DAN’S DIARY THE JOURNAL OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM HOCKEY UMPIRES’ ASSOCIATION

Volume 30 No.1: November 2016

WHITLEY BAY & TYNEMOUTH – winners of the Maurice Cradduck Fair Play award 2016. The

photograph shows Gillian Troup (Chairman of WBTHC) receiving the award from the NDHUA

President Peter MacLellan, with the players from the Men’s 2nd X1 and Ladies’ 1st X1 in the

background.

EDITORIAL

Starting a new season with an apology is probably not the best thing to do, but this edition of Dan’s

Diary has been significantly delayed for the best of reasons – namely that umpiring developments this

season seem to have been happening by the day. It does seem a long time since British hockey was

given a huge boost over the Summer when our women’s team won Olympic gold. The exploits of Alex

Danson, Kate Richardson-Walsh, Sam Quek et al ensured that hockey was a talking point in the pubs,

clubs and living rooms up and down the country, resulting in appearances for some of the squad on

programmes like Question of Sport and Jonathan Ross. Although a squad effort, it was the

performance of Maddie Hinch in the shoot-out in the Final which captured the public’s imagination,

and inspired a new set of fans.

Those of us with long memories will recall a similar reaction when GB Men won Olympic gold in 1988.

Clubs were subsequently visited by lots of youngsters wanting to be the next Sean Kerly, Ian Taylor or

Imran Sherwani. The difference this time is that clubs are better equipped to deal with such an influx,

with systems in place to complement the work done within the Counties and Single System.

It was back to reality on the opening day of the regional leagues when John Sale and Mike Wood had to

abandon the game between Richmond and Huddersfield Dragons due to torrential rain which left the

pitch under water. A further game in North Two (East) between Wakefield and Sheffield University

Bankers second teams was postponed after all the Sheffield University hockey equipment – bar seven

sticks – was destroyed in a coach fire in midweek.

Nearer to home, the association began its 60th year with a buffet lunch at the Avenue in High Shincliffe

on 16 October, followed by an optional visit to Maiden Castle for the National League game between

Durham University and Bowdon. A further event is being planned for the end of the season and Peter

MacLellan – peter.mac@totalise.co.uk would be pleased to receive your suggestions about an

appropriate date/time/venue.

For the first time, the Umpiring Development Officers’ meeting was held over two evenings, with

UDOs given the option of attending either the one at Norton or the one at North Shields. Having one

meeting in the North of the region and one in the South appears to have significantly improved the

attendance at this important meeting.

The now traditional pre-season rules evening at Ashbrooke and led by Rob Brownbridge was also

well-attended and further information about ‘Keeping Control” is in this edition, together with an

explanation of the new red card regulations.

The long-awaiting list of umpires is now on the website and elsewhere in this edition are details of

how to update the list and some clarification of an umpire’s status.

Enjoy the season!

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

anhockey@sky.com. Deadline for next edition: 1 December 2016.

Grand Masters World Cup 2016, Newcastle International Hockey Centre.

A trip of a lifetime or a journey of love – a 50-year love for the sport of hockey. The planning started last August

during the Grand Masters European Cup in London where I umpired and stayed for the week with a longtime

friend Peter Havlin (Norton and Durham late 1960’s and early 1970’s). I had always had a fear of flying and had

never flown and Peter and his wife had offered to accompany my wife Jane to Manila to attend our son Roberts

wedding. During my week in London I made the decision to go to the wedding and so we all went to the

Philippines.

When we arrived home Peter said ‘now you have umpired the European Cup and have flown why don’t you

make yourself available for the World Cup in Australia’. After much thought and nagging and after contacting

Mike Talbot I rattled off an e-mail to the organisers and much to my surprise I received a reply saying that I was

on the list – so I had no choice – I had to go. So, an amazing experience was about to happen – we decided to fly

from Newcastle to Newcastle (10,500mls) and have 4 days in Sydney before moving 2hrs north to Newcastle

NSW where the GM World Cup 2016 was to take place. There were to be 10 days of competition, 42 Teams

from all over the world, over 1000 participants and 137 games played on the Centres 3 water based pitches. As

well as the WGM Organising Committee the Officials included a Technical Delegate and Assistant with 12

Technical Officers assisted by local volunteers, Mick Lever, the Australian National Umpire Manager and

Assistant with 25 umpires from around the world including Australia, England, Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

Our umpire briefing was held on the opening morning by Mick and after introductions and the handing out of

an Umpires Bag (3 shirts, a towel, water bottle and the Official Programme – if we wanted a Tournament Cap

we had to buy it!) the briefing concentrated on communication and consistency. We had been already being

required to prepare by studying the FIH Briefing 2016 as the games were to be played under FIH Rules and an

understanding of the rules and the recent rule changes was essential in establishing the consistency of

umpiring expected by the teams.

