DAN’S DIARY
THE JOURNAL OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM HOCKEY UMPIRES’ ASSOCIATION
Volume 30 No.2: January 2017
A HAPPY NEW
YEAR TO ALL
OUR READERS
EDITORIAL
The first edition of the New Year offers an opportunity to review 2016 and to look ahead to 2017. The year just gone
will be remembered for an Olympic triumph for GB ladies courtesy of some outstanding performances. Hockey was
thrust in the limelight with stars appearing on Question of Sport, I’m a celebrity and the Strictly Christmas Special, to
name but three. There was even a visit to the Hockey Museum for Celebrity Antiques Roadshow for a shootout with
ex-Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan against a fully-kitted up Natasha Raskin in goal. In the New Year’s Honours’
list, Kate Richardson-Walsh was awarded the OBE and the other 15 squad members received the MBE.
Even though Olympic gold was not enough to win Team of the Year or Coach of the Year at the BBC Sports
Personality of the Year – Leicester City and Claudio Ranieri taking both awards – many clubs in our region are
reporting increased interest in hockey from a wide age range inspired by the exploits of Maddie Hinch, Alex Danson,
Hollie Webb etc. The work of clubs in recent times has meant that many are better equipped to deal with an influx
of people wanting to play the game.
Recently, we have seen the launch of the Hockey Paper, a weekly publication from the same stable as the Rugby
Paper, the Cricket Paper and the non-League Football Paper. It would be fair to say that finding one has presented a
challenge but it is a welcome addition to the sport.
Locally, the registration of umpires in the North East has been completed. The exercise has highlighted some
misconceptions, errors, and other issues which are dealt with in this edition. There have been some poorly
supported Level One courses and an Umpire Developer Course in the region in recent times, all of which went ahead
with the support of EH.
The recent on-going media coverage of historic abuse in football has led to other sports revisiting and rethinking
their safeguarding practice. There are clear policies in place – clubs and other hockey groups need to ensure that
their procedures are clear, disseminated and widely understood. The previous edition of Dan’s Diary had as a
separate attachment the England Hockey guidance: Umpires/Officials: Creating a positive environment for young
people (September 2016). That document provides extensive guidance by way of links to cover most roles and
situations for officiating players under the age of 18 and has been attached to this edition as well. Within this
edition is a check list for HUAs and clubs regarding this important area.
It may be a New Year, but a number of old favourites re-appear in this edition; the umpire pathway – specifically
the pathway from ‘unassessed’ to ‘assessed’ - the widely published, and even more widely ignored, NHA Code of
Pitch Side Conduct, and the use of cards in the discipline process.
There is much to look forward to 2017 and we hope it is a successful year for hockey in general, and North East
hockey in particular.
Northumberland & Durham Hockey Umpires’ Association
Annual General Meeting
Tuesday 9 May 2017
19.30 Ashbrooke Sports Club
Dan’s Diary is the journal of the Northumberland & Durham Hockey Umpires’ Association and appears at least
four times per season. The views expressed are those of the individual contributors (where named) and do not
necessarily reflect those of the NDHUA. Contributions from anyone with an interest in hockey are welcomed and
should be emailed to [email protected]. Deadline for next edition: 1 February 2017.
Safeguarding Young People in Hockey
Basic awareness training£10
It is essential that all people who work with under 18’s in hockey receive training that is appropriate to their role.
This course provides a basic level of safeguarding training to ensure young people enjoy hockey in a safe and
enjoyable environment. After completing this training, participants will be able to:

describe what safeguarding is and why safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility

define the different categories of abuse and know how to recognise them

explain how to create a safe and enjoyable environment using good practice and recognising poor practice

know how to respond to and report concerns

access further information where relevant.
Access to the England Hockey Safeguarding basic awareness training costs a one-off fee of £10.
This can be paid online by credit or debit card.
Once you have paid, you can complete the course at your own pace. Upon completion you can download your
certificate of awareness
Is this training suitable for my role?
The table below outlines which roles this course is required for:
To be taken by:
Not appropriate for:

Parent helpers

England Hockey Coach participants

Officials/umpires

England Hockey Sessional Coach participants

Team captains (of teams including u18s)

