The England Hockey NationalUmpire Manager Award is aimed at Umpire Coaches and Assessorswho are interested in, committed to and capable of managing a team of umpires at a tournament. The role incorporates the National Coaching and National Assessing skills and also includes leadership and management skills. The Umpire Manager will be able to enhance, support and evaluate the performance of umpires at a tournament up to and including those operating within the National Programme (i.e. National Level 3 and above Umpires). The Award offers candidates the opportunity to further their own umpire management knowledge, experience and performance andto work with and assist in the development of other umpire managers. All Candidates should read the Umpire Manager Manual (2017) and other documents available under the Umpire Management section of the NPUA website. In addition, they will have acquired a detailed knowledge of hockey, hockey umpiring, umpire management and modern trends in all areas.

The EH National Umpire Manager will be able to:

  • Organise and manage a team of umpires officiating in a NationalProgramme Indoor or OutdoorTournament environment.
  • On appointment, establish a close working relationship with the Tournament Director.
  • Pre-tournament: Carry out the necessaryplanning and other arrangements.
  • During the tournament: Arrange the briefing and stimulate team building. Understand appointments strategy. Makeappointments, after consultation with the TD.Watch the matches.Provide support andmentoring whilelistening to and counselling the umpires.
  • Post tournament: Assess the umpires and complete the individual reportenabling them to reflect on their umpiring performance, to identify areas to improve performance and provide corrective actions.
  • Be a strong and confident communicator with good listening and negotiating skills.Be a good motivator.Use own knowledge and experience to assess umpire performances on individual games within the tournament.
  • Observe, assess and provide objective verbal and written feedback to the umpires
  • Have a thorough knowledge of the NPUA marking matrix and to understand how this links to the FIH umpire marking system.
  • Be capable of using the NPUA marking matrix to achieve consistency when marking the overall umpire performances.
  • Once established as an experienced National Umpire Manager, assist in the training of other National Umpire Managers.
  • Reflect on their own performance and to seek to improve after each tournament.

Qualifying Criteria & Registration Process:

Candidates wishing to gain the EH NationalUmpire ManagerAccreditation should already be a qualified National Umpire Coach and a qualified National Umpire Assessor.In special circumstances a prospective Umpire Manager candidate not covered by the above criteria may also be nominated by NPUA. All Umpire Managers and candidates must be in possession of an England Hockey Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (DBS) check.

ACandidate Registration Form and a CV of all relevant management skills and experience must be submitted by post or email to the Chairman the England Hockey Umpiring Selection Strategy Committee (EHUSSC). All nominations MUST be approved by the EHUSSC.The Chairman will advise the Candidate of any action that may be required prior to beginning the Candidate Assessment process.

Assessment.

Until accredited, the candidate will be appointed alongside experiencedNational Umpire Managers.The candidate shall not manage alone at a National Tournament.

The candidate shall successfully complete the following process by demonstrating:

Demonstrate expertise and knowledge of the following qualities:
  • Planning and organisation
  • Leadership and management
  • Listening and communication
  • Friendly motivation and counselling
  • Negotiation
  • Encourage enhancement of the umpires’ overall performance
  • Personal development planning

Ability to spot the qualities in an umpiring performance.
Demonstrate the above qualitiesunder the supervision of an NPUA Appointed National Umpire Manager at a tournament approved by NPUA.
The ability to be able to manage umpires’ expectations through oral and written feedback
The appointed Umpire Manager is required to provide feedback to the umpire(s) after each game. This should be orally after the game and followed up with a written assessment report on the NPUA umpire assessment form at the end of the tournament. These should make clear the mark given, areas of strength and the areas on which the umpire should continue to work. The reports should refer to appropriate examples of the points under discussion while retaining an overview of the performance. The written report should reflect the oral reports.
The correct use of the NPUA Marking Matrix in a tournament situation.
The overall assessment and mark should be based on the actual performances during the tournament.
Understanding the mark range for each NPUA panel from NPDP up to Premier Panel.
Understanding what is required for a mark to be average and in the middle of the panel range and especially the alignment of marking when a mark “above” or “below” panel is required.
To have knowledge of how the NPUA marking matrix links to the FIH marking Panels

The National Umpire Manager Award - Assessment Process

The assessment will be based strictly in accordance with the published competency guidelines and shall be available to the candidate at any time. There will be three (3) possible outcomes a) pass, b) re-take following short term action plan or c) return to Umpire Coaching and Umpire Assessing with long term action plan. It should be noted that a candidate can only be re-assessed once in any hockey season (September-May).

Maintaining the Award:

Accredited England Hockey National Umpire Managers are required to demonstrate annually that they are still active as managers by:

  • Demonstrating an on-going involvement in umpiremanaging, appropriate to EH National Umpire Managerstandards, through their records kept on the NPUA website.
  • Attend the NPUA Conference or a similar international seminar or conference at least once every two years. ??
  • Comply with the current England Hockey Safeguarding Policy

Foot Note.

The NPUA or England Hockey may remove an umpire manager from the National Umpire Manager Active Register. However, the qualification (accreditation) cannot be withdrawn. The Umpire Manager should be moved to an Inactive Register until the three criteria above are re-met. The circumstances under which an umpire manager can beplaced on the inactiveRegister include: retirement from umpiremanaging; no longer a member of NPUA;no longer performing to the required standard; or for disciplinary reasons.

For individuals wishing to return to the Active Register after a period of non-membership of the NPUA, they must apply to the Chairman of the EHUSSCand undertake an umpiremanagement assessment at an event or tournament within the National Programme.Following a successful assessment the umpiremanager willbe moved back onto the Active Register.