HOW TO BECOME A UMPIRE
There are 4 stages to the ECC Umpire Education Programme – 3 classroom based with Examinations, and 1 practical based. In order for the Programme to work successfully umpires should start from Stage 1 and work their way through. This Programme is designed to encourage field experience to be undertaken between each stage of the classroom education. The whole programme could take up to 3-4 years to complete.
Although the Courses and Exams are conducted in English, if any student has a problem understanding anything then there is usually an interpreter on hand to assist.
Stage 1 – ECC Introductory Course and Exam.
This Course
deals with the basis Laws and includes fieldcraft and umpiring technique.It is a PowerPoint based course with photographs and graphics used to assist the learning process.
The Exam
is in two parts – a visual exam followed by an oral one. The exam is designed so that there is no writing to be done. Visual questions are multiple choices and the oral is a one-to-one discussion with the examiner. There is no requirement for the student to write in English.
Requirements
Venue:
Timing:
(it is recommended that the following timetable be followed:
2 hours on Friday evening, 8 hours on Saturday, 4 hours on Sunday)
The Exam is taken at the end of the Course on Sunday afternoon.
Student
numbers:
If more than 10 the ECC will send two Tutors to run the Course/Exam but this will have an impact on the costs – see Costs below.
Equipment:
The host country must provide a white projector screen.
Resources:
Costs:
ECC Tutor(s) fees: ECC Tutor(s) flights: Course Manuals: Tom Smith’s book: MCC Law Book:
The host country will pay for: ECC Tutor(s) accommodation, meals, transport whilst in the host country.
If the ASP does not have the funds available the Course can still be held but the host country will have to pay all costs.
Stage 2 – ECC/ACU&S GL6 Course and Exam
At this stage the ECC and the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (ACU&S) – (an English based umpiring association) join forces and administer the Course and Exam together. The GL refers to a Grade Level and will be of significance once Grading comes into play in 2006-7.
The Course
is a mixture of revision work from the ECC Introductory Course and new work on Laws not previously covered. The format is a mixture of PowerPoint presentation and class discussion.
The Exam
is a visual based one with multiple choice answers. There is no requirement for the student to write in English.
Requirements
Venue:
Timing:
(it is recommended that the following timetable be followed:
2 hours on Friday evening, 8 hours on Saturday, 4 hours on Sunday)
The Exam is taken at the end of the Course on Sunday afternoon.
Student
numbers:
Equipment:
The host country must provide a white projector screen.
Resources:
Costs:
ECC Tutor fees: ECC Tutor flights: Course notes:
Registration fee and the first years subscription to the ACU&S students (applicable only to new, non ACU&S students. Any student who is already a member of the ACU&S does not qualify to have these costs paid for by the ECC)
ECC/ACU&S GL6 Exam fee (this applies to all students) The ECC will only pay for the GL6 the first time a student takes it. If a re-take is necessary the cost of the subsequent exam has to be borne by the student or home country.
The host country will pay for the ECC Tutor’s accomodation, meals, transport whilst in the host country.
Stage 3 ECC/ACU&S Special Overseas Course and Exam.
This course is very similar to the GL6 course and explores all areas of the laws.
The Exam is a 4 hour written English Exam and covers all the Laws. The student will be expected to know all the Laws even though they may not be applicable/practiced in their own country.
It is hoped that by 2006-7 this Exam will follow the same format as the ECC Introductory and ECC/ACU&S GL6 Exams – i.e. visual. However, at present it is a written exam that requires the student to have very good written English skills.
Requirements
Venue:
Timing:
(it is recommended that the following timetable be followed:
2 hours on Friday evening, 8 hours on Saturday, 6 hours on Sunday)
The Exam is not taken during this weekend. The Exam is arranged to be held on a separate occasion to suit the needs of the students.
Student
numbers:
Equipment:
The host country must provide a white projector screen.
Resources:
Costs:
ECC Tutor fees: ECC Tutor flights: Course notes:
ECC/ACU&S Special Overseas Exam fee. The ECC will only pay for this Exam the first time a student takes it. If a re-take is necessary the cost of this subsequent Special Overseas Exam has to be borne by the student or host country.
The host country will pay for: ECC Tutor’s accommodation, meals, transport whilst in the host country.
If the ASP does not have the funds available the Course can still be held but the host country will have to pay all costs.
Stage 4 – ‘On-field’ Boundary Assessments
Although classed as Stage 4 these ‘on-field assessments’ can be undertaken at any time.
Whilst classroom qualifications are essential they are not the only criteria that are taken into consideration when deciding upon an umpire’s competence. It is vital that help is given to the umpire while he is actually performing the role, on the field.
It must be appreciated that this area of education is just as important as the classroom work and countries are encouraged to use the ECC Assessor’s skills to the utmost.
Requirements
Venue:
Timing:
Minimum time: 2 days There is no maximum time.
Student
numbers:
Costs:
ECC Assessor fees: ECC Assessor’s flights.
The host country will pay for: ECC Assessor’s accommodation, meals, transport whilst in the host country.
If the ASP does not have the funds available the Course can still be held but the host country will have to pay all costs.
How to apply
Requests for any of the above Stages must be channelled through the Country Board, via the Annual Support Programme.
The ECC cannot deal with individual requests nor requests from individual Umpire Associations.
Requests must be forwarded to the Country Board so that the ECC has the details
6-8 weeks prior to the event taking place.