc)
14:00 Men A vs Torbay A (appointed umps likely)
15:30 Men B vs Taunton CS A
Sat 3rd Mar
*11:00 Ladies 2 vs Torbay 2 (two umps required - tbc)
14:00 Men vs Yeovil & Sherborne (appointed umps highly likely)
Sat 10th Mar
12:30 Ladies vs Isca 4 (two umps required - tbc)
14:00 Men A vs Taunton Vale B (appointed umps likely)
15:30 Men B vs Ashmoor A
Sat 17th Mar
*11:00 Ladies 2 vs Dart 2 (two umps required - tbc)
14:00 Men vs Isca A (appointed umps highly likely)
15:30 Men B vs Taunton CS A
Probable Club Appointment (one ump please):
15:00 Isca B v Taunton C.S. @ Exeter University (Sand)
Sat 24th Mar
12:30 Ladies vs Newton Abbot (two umps required - tbc)
14:00 Men A vs West Dorset (appointed umps likely)
15:30 Men B vs Mid Somerset A
Probable Club Appointment (one ump please):
15:00 Isca C v Teign @ Exeter University (Sand)
Games with an asterisk (*) can be umpired by a Level 1 Candidate provided that the other umpire is fully quailified
Mike Dutton, UDO, Ottery Crickets HC.
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CLUB APPOINTMENTS
The "Club Appointments" process has recently been altered slightly, relying more on the Club Umpire Appointing contact (or UDO) to scan through future fixtures on the DHUA website (roughly 1-2 months ahead) and notify DHUA of games to which the Club would probably be able to appoint one of their affiliated umpires. The following email from DHUA is an example of the input required from the Club Umpire Appointing contact (in our case, Mike Dutton).
Dear Club Umpire Appointing Contact,
At a recent meeting between DHUA and Club UDO’s it was agreed that it might be helpful if DHUA asked you, the Club Umpire Appointing Contact, to provide DHUA with fixtures in the future that your club can provide an umpire. This was trailed in November/December 2011 and generally seemed to be a good way of helping clubs to achieve their requirement to provide umpires to DHUA.
By allowing Clubs to choose fixtures, which fit in with your own teams playing, there is more likelihood of the appointment being fulfilled and less ‘failures’. Any Club failure to provide an umpire often leads to a domino effect when one club failure leads to another club having to pull out, etc.
Therefore, for the following dates, please provide fixtures your Club can appoint to. Please note that DHUA will NOT use all these dates to appoint your Club Umpire to. DHUA will ONLY use some of the dates.
Date 1: Saturday 14 Jan 2012, Date 2: Saturday 21 Jan 2012, Date 3: Saturday 28 Jan 2012
FOR EXAMPLE (based on 14 Jan 2012): XYZ HC can provide an umpire for ISCA B v Ottery Crickets A (South East Div 2)
Offering to appoint to a Men’s Premier 3/South Div 1/South Div 2 fixture is unlikely to be any good as regular Neutral Pool umpires are normally appointed to these. Also, asking to be appointed to a fixture involving your own team is also unlikely to be any good!
The more dates you provide then the greater flexibility DHUA has to fit in and meet your needs. I DO NOT NEED NAMES, just FIXTURES on the dates above.
By providing fixtures in advance DHUA can then plan in possible Umpire Coaching for your Club Umpire, where Umpire Coach resources and availability allow.
Should you be unable to choose any fixtures then DHUA will appoint in your place. Remember that DHUA has the discretion not to appoint umpires to teams of Clubs who are failing to join in the RDU campaign and adhere to the DHUA Club Agreements. THIS WILL BE ENFORCED RIGOROUSLY in 2012.
Thank you for your help and cooperation in this matter.
The earlier you get back to me the better; you will also get priority over late returns from other clubs.
Paddy (Alan 'Paddy' Porter), President Devon HUA
dated: 29/11/2011
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UMPIRING Titbits
umpiring titbit 5 - The raised ball (sometimes a tricky one)
umpiring titbit 6 - Ball not exiting the D at a penalty corner (click on the link).
umpiring titbit 7. A caveat about subtle changes to some aspects of umpiring that I have come across this season at neutral games with appointed umpires. DHUA umpires are being encouraged to apply a personal penalty (green or yellow cards) in some situations where, previously, a team penalty (such as a short corner against them) was thought to be sufficient. in particular, if a defender inside his own 23m (but outside the D) commits a bad foul/stick tackle which warrants the award of a short corner, then the umpire should also award a green or yellow card to the offender - in cases where the foul is deemed to amount to "breaking down the play" (such as attempting to tackle when not the full 5m from the attacking free hit inside the 23m) the card will invariably be yellow. Indeed, "breaking down the play" like this could easily be a yellow card offence anywhere on the pitch, depending partly on what options were available to the taker of the free hit.