After the Briefing, all Officials and Umpires (see photo) joined the teams at the 8th Grand Masters Hockey

World Cup Opening Ceremony. On a blustery afternoon, the teams were greeted as they paraded onto the pitch

by an Aboriginal dance troupe and the World Cup Mascots. The players and their supporters were then

welcomed on behalf of the aboriginal people of Newcastle by Aunty June, and by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle

and Ben Hurting from Hockey Australia. The tournament was officially opened by Wim van Noortwijk,

President of WGMA and the Australian national anthem was sung in aboriginal language and in English by the

Waratah Primary School choir.

The games were played in unseasonal hot weather and there was a need to keep hydrated. As you would expect most of the games were played at a slightly slower pace than I am used to, however, you should not underestimate the skill, fitness and commitment of players who are the world’s best Grand Masters hockey players. These are players who have travelled from around the world at their own expense to compete in a Hockey World Cup. Without radios, communication during games was by the old method of hand signals, whistle tone and lots of eye contact. Playing 4 quarters also gave us the opportunity to discuss any differences in interpretation during the regular breaks in play – and during the first couple of days there was much need of that discussion with differences involving encroaching within 5mtrs when a player is receiving an aerial ball and managing a free hit within 5mtrs of the edge of the circle.

As usual you want to umpire as many games as possible and to be appointed to umpire the top games – I was not allowed to umpire games involving England or England LX but was appointed to 11 games during the 10 days which included a top class 60+ game between Netherlands v South Africa and another involving Australia v Germany. I was, unfortunately, the only umpire to be substituted after being hit on the head with the match ball. The ball had travelled over the back line and I was standing with arms outstretched when a player throwing the ball back onto the field forgot that I was in the way and it hit me on the head. I was dazed but well looked after by the team coaches from the South African and Ireland teams. I completed the 1st quarter but then on advice from the Umpire Manager and the Doctor I sat out the rest of the game with the 3rd Umpire taking over. Both Teams and the Officials sang Happy Birthday to me at the end of the game!

The umpires for the tournament. As you look at the photo, Tim is on the extreme left of the row (the front row, not the back)

The hosts Australia featured in all three National Finals, however, they had to rely on a penalty shoot-out to collect their first success against England in the 70+ category and followed this with a narrow 1-0 win over England at 65+ (including Richard Yardley of Sheffield HC). Having also won the uncontested 75+ World Cup (no other nation entered a team) Australia lined up against Netherlands in the 60+ final looking to put the final seal on a highly successful tournament. The Dutch, however, spoilt their party with a convincing 2-0 win to ensure that at least one World Cup trophy returned to Europe. England (including Robin Wilson of Sunderland Broom HC and David Blackmore of Liverpool Sefton) took the 60+ Bronze Medal with a play-off win over Germany and both New Zealand and Wales (with the Tournament’s smallest squad) picked up their first ever Grand Masters medals with Bronze in the 65+ and 70+ sections.

In the Tournament Trophy Australia also featured prominently with wins for Southern Cross Blue in the 65+ and 70+ sections - both closely fought contests against England’s LX Club. However, consolation for LX came when LX Red (including Stephen Crute of Sunderland Broom HC) overcame Southern Cross Blue to take the 60+ title. Another local player, Lakhan Kandola from Stockton HC, was disappointed not to be in a medal contesting place with England LX White.

I enjoyed a highly competitive tournament and could watch some outstanding performances some from nations who, in the opinion of players I talked to, are getting ever closer to the established top teams. Spain startled everyone with a sparkling win over Australia in their very first game and Ireland, Japan, South Africa, Scotland, Belgium, Malaysia and first-timers Singapore all had moments they will remember.

I am hoping to be invited to umpire in the European Cup in Glasgow next year and again when the Grand Masters meet in Barcelona, for the next Grand Masters Hockey World Cup in 2018.

Tim Dunn

NDHUA and North HUA

DAN’S SNIPPETS

THE STATUS OF UMPIRES

A recent edition of Dan’s Diary explained the rationale behind the way the NDHUA is funded, and the two key

benefits to clubs which arise from this.

