This is an accreditation for those who umpire in the national programme including the England Hockey League (EHL) and the National Tournament Finals and Championships.
About the Award
All umpires who officiate in the National Programme (the EHL and/or the Tournament Finals) are accredited at Level 3. Assessment for the Award is usually but not exclusively based on Division 2 of the EHL (Men's or Women's Leagues) and is undertaken by the National Programme Umpire Selection Panel (NPUSP).
Qualifying Criteria
- L3 candidates are required to successfully complete the England Hockey Board (EHB) Umpire Fitness Test (currently the Bleep Test)
- L3 candidates are required to be active on the EHB Level 2 Umpires Register (L2R)
- If the L3 candidate has a Level 3 or higher accreditation from another country, or is a GB or FIH umpire, it is possible that he / she will be accredited by England Hockey without having to undergo an initial assessment
- If the L3 candidate does not have any of the accreditations named above (bullet point 3), the nomination shall be submitted from the Region / or Regional HUA to umpiring@englandhockey.org and the Secretary of the National Programme Umpiring Association (NPUA) see below for details).
Note:
No nomination shall be submitted until the candidate has been assessed by a minimum of two regionally or nationally appointed assessors on a minimum of two matches of a suitable standard (e.g. the highest competitive Regional League matches or other
matches considered to be of a suitable standard).
Registration Procedure
- L3 candidates must be registered with England Hockey and the NPUA
- England Hockey will register the candidate and invoice him / her for the £25 candidate registration fee.
- Immediately the invoice is paid, England Hockey will advise the NPUA, who in turn will arrange the assessment of the candidate on a suitable game/s within the National Programme.
- Following the completion of successful assessment, the NPUA will advise England Hockey who in turn will issue the accreditation, the registration card and the L3 umpire badge. All items will be sent directly to the umpire.
Assessment Procedure
- L3 candidates shall first be assessed while umpiring a Regional Men’s or Women’s League Premier Division hockey match by a regionally appointed assessor (see note above).
- If the assessment is successful, the Region / Regional HUA shall submit the candidates' name and evidence of a recently completed National Hockey Umpire Fitness Test to the Development Department at England Hockey and the Secretary of the NPUA. The NPUA shall arrange for the umpire to be appointed and assessed in the National Programme (at a tournament / event or in the EHL). The assessment shall be on one or more matches and shall be carried out by an appointed member of the NPUSP or a person named by the NPUSP at each match.
- Unsuccessful candidates shall be advised to return to their Region for further experience and coaching. Successful candidates will be offered further appointments in the National Programme. In all cases, an assessment report shall be sent from the NPUSP to the umpire, and the Region / Regional HUA.
Note:
It should be noted that any umpire qualified following assessment while umpiring in the Women's National Programme and then wanting to umpire in the Men's National Programme may first need to undergo an assessment in that programme. The same
applies for any umpire who has qualified in the Men’s Programme and then chooses to umpire in the Women’s.
Maintenance
Assessment shall be ongoing within the National Programme and is the responsibility of the Selection and Assessment Panel of the NPUA. In addition, the umpire must achieve annually, a score of 'to the required standard' in the national umpire fitness test (currently the Bleep Test).
England Hockey may on the recommendation of the NPUSP and the NPUA remove an umpire from the active Level 3 Umpire Register, but the qualification (accreditation) cannot be withdrawn.
The circumstances under which an umpire can be removed include retirement from umpiring, no longer performing to the required standard or, for disciplinary reasons.
The administration of the Level 3 Umpire Award is the responsibility of the England Hockey Development Department and all associated amendments or enquiries should be addressed to the England Hockey Board.
