Cookstown Hockey Club

Rules Refresher Course

From the 1st January 2017, ALL senior matches (not umpired by a panel umpire) MUST be umpired by someone who has passed a Rules Course within the last two years.

The Ulster Umpires Committee recognise there is a need to develop a course for club umpires who have been regularly umpiring for many years and have gained considerable experience; but have not attended a recent rules course and therefore have no formal qualification.

So we have developed an intense course (completed in one evening), designed for experienced club umpires who already have a good ‘working knowledge’ of the rules. This is NOT an alternative for those who are just starting to umpire; nor is it a course for someone who has a poor understanding of the rules. Because course participants are expected to be regularly umpiring for their club and have a good understanding of the rules, the pass mark for the Refresher Rules Test is 80% (the pass mark for our normal Rules Courses is 75%). Should anyone fail the Refresher Rules test, they will not be allowed to re-enrol, instead they will have to sign up for the normal 2 day Rules Course.

The first ‘refresher’ course is scheduled for the 15th November at Newforge Country Club. Should there be the demand, we will run additional Refresher Rules Courses (so watch this space). The cost of the Refresher Rules Course is £25 if pre-booked on line or £30 on the night. Demand is likely to be high, so book early to avoid disappointment.

If you want to enrol for this course contact Alistair Donaldson (alistair.donaldson@tesco.net)