NDHUA is funded by a levy of £10 per team which is collected by the two counties and given to the association.

The two major benefits are;

Clubs can register all their umpires with the association, meaning that they have third-party liability insurance

cover when umpiring, in addition to other benefits of membership of an umpiring association.

Level One assessments for candidates from clubs affiliated to either county HA are carried out free of charge. We

appear to be one of a very small number of HUAs able to offer this.

Over the summer clubs were invited to submit a list of their umpires and, with a few exceptions, those lists are

on the North-East hockey website thanks to Mike Wood. The exercise did highlight some interesting issues;

1. Some clubs don’t seem to have a list of umpires in their club 2. Some umpires do not seem to know their Level One umpiring number. 3. Some umpires/clubs do not understand what an “assessed” umpire is.

It was emphasised at the Umpiring Development Officers’ meetings that clubs need to have the overview of umpiring in their clubs, i.e. Who is a ‘qualified’ umpire? What level of game are they capable of doing? Who is ready for assessment? Who is ready to do a course? Candidates were issued with an umpiring registration number directly by EH. Jonathan Rew has helped with most queries but if that doesn’t work then individuals can email EH. The biggest problem though highlighted in the exercise appears to be the confusion over terminology especially with the ‘new’ course. Umpires fall into one of three categories;

1. Those who attended an “old” course which was usually, but not always, delivered over two evenings plus a written exam. These umpires only got a Level One registration number on successful completion of an assessment game. Since there was a time-limit (2 years) between the course and completing the assessment, anyone without a number from the old course is not a qualified umpire.

2. Those who attend a ‘new’ (whole-day) course are issued with a Level One umpiring number on successful completion of the course. Although they can umpire in a very restricted number of competitions, they are not ‘assessed’ umpires and are therefore of very limited use to their clubs.

3. To become an ‘assessed’ umpire and therefore increase the range of games he/she can umpire, an

umpire from the new course must be successfully assessed on a game by an HUA accredited assessor (please see list elsewhere in this edition).

Only umpires from categories 1 & 3 above are ‘assessed’ umpires and entitled to have (A) at the end of their registration number. Assessment game

1. The game must be ‘bona-fide’, i.e. a game between two different affiliated clubs or a competitive game between two teams from the same club, e.g. an NEHL Premier Division game between Newcastle University 2 & Newcastle University 3.

2. There is no timescale for conversion from ‘unassessed’ to ‘assessed’. The principle is clear – a would-be umpire goes on a course and does a mixture of classroom and outdoor work. They then develop their umpiring skills as and when they can – with the support of their UDO – and when they are ready come forward for assessment.

3. If an umpire passes an assessment on a Tier 5 game and umpires at that level for some time, he/she

may be observed again – by the Club Umpire Developer, the County Umpire Developer or assessor – to determine their progress along the Umpiring Pathway.

Appropriate appointments It is the responsibility of the appointing body – club or HUA – to only appoint umpires to games they can do. That may cause issues for some clubs but is a key principle of recent umpiring developments.

***** Attacking free hits within 5 metres of the circle (in response to discussion at the rules evening)

Please note that if there has been a stoppage in time between the awarding of the free hit and the restart in

play, then all players, including defenders in the circle, must be at least 5 metres away.

CARDS

The new season brought with it a change to the yellow card procedures, in that two yellow cards for separate

but duplicate minor offences would automatically result in a ‘technical’ red card, in which the offender would

be suspended for the rest of the game, but not receive an additional period of suspension. It seemed straight

forward, but there were several problems.

The use of the term ‘technical’ caused a lot of angst, even though it is a useful term to distinguish such a red

card from a ‘straight’ red card – one resulting in a further suspension.

What is a duplicate offence?

Most leagues record yellow cards under one of three headings – Technical, Physical and Verbal. In theory, any

second yellow card recorded under the same heading as the first should result in a technical red card.

However, see below.

What is a minor offence?

The clearest example of a yellow card given for a minor offence is probably a player deliberately stopping the

ball with his/her foot. Should the same player later deliberately use the back of his/her stick to stop the ball,

that must result in a ‘technical’ red card.

If a player is given a yellow card for abuse of an umpire, a second such offence cannot result in a ‘technical’ red

card since it is not a minor offence. A straight red card would be the penalty.