Previous UKCC England Hockey Level 2 or 3

Great Britain Coaching Club Programme Workshops:

Welfare Officers

o
Introduction to Hockey Coaching
o
Engaging Games for Children
o
Coaching for Club Players
Previous UKCC England Hockey Level 1
This table is not exhaustive, for more information (including higher level training), please see England
Hockey’s Safeguarding Training Guidance.
You must register with the Hockey Hub in order to undertake this course.
UMPIRE REGISTRATION
The umpire registration process is more or less complete with a list of each club’s umpires on the North-East Hockey
website – www.northeasthockeyleague.org/umpires-corner.
Club umpiring developer officers (and other club officials) are asked to check the lists and notify Andrew of any
errors. Please note the following;
1. Umpires can only be included on the list if they have an umpiring registration number.
2. ‘Assessed’ umpires should have the suffix (A). To be classed as ‘assessed’, an umpire must have successfully
completed an assessment game watched by an NDHUA-accredited assessor.
3. Umpires from the ‘old’ Level One course only received a Level One number on successful completion of an
assessment game.
4. Candidates from the ‘new’ course receive a registration number on completion of a Level One course. Their
status is ‘unassessed’ until they complete an assessment game (as per 2 above).
5. Some umpires have been registered by more than one club. In most cases (and eventually in all cases) they
have only been included on one list to provide a more accurate statistical picture. There is of course no
reason why an umpire registered by Club A can’t umpire for Club B.
6. Each club’s list needs to be ‘managed’ by the Umpiring Development Officer for that club. That management
includes notifying NDHUA of errors, adding umpires as they complete courses, and changing the status of
umpires, mostly from ‘unassessed’ to ‘assessed’.
Updating the lists
UDOs – please email any changes to [email protected]
Please note that the website will be updated periodically, not necessarily immediately.
UMPIRES FROM OUTSIDE THE REGION
If a club wishes to register an umpire from outside the region, they need to provide the Level One registration
number and, if registering him/her as an assessed umpire, need to provide evidence to the NDHUA that the umpire
has been successfully assessed.
Where an umpire is coming from outside Great Britain, then a Level One Umpire Transfer Form needs to be
completed and sent (via Jonathan) to England Hockey so that an EH registration number can be issued. The club
needs to have the evidence that the umpire is appropriately qualified in his/her home country.
Please note that ‘it is the responsibility of the appointing body to only appoint umpires to games they are capable of
doing”. The ‘appointing body’ in over 95% of cases is an individual club, and the guidance is that the club must
watch new umpires to determine the level of game he/she is capable of doing.
THE UMPIRING PATHWAY (or at least some of it)
LEVEL ONE ASSESSMENTS
As mentioned in the editorial, the exercise of umpire registration has suggested some continued misunderstanding
of the status of umpires and their eligibility to umpire in the local leagues.
If you did a course prior to March 2014 (aka the ‘old course’ usually delivered over two evenings) and have a Level
One umpiring number, then you are an assessed umpire as required by the local leagues. If you did the old course
but did not get assessed then you are out of time and will need to do a new course in order to become an umpire.
If you did a course in or after March 2014 (aka the ‘new course’ usually delivered in a single day with a pitch session),
you will have received a Level One unassessed umpiring number on completion of the course. To gain assessed
status, you will need to be successfully assessed in an appropriate game by an NDHUA-accredited Level One Umpire
Assessor as detailed below;
Name
Sophie Ashcroft
Robert Brownbridge
Mick Christopher
Tim Dunn
Jean Hughes
Mike Lakinski
Heather Lewis
Simon Little
Peter MacLellan
Andrew Nix
Jonathan Rew
John Sale
Chris Thomson
Gillian Troup
Duncan Walker
David Yule
Email
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Mobile
07958 986765
07968 790898
07801 965949
07814 427431
07503 002006
07801 130506
07980 381810
07557 104694
07890 496453
07836 719162
07866 980643
07905 762334
07879 430534
07866 546637
In order to umpire in the local leagues you must either be;
 an assessed umpire (whether via the ‘old’ or ‘new’ course) or;
 an unassessed umpire (with an umpiring number through completing the ‘new’ L1 course).
An unassessed umpire can only umpire games in NEHL IL2 and below unless they are being assessed, i.e with an
assessor on the above list being present (see rule 4.4 page 75). The Durham Clubs League permits an unassessed
umpire in Division 2 if certain conditions are met (see rule 7f p.31).
An unassessed umpire must have completed the new Level One course.
