Umpiring It’s not that bad!!

Where can umpiring take me? Junior club / school Senior club A Pool club Development Panel SSA / invitational tournaments HA Underage tournaments AHL Development international International Olympic Panel / World Cup Panel Intrastate tournaments

What makes a good umpire? A whistle the players can hear Clear signals which the players can see Consistency Good understanding of the rules Good relationship with the players – understand what they want. Can you think of other things?

So how do I do the things which make a good umpire? Position, position, position!! A lot of umpiring is about good positioning. – Good positioning = good decisions – Poor positioning = not seeing what happened, which means either no decision or maybe wrong decision Working with your other umpire – you are a team!

So how do I do the things which make a good umpire? Have good presentation – it makes you look confident! – Make the effort to make sure you are wearing a top which is a different colour to the teams playing – Blow your whistle loud enough for the players to hear it – Stand tall! – Give big clear signals – Keep your head up

What is a good position? The first thing we need to know before we can talk about what good positioning is, is which areas of the field each umpire is responsible for!

Measures of control

Overview of new rules Self play rule – Between the two 25yrd lines, the team who gave away the free hit MUST get back 5 metres FROM WHERE THE FREE HIT WAS TAKEN before they can play the ball, or run next to the ball carrier – Any player who was already 5 metres from the free hit when it was played may play the ball – Umpires need to help teams not infringe by talking to the players

Overview of newer rules Free hits in the attacking 25yrd area – Players from BOTH teams must be 5 metres away from where the free hit is to be taken – Free hits won inside the dotted 5 yard area have to be taken back outside the dotted area – Before the ball can enter the circle one of two things needs to happen 1. The ball is run at least 5m from where the free was taken 2. Another player, from either team, touches the ball

Local rules Two minute suspension for green cards – umpire should call time, show the green card and call time back immediately. – It is the player’s responsibility to leave the field. – The umpire should upgrade the penalty for any player who interferes with play before leaving the field

Local rules Breaking on a short corner – The offending player is sent back to the half line – If the offending player is an attacker, they may be replaced with another attacker – If the offending player is a defender, the cannot be replaced – If the goalkeeper breaks, the defender standing closest to them will be sent to the half line in the goalkeeper’s place

Other rules Which rules do you have questions about?

What next? If you are interested in learning to umpire talk to your junior coordinators. They will be able to help you get started If you have already done a little bit of umpiring and you are interested in learning more, maybe joining Development Panel in 2010 is for you! If you ever want someone to watch you umpire and give you some feedback, just ask! There are people around who are happy to help. Grazia has my contact details.

Thanks for your time! Enjoy your umpiring and remember IT’S NOT THAT BAD!