Procedures

A player given any kind of red card must leave the surrounding area. A player given a technical red card who

commits a further offence – e.g. dissent, abuse – can subsequently receive a straight red card.

The red card report form must be completed for all red cards and sent to the Disciplinary Administrator of the

county to which the offender’s club is affiliated. Speed of reporting is essential, as is following the guidelines.

SAFEGUARDING

In response to requests for specific guidance for umpires about safeguarding, the document “Umpires/Officials:

Creating a positive environment for young people” was produced by England Hockey in September. After several

attempts at copying and pasting, it has been attached to the DD mailing lists as a separate document.

THE NHA CODE OF PITCHSIDE CONDUCT

No edition of Dan’s Diary would be complete without a reference to the North Hockey Association code of pitch

side conduct which governs all matches played at Regional Level and below. The Durham Clubs League and

North Hockey Leagues monitor adherence to the code and the following extract has been sent out to all NEHL

clubs.

PITCHSIDE CONDUCT:

Concern has been expressed regarding non-adherence to the ‘Guidance Notes for Pitch Side Conduct’ which can be

found on page 20 of the NE Hockey Handbook and are attached to this email. Concerns include the lack of segregation of

players and spectators and allowing young children to be too close to the action. You are reminded that adherence to the

document is mandatory under rule 4.2 and the committee could act if problems are reported to them. I must also point

out the insurance implications should an injury to a spectator or child result in a claim against a club in circumstances

when the guidance was not being followed – i.e. your insurance company would not entertain the claim and the club

would find itself directly responsible for costs.

NHA Guidance Notes for Pitch Side Conduct

It is the responsibility of the clubs to ensure that good manner and courtesy prevails towards the opposition,

umpires and other officials before, during and after the game.

Once the pitch is available, the Match Delegate (if appointed) or Home Captain shall assume authority for the pitch

and its surrounding area.

Clubs are advised to ensure that they have adequate insurance cover and that they are aware of local health and

safety regulations regarding the pitch and facilities.

Captains and/or Match Delegate (if appointed) should:

Agree with the umpires the location of managers, coaches, substitutes and suspended players during their

suspension and from where substitutions will take place.

Satisfy themselves and the umpires as to the quality and safety of the pitch and its facilities and ensure that

other pitch side furniture is removed to its safest location.

Check the availability and location of an emergency telephone and first aid.

Agree the location and allowed proximity of spectators.

Ensure that substitutes should warm up in clothing in a colour other than the participating teams in the

agreed area of the pitch side.

Ensure that coaches and managers remain in their designated area.

Ensure that vocal communication by team officials and players on the bench is not, in any way, directed at

the umpires or players of the opposing team.

Ensure that players not taking part in the game, or those in subsequent or previous matches, do not knock

up or cool down on or near the pitch whilst the match is in progress.

Ensure that post match inquests are held away from the pitch.

Spectators should be advised, if necessary, of matters relating to their conduct, especially insofar as this

affects the game in progress. Spectators should be kept away from the bench areas always and, where

possible, should watch from the opposite side of the pitch. The onus is on the home club to take

responsibility for spectators and their behaviour.

Ensure that small children are not allowed to wander freely around the perimeter of the pitch whilst a

game is in progress. Children should remain under the control of their parent/guardian always.

Ensure that babies in push chairs are not left parked on the side of the pitch.

Captains, coaches and managers should be responsible for their own conduct and the conduct of their players

always.

Contravention of these Guidance Notes should be included in any match report and umpires are urged to report

any abuse of them to County League/Tournament officials

FIH releases Rules of Hockey 2017 Published on Tuesday, 18 October 2016 10:00

Based on recommendations made by the FIH Rules Committee, the International Hockey

Federation (FIH) has released the Rules of Hockey 2017.

These will formally come into effect for International Hockey from 1st January 2017, with

National Associations free to choose the date of their implementation.

In summary, there have been no major changes to the Rules of Hockey 2015 and the subsequent

adjustment to Rule 13.2, which came into force February 2016, has now been formally

incorporated.

The Rules of Hockey 2017 do contain a number of adjustments that feature in the already

published Rules of Indoor Hockey 2017, as applicable to the outdoor game. The FIH believes that

it is crucially important the both sets of rules are aligned as closely as possible and, in keeping

with that philosophy, has included these adjustments in the Rules of Hockey 2017.

A summary of the adjustments to the Rules of Hockey 2017 can be found below.