An assessment game must be a valid game between teams from two separate clubs or a competitive game between
two teams from the same club, e.g. Marton Furness v Marton Furness 2 in NEHL Premier Division. The standard
does not necessarily need to be high, the safety net is ‘it is the responsibility of the appointing body to only appoint
umpires to games they are capable of doing’. It is part of the development pathway that an umpire successfully
assessed on a low-level game can, with support and practice be subsequently watched on a more demanding game.
THE UMPIRE DEVELOPER COURSE
The Umpire Developer Course is a three-hour classroom based course, accredited by England Hockey, for people
who wish to help their own club umpires improve. This could be by working with potential umpires at club level, by
helping umpires who have completed a course to prepare for assessment or helping assessed umpires to improve
the type of game they can do.
The EH-accredited County Umpire Developers can support clubs, particularly ‘small clubs’.
The course is open to anyone with an interest in umpire development and improvement at club level and is not
limited to Umpiring Development Officers. The latter is a post required by the North East Hockey League with wider
responsibilities as laid down in rule 4.4c.
EH-accredited County Umpire Developers (as at 1 January 2017)
EH accredited County Umpire Developer
Peter MacLellan
EH accredited County Umpire Developer
Jonathan Rew
EH accredited County Umpire Developer
John Sale
EH-accredited Club Umpire Developers (as at 1 January 2017)
CLUB
Darlington
Durham City
Durham University
Gateshead
Hild/Bede
Jesmond Parish Church
Marton Furness
Morpeth
Norton
Redcar
Richmond Roses
Stockton
Unattached
Club Umpire Developer(s)
Steven Moore
Chris Donald
Miles Hudson
Eleanor Jones
Richard Oakenfull
Elliot Drewett
Daisy Goldhagen
Andrew Nix
Denis James
Robin Wallich
James Milne
Leigh Brown
Gareth Mellor
John Sale
Steven Russell
Trevor Russell
Lesley Abbey
Mike Lakinski
David Yule
Sophie Ashcroft
Simon Little
Duncan Walker
DAN’S SNIPPETS
The NDHUA technology sub-committee meeting gets off to a bad start
Photo courtesy of Steve Troup
Maiden Castle
A reminder to umpires and visiting teams that there are new parking regulations at Maiden Castle. Although parking
remains free of charge, visitors are required to sign in at reception with their car registration number.
Another record ?
The NEHL game between Durham University M4s and Newcastle University M3s on 26 November 2016 saw the two
umpires Ken John and John Sale set what we believe is the oldest umpiring partnership for a competitive game in the
country. They beat their record from 2015 by two years, obvious really if you think about it.
Although Dan’s Diary won’t reveal the aggregate age, it is worthy of mention and congratulations to them both.
Rule book
Although a new rule book was introduced on 1 January, England Hockey have announced in a letter to HUAs that the
2017 rules will be introduced in England from 1 August 2017.
"As a National Governing Body of the sport, we want to promote a consistent set of rules throughout all levels of our
sport, as well as preventing any rule changes that are not considered “major changes” to the game to be
implemented mid-season. After working with the EH Rules and Regulations committee, taking advice from all levels
of the game, we feel an implementation date for the start of the 2017/18 season is the most sensible time to make
these changes."
The rule book is expected to be available from mid-April but can be read on-line at;
FIH Rules of Hockey 2017
PLAYER MANAGEMENT UPDATE
Some key principles
There is a fairly common view that the role of the umpire is to ‘manage’ the players and games which either ‘get out
of hand’ or have a lot of cards are entirely the fault of the umpire. This misconception seems to overlook a basic rule
of hockey, rule 3.4 “captains are responsible for the behaviour of all players on their team and for ensuring that
substitutions of players on their team are carried out correctly”. It goes on; “a personal penalty is (not ‘may be’ or
‘can’) awarded if a captain does not exercise these responsibilities”.
If we put to one side the widespread misunderstanding when substitutions can, or more accurately can’t take place
especially at a penalty corner and focus on the ‘behaviour’ aspect, then the FIH rule book offers some good advice.
“Umpires must have a thorough knowledge of the rules of hockey but remember that the spirit of the rule and
commonsense must govern interpretation”. e.g. don’t suspend the captain if a substitute puts a foot on the pitch
before the player being replaced has crossed the sideline.
Umpires must “deal promptly and firmly with offences and apply the appropriate penalties”. A five yellow card
game is not one where the umpires have overreacted but one where five yellow card offences have been
appropriately penalised.
Umpires must “use all the available tools for control”
As candidates from the Level One courses know, the list includes;






