Club Umpire Community
Auckland Hockey Umpires have a goal to one day cover every match played in Auckland however at this stage this is just not possible without a lot more umpires. Because of this some games will require a Club to supply their own umpire.
For the betterment of all involved we encourage clubs to create a Club Umpiring Community within their club, with players, parents or supporters who will regularly assist with these club duties. We hope these umpires will then come back on a fairly regular basis and support can be offered to them from members of AHUA, so they not only grow their skill and enjoy umpiring more, but it means that future club appointments can be filled more easily.
F.A.Q.’s
Why do we have to provide Club Umpires?
Unfortunately there is simply not enough Auckland Hockey Umpires to cover the 100+ games throughout Auckland every weekend. One day we hope to cover all these games…but we need to recruit and train more umpires for this to happen
Where do we find these umpires from?
Players in teams, parents, siblings, or former players are all great Club Umpires, but ANYONE can be taught the skills, it often just takes a shoulder tap/chat to convince them!(sometimes an open email isn’t enough…)
Do umpires get paid?
There is no “payment” for umpires in Auckland, however a Travel Re-imbursement is given to all Youth/Senior/Collegesport games umpired, this includes Club Umpires!
How do we know which games we have to cover?
Each week an email will be sent to you Club Umpire Co-ordinator with the games your club needs to cover.
What does a Club Umpire Co-ordinator need to do?
The Club Umpire Co-ordinator finds umpires for the assigned club duties. There is a list of co-ordinators for each club, and often if a club cant cover an away game, they can work with the local club to fill the spot. The Club Umpire co-ordinator can also work with AHUA to organise training/support of their club umpires.
Why can’t we just assign a team to cover and make it their problem?
While this is a somewhat effective method of simply covering a game, it does not provide a quality experience for the teams playing or the player who ‘has to turn up’ to umpire. Often this player is forced to umpire with little training/support, and so is not confident and therefore does not do the game a true service, meaning them and the players do not enjoy the experience.
What can AHUA offer us?
The Auckland Hockey Umpires can provide full training courses for anyone interested in learning how to umpire, giving you the skills and confidence to get out and umpire at any level necessary. Support and mentoring can also be offered to club umpires through the Mentoring Programme.
JUMP – Junior Umpire Programme
The Junior Umpire Programe or ‘JUMP‘ is a programme designed to develop young umpires by supporting the local Auckland Hockey junior competition on Saturday mornings.
Facilitated by the Auckland clubs, and supported by AHUA, it teaches young people the skills they need to begin their umpiring career, but also teaches life skills in a safe and fun social environment
Currently there are JUMP programmes running at the following turfs (supporting clubs)
Auckland Grammar (Sommerville)
Avondale College (Western Districts)
Henderson High School (Waitakere)
Kolmar (Southern Districts)
Lloyd Elsemore (Howick Pakuranga)
Mount Roskill Grammar (Roskill Eden/Grammer Windsor)
For more information Contact your local club or the AHUA Jump Co-ordinator Luisa Brownsey