Rule 1.10 No equipment etc. to be placed inside the goals

Rule 2.1 Clarification that decisions taken prior to correcting a team having more than the

permitted number of players on the pitch cannot be changed if time and/or play

has already been re-started

Rule 2.2 Clarification that any change between goalkeeping options, even for Players with

Goalkeeping Privileges, either on or off the pitch, must take place as a substitution

Rule 4.2 Change of the description of ‘gloves’ to ‘hand protection’; specification of the size

of hand protection, which may be used, both for normal play and to defend

Penalty

Corners; addition of guidance regarding the use of knee pads when defending

Penalty Corners

Rule 4.3 Deletion of ‘single’ in colour of Goalkeeper shirt

Rule 9.8 Adjustment to the guidance to ‘A ball is also considered dangerous …’

Rule 9.16 Addition into guidance that if a ball hits discarded Penalty Corner defence

equipment then a Free Hit will result if outside the circle or a Penalty Corner if

inside the circle

Rule 13.2 The changes to Rule 13.2, which were posted to the FIH website on 16 February

2016 as an adjustment to the previous Rules, are now formally incorporated

Rule 13.7d Tidying up of two paragraphs of repeated guidance concerning the completion of

Penalty Corners

Rule 13.8e Addition of ‘once the whistle has been blown to start the Penalty Stroke’ for no

movement of the Goalkeeper’s feet at a Penalty Stroke

Rule 13.10d Adjustment of the guidance for the caution/carding procedure for a Goalkeeper

moving early at a Penalty Stroke, bringing it into line with the Indoor Rule

Addition of the new ‘Corner’ signal in the Umpiring Signals section

Given the minimal nature of the changes, it is not the intention to print Rules booklets for this

edition of the Rules of Hockey. As usual, National Associations are free to reproduce or translate

the booklet for distribution or re-sale. Reprints must replicate the appearance of the Rules and

incorporate the following text: ‘Reprinted with permission of the International Hockey

Federation’. The Rules of Hockey will be posted to the FIH website, into the National

Association and Continental Federation Workrooms and e-mailed to FIH listed Umpires, Umpire

Managers and Officials. FIH is also continuing to investigate alternative methods for the

distribution of the Rules of Hockey 2017.

THE UMPIRE DEVELOPER COURSE

England Hockey’s Umpire Developer Course is for people who want to help their club’s umpires get

better. The aim is to have at least one umpire developer in every club in the country. Because of two

courses held in November 2014, the following clubs have at least one accredited umpire developer;

Darlington, Durham City, Durham University, Gateshead, Marton Furness, Morpeth, Norton, Redcar.

Richmond Roses, Stockton.

Please note that this course is not the same as the Umpiring Development Officer post which is a

mandatory requirement for each North-East Club, although those post-holders may wish to attend the

course. It is open to anyone within a club who wishes to help individual umpires to improve, whether

on the above list or not.

UMPIRE DEVELOPER COURSE

Maiden Castle, Durham University DH1 3SE

TUESDAY 6 DECEMBER 2016

6.15.p.m to 9.30.p.m.

This is a new England Hockey accredited course aimed at club officials who wish to help their own

umpires improve and progress. It comprises six modules including a pre-course on-line rules test.

The other five modules look at key aspects of umpire development (as distinct from assessment) – the

requirements and responsibilities of an umpire developer; what good umpiring looks like; giving

effective feedback.

Attendees will be required to complete an on-line rules test (bringing evidence to the course) and will

receive a certificate of course completion from England Hockey.

The cost of the course is £10 and numbers are restricted to 14

Please complete the registration form and send it, with a cheque made payable to “NDHUA” to:

Andrew Nix, 53 Hastings Avenue, Durham. DH1 3QG. The deadline is Wednesday 30 November 2016

although the course may be closed earlier if all places are filled.

REGISTRATION FORM

Please complete the details below clearly in black pen.

TITLE:

FIRST NAME:

SURNAME:

ADDRESS:

POST CODE:

CLUB:

DATE OF BIRTH:

E-MAIL ADDRESS:

HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER:

MOBILE TELEPHONE NUMBER:

ETHNICITY (optional):

DISABILITY:

Please send the completed registration form together with a cheque for £10 made payable to NDHUA to

Andrew Nix, 53 Hastings Avenue, Durham. DH1 3QG to arrive on or before Wednesday 30 November

2016.