We are planning for our first Fundamentals of Umpiring Module 2 session which is going to take place in Mullingar Hockey Club on Tuesday 5th October from 6.30pm – 9.00pm. This session has been planned as the largest number of participants we had who have completed the Fundamentals Q&A session are based in Westmeath and we wanted to provide them with the opportunity to take part in a course in a local area without potentially having to travel to Dublin/Ulster.
However we have a number of participants who are not able to attend this session and we would like to open it up to more umpires who might be interested.
We are keeping this course small to give the participants the best opportunity to learn as well as giving the mentors the opportunity to work out the most ideal format for the course so we would be grateful for your feedback as well.
The cost of the course is €25 and is bookable through our events page at this link https://hockey.ie/events/fundamentals-of-umpiring-module-2-practical-pilot-5th-october-2021/ . Please note spaces will be assigned first come first served as we are limited to a maximum of 4 spaces left on this course.
The aim of Fundamentals Module 2 is to ensure that the basic skills outlined in Module 1 can be put into practice, i.e. that participants know where to stand, know their areas of control, demonstrate appropriate signalling, and use their whistle correctly. Following completion of this Module participants should be comfortable with these basic umpiring tools and will be able to practice in un-appointed, league games. Specifically, it is envisaged that lower league games or u16 matches would be the target level of matches that people undertaking this Module should aim for.
There is no assessment associated with this module, instead participants will be provided with informal feedback on areas to improve on. Participants will chat with mentors on site who will suggest areas to work on around the topics of positioning, signalling, body language, whistle use, etc. Examples of necessary skills for this level:
- Effective use of whistle including change in tone
- Basic positioning
- Makes decisions with appropriate signals
- Starts to differentiate between basic stick clashes and fouls
Collectively, the Fundamental Modules replaced the previous National Umpire Award. Following completion of (i) the rules test, (ii) Module 1, and (iii) Module 2, participants will be able to register as ‘club umpires’ on the Hockey Ireland membership site. These three components represent the basics of the rules of hockey, the theory of umpiring and the practical components of umpiring respectively. To complete Fundamentals Module 2 participants must first have completed the Online Rules test and the online learning theoretical content of Module 1.
Once this pilot course is completed we intend on running more courses throughout the provinces across the season.