Using whistle tone to distinguish between minor and more serious offences
Voice
Signals
Higher penalties, e.g. a penalty corner for a poor tackle inside the 23 but outside the circle
Upgraded penalties, e.g. a defender hitting the ball away after the whistle has gone for a free hit to the
attack inside the 23 but outside the circle.
Reversing the hit
And the use of cards;
Two changes recently introduced into all levels of hockey have been the two-minute green card and the ‘technical’
red card given for two yellow cards given for duplicate minor offences.
Some points arising from discussion about the changes;





A green card is given for a green card offence. It is not a substitute for a yellow card just because it now
carries a period of suspension.
Except for National League and higher games where there is a neutrally-appointed match official, umpires
are responsible for the timing of cards and therefore stop time to issue such cards. Think about how you can
give the appropriate penalty without disadvantaging the team offended against.
Some people don’t like the use of the term ‘technical’ as applied to a red card awarded for a second
duplicate yellow card. There doesn’t seem to be a better term to distinguish between this and a ‘straight’
red card. The latter carries a minimum 16-day suspension.
There are only three yellow card offences as recorded on most match paperwork – physical, technical or
verbal. Any two minor yellow card offences under the same heading must result in a ‘technical’ red card, i.e.
one resulting in a suspension for the remainder of the game. However please note the clarification below
regarding dissent.
A technical red card must be reported on a red card report form and sent to the appropriate disciplinary
officer.
Dissent
Attention is drawn to all umpires and all players that dissent is not a minor offence. If a player receives a yellow
card for “dissent” then returns to the match and “dissents” again then this must be a red card and reported as a Red
card category A.
Players must accept responsibility for verbal actions that should be under their control and should expect to receive
at least the minimum mandatory 16-day suspension as the correct penalty.
THE NORTH HA CODE OF PITCHSIDE CONDUCT
A reminder that the above code applies to all regional and local league matches played in the North East. It is
printed in the North-East Hockey handbook (page 20) although curiously not in the North HA handbook (although it
is available on line – www.northhockey.org – information and downloads).
The key points are;





Substitutes and players waiting for the next game must not ‘knock up’ while the game is in progress
Children and babies must always be under supervision, and not allowed to wander round the pitch.
Coaches and managers must always remain in their designated areas.
The home club is responsible for spectator behaviour. Spectators must always be kept away from the
benches.
Vocal communication by anyone on or off the pitch must not be directed at the umpires.
The Durham Clubs League is checking that clubs are adhering to the above code. The guidance is that breaches of
the code should be reported to the appropriate County Secretary/ League officials. If ‘pool’ umpires wish to report
such breaches, they should do so via Jonathan.
OTHER NEWS
Congratulations to David Crew, who passed his Level 2 assessment game on 10 December (Harrogate v Preston 2)
and has been promoted onto the North HUA Men’s B Panel.
Belated congratulation to Eleanor Jones, who passed her Level 2 on 29 October (Leeds Adel v Brooklands Poynton 2)
and has been promoted onto the Women’s B Panel. Eleanor, a student at Durham University, is Durham City’s
Umpiring Development Officer.
The downside of David’s promotion is to increase the fragility of the local pool. Unless we get a major influx of
umpires there is every chance that the neutral pool will disappear. The progress of David and Eleanor shows that the
opportunities are there to progress, and clubs are encouraged to put umpires forward for the neutral pool, whether
on a temporary or permanent basis.
NORTH HOCKEY LEAGUES
Clubs in both the NMHL and NHWL should note that the number to text the results for Fixtures Live has
been changed to 07800 009 669.
Please note this only applies to the two North Leagues – not the local leagues.