Umpiring is an incredibly important aspect of our game. It’s a rewarding challenge in it’s own right, as well as an opportunity to develop valuable skills and increase your knowledge of the sport.
Our club is made up entirely of active playing members. We depend on the help of many volunteers who are willing to umpire fixtures occasionally, alongside playing a game of their own.
Our teams help each other out by supplying two umpires for another Accies fixture, either before or after their own home match.
We’ve developed an “Umpiring Guide” to explain this in more detail and some key points are reproduced in this page.
It’s an expectation that all club members contribute to umpiring at some point during the season.
How To HeLp Umpire Matches
There is a straightforward process to becoming qualified, so that you are able to umpire Accies matches:
To become a Level 1 Unassessed umpire, you will need to attend one 2hr online course. These run multiple times a week and it’s easy to book via EH Hockey Hub.
Once complete, you will receive your Level 1 Unassessed Umpire certificate and be qualified to umpire league hockey at an appropriate level (in our case, that’s all 2nd XI fixtures & below).
League rules mean that we have to name umpires on the team sheets for all our fixtures, so you’ll also need to register on GMS as an “official”, even though you already have an account as a player.
Make sure you select “London Academicals” as your club and choose “EHO Bronze Membership”, which is free!
For 2024/25, the Accies will refund the costs of the Level 1 course (£30) for anyone who umpires two matches during the season.
Umpire Development & Support
We recognise that some members might be apprehensive about taking their first steps in umpiring.
As a hockey player, you are very likely to have a better understanding of how the rules should apply than you realise. It usually doesn’t take long to get up to speed!
There are regularly opportunities to practice umpiring small sided games during training, and get supportive feedback from your teammates, or tips from experienced club umpires.
We also work to ensure that less experienced umpires start with a more experienced colleague.
All our captains and players are made aware of their responsibility to be supportive of new umpires before, during & after their games.
Umpire Assessments
For members who’ve gained a good level of umpiring experience, we encourage you to put yourself forward for assessment to become a Level 1 Assessed Umpire.
Assessment is free and involves involves umpiring a match in front of an umpire developer. We arrange Club Umpire Development Days during the season to facilitate assessments and the success rate for Accies candidates is very high.
If you are interested in assessment, or want to understand the next steps in umpiring, please ask your captain or speak to Chris Baker directly.
