Brighton and Hove Hockey Club is always looking for players and parents to get involved with umpiring teams and starting on the road to becoming an umpire is straightforward. The club has drawn up some guidelines, in line with England Hockey's pathway to umpiring, to help.

Umpiring is a great way to be involved in hockey. It gives you the opportunity to give something back to the sport you love, whilst also helping to widen participation. There are opportunities for everyone to umpire, whether you only want to umpire at your local club or progress to the international stage. Whatever your aspirations, you will receive support from England Hockey and the large number of fantastic volunteers involved in umpiring.

Currently BHHC has 28 umpires among its membership - 10 County Umpires (of which seven still play every week), 8 Club Umpires (Assessed) and 10 Club Umpires (Unassessed) - but we need more.

Get started
As a new or inexperienced umpire, you should complete the Level 1 Umpire Award course. This will give you an excellent introduction to umpiring hockey and will equip you with many of the skills and confidence to do so effectively. You can book yourself onto a course at:

http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/courses.asp%20section=296&sectionTitle=Find+a+Course

If there are no local courses in the near future then let Luke Cain-Williams, BHHC's Umpire Coordinator, or Jess Harris know you are keen and they can look into organising a course if enough people are interested.

As a BHHC member who has completed their Level 1 Umpire Award and been assessed, you can have your match fee waived if you play and umpire on the same day. Level 1 Assessed Club Umpires are able to be allocated to any club game that has not been allocated to by the umpire association. Although you are able to umpire as an Club Umpire (Unassessed) the number of games is limited due to league rules so it is beneficial to you and the club to get practice and get assessed as soon as you can.

Many umpires are happy umpiring only at their own club. However, If you want to progress as an umpire you should join your local County Hockey Umpiring Association (HUA). As a full County HUA member you will receive a wide range of appointments and your development will be supported by experienced people. To join a county HUA, you must have completed the Level 1 Umpire course.

The next stage is to complete the Level 2 Umpire Award. Your County HUA will be able to provide details on how to do this.

A small number of umpires each year will then complete the Level 3 Umpire Award and become a member of the National Programme Umpiring Association (NPUA). Working closely with England Hockey, the NPUA is responsible for the development of umpires operating in the National Leagues.

You can find the 'Getting Involved in Umpiring with BHHC' advisory guide on the club website at https://www.brightonandhovehockeyclub.net/d/documents.html?group_id=13360

It applies to those aged 16 and above. Luke Cain-Williams, BHHC Umpire Coordinator, can be contacted on lukecainwilliams@gmail.com for advice or to answer any questions.
Anyone younger than 18 who would like to get involved, there will be opportunities to umpire. Please contact Wendy Russell, BHHC's Head of Junior Development, on bhhc.directorofcoaches@gmail.com