Mike Dutton, UDO, Ottery Crickets HC (posted 21st Oct 2011)
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ADVICE TO UMPIRES FROM DHUA (dated 12th Sep 2011)
Rule 13.1 Location of a free hit:
b. a free hit awarded within 5 metres of the circle to the attack is taken at the nearest point 5 metres from the circle.
On page 50 of the rule book these are described as, “broken lines are marked with their outer edges 5 metres from the outer edge of each circle-line ; each broken line starts with a solid section at the top centre of the circle-line and each solid section is 300 mm long with gaps between the solid sections 3 metres long”
So, what do you do as an umpire if you turn up at a game and there are no dotted lines outside the shooting circle? Call the game off? Refuse to umpire? Play on? Hopefully you will decide to play on but what challenges does this have for you and the players?
Firstly, make the team Captains aware before the game and inform them that the umpires will decide where the 5 metres dotted line ‘should be’ if a free hit is awarded to the attack within 5 metres of the circle line; make sure they pass this information on to their teams.
During the game you will need to vocalise this by using your voice. Do not let the attacking free hit to take place until you are happy (perhaps by giving a ‘thumbs up’ signal to the person taking the free hit) but equally do not be too precise (no pacing out the 5 metres). The aim is to allow the game to proceed without any unnecessary delay. Wherever the free hit is taken then that is 5 metres no matter what any of the players may decide.
Finally, make the home team aware that they should address this matter via their hockey club and facility provider
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DHUA Notice about DISSENT (dated 11th March 2011)
Please take note of this advice from DHUA about increasing dissent.
There has been a noticeable increase in the instances of dissent directed at players and umpires in recent weeks. This dissent has come mainly from players but also from off pitch team members and spectators.
This has resulted in an increase in the awarding of yellow and red cards.
It is also noticeable that team Captains are failing to understand fully their role as defined in the Rules of Hockey (rule 3).
Additionally the England Hockey Code of Ethics and Behaviour and the DHUA Policy on Player Behaviourare also applicable.
All DHUA Appointed Umpires and those who umpire for their clubs are reminded that the foregoing are all to be applied in a proportionate manner. For example a distinction should be drawn between genuine player frustration (where a more gentle approach is required) than that of out and out swearing or aggressive questioning of decisions directed towards umpires. Proactive use of the Control Ladder by umpires should be employed to try and prevent situations where yellow and red cards become necessary.
For DHUA Appointed Umpires player management is very important when determining umpire panels and this is something Umpire Assessors and the Selection Committee take into consideration.
THIS MATTER IS TO BE FULLY DISCUSSED WITH TEAM CAPTAINS BEFORE FIXTURES COMMENCE OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE TEAMS FROM OUTSIDE DEVON WHO MAY NOT BE AWARE OF DHUA POLICIES IN THIS REGARD.
Dissent cannot and will not be tolerated by DHUA.
Note added by Mike Dutton: Bear in mind that, if the dissent comes from off-pitch members of a team (may be subs or coach) you can issue a yellow card to the offender and ask the team captain to withdraw one of his active players from the pitch for the period of the suspension; if an alreadysuspended player shows dissent from the sideline, keep him/her off the pitch for longer than originally intended. And remember, the minimum yellow card suspensionis 5 minutes but you don't necessarily have to tell the player concerned how long the suspension will actually last at the time he starts his/her suspension - he/she is allowed to rejoin the play only when signalled back on by you. If you haven't already done so, please go into the link at the bottom of the email relating to "Player Management (including the Control Ladder)"; it has some good advice onkeeping the lid onpotentially difficult situations to do with player discipline.
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USEFUL UMPIRING LINKS:
Entering Availability on the DHUA website (word document)
Player management (pdf document) Please make the effort to read this one!
Frustration swearing (word document)
Guidance_to_Umpires_on_Rules_of_Hockey 2009 (pdf document) Still current - well worth a browse
Rules of Hockey ----The Full Monty!
England Hockey Code of Ethics and Behaviour:
http://www.devonhockey.net/Handbook/Handbook153.doc
Devon HUA Player Behaviour Policy:
http://www.devonhockey.net/Handbook/Handbook131.doc
Red card & Matchday Misconduct Form
Red Card Report Form Sep11 (Word document to fill in and send to Disciplinary Officer -as detailed at the bottom of the form)
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