| 5th February 2010 |
| EHTV live games |
| England Hockey TV (EHTV) is broadcasting two games via the web this weekend. To watch the highlights or the games in full visit the England Hockey website and follow the links. |
| Development Groups - 19 February 2010 |
| The NPUA is planning to host four Development Groups in 2010 with each being targeted at specific panels. The development opportunities are as follows:
- EuroHockey League Rounds 2 and 3 (KO16), in Rotterdam over Easter weekend from 2–5 April. This opportunity will entail four nights accommodation, travelling out on Thursday and returning on Monday.
- England Hockey League Championship and Promotion Play Offs for men and women, at Cannock over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend 1–3 May. This opportunity will entail two nights accommodation, arriving Saturday morning and departing on Monday.
- The Women’s Champions Trophy in Nottingham on 17 & 18 July. This opportunity will entail one night of accommodation, arriving Saturday morning and departing on Sunday.
- The Women’s European under 21 Nations Championship being played in Lille, on 30 & 31 July. This opportunity entails one night of accommodation, with the group travelling out early on the Friday morning and returning on the Saturday evening.
As with previous years, it is hoped to give all members the opportunity to attend at least one of these groups. Each group will be targetted at a specific audience to ensure members get the maximum development from each opportunity. As these will be targeted development sessions it is recommended that you make yourself available for at least two dates so that you give yourself the best chance of being selected.
The cost for these groups is the same as previous years. For overseas groups the NPUA Development Budget will cover the cost of accommodation with members paying for all other costs, such as travel, tickets and meals. For UK based development groups, NPUA will cover the cost of your accommodation and travel to the venue with members purchasing their own tickets, meals and any other sundry costs such as parking.
Availability for these groups is now on the website in your personal area and the closing date for indications of interest is 19th February. It is appreciated that this is comparatively short notice however, we need to ensure arrangements for these groups are made as soon as possible. |
| 2nd February 2010 |
| NPUA Consultation 2-14 February 2010 |
| Following on from our commitment undertaken at the AGM 2009, to look at subscription charges and to review the 'value for money' our members receive, we will be canvassing your views, from 2 - 14 Febraury 2010, so that you have a chance to influence the strategic direction of your Association.
The NPUA has seen a number of changes in personnel in respect of the Officers and Executive this year, therefore we feel this is an ideal opportunity to review the strategic aims and priorities of the organisation. Your views are an integral part of this review so please give a few minutes to complete the online survey.
The survey has been designed to gather your honest and open views and to be quick and very easy to follow. All the answers are anonymous to ensure you can contribute as much information and as many solutions as you wish.
To access the survey please log into the member area and proceed to your personal news items where you will find directions and a link to an external survey provider.
The England Hockey Board Performance Umpiring Plan (PUP) is a key strategic document in NPUA's working, but this is your chance to influence the NPUA Strategic Plan which feeds into the PUP. The Executive Committee has set aside the June 2010 meeting to finalise the direction of the Strategic Plan.
The NPUA Strategic Plan is aimed at giving us a clear direction and will be a fully transparent document, which will be launched at the NPUA Conference 2010, on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September 2010, at Loughborough University.
This consultation is just one of the ways you can voice your thoughts and opinions, please feel free to email any member of the Executive Committee at any point in the year.
Many thanks
NPUA Executive |
| 1st February 2010 |
| Communication with an appointed assessor or coach |
| As you will be aware the next tranche of appointments has been made and published. At the end of last year feedback was received that some coaches and assessors had not been contacted prior to the match by the umpires that they were working with.
As a reminder to all please note that if you due to be assessed or coached, out of courtesy to those who are giving up their time to help you, please remember to contact them. The NPUA Handbook asks you to do this as soon as the Host Club has contacted you with the match details, but in any case you should do this no later than the Tuesday evening before the match. Whilst most clubs also copy in details of the match to appointed assessors and coaches, this does not absolve you of your responsibility to contact them as well. |
| 29th January 2010 |
| Expenses |
| The NPUA system will be processing outstanding expenses which need claiming at the beginning of February. This is so that outstanding subscriptions can be claimed and paid. All members (especially those who have not yet paid their subscriptions) are requested to enter their feedback as soon as possible. Richard Kirk and Richard Wood will be in contact with those members who do not have enough expenses to cover their subscription to discuss options.
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| 28th January 2010 |
| International Congratulations |
| Congratulations to Lee Barron who has been promoted to the FIH Indoor Promising List as a result of this recent successful tournament in Poland. |
| Conference09 round-up |
| The Conference09 round-up newsletter has been added to the website to share with you what went well at the last Conference and what can be improved. Thank you to all those members who contributed feedback as a result of Conference09 and we hope this will stimute interest in anticipation of the next Conference on 4-5 September 2010. ... More |
| 26th January 2010 |
| Leisure Shirts |
| Due to the sudden shutdown of a supplier the supply of Ayres Rock shirts has been discontinued. We are in the process of sourcing a new supplier and will keep you updated. Those of you who already have orders on the system can either cancel the order or wait until a new supplier has been arranged. |
| 18th January 2010 |
| Hosting an umpire exchange |
| At the end of the first half of the season several European umpires were invited to participate in the National Programme. Several NPUA members helped make this weekend a great success by welcoming the umpires, organising the transport, hospitability and much more. Rob Jenkins has shared his experience of this weekend. ... More |
| 13th January 2010 |
| Hamish Jamson promoted to World Panel |
| It is with great delight that we can congratulate Hamish Jamson, who has been promoted to the Men's World Panel.
On this special occasion EHUSP Chair, Paul Box-Grainger, said: ”This is fantastic news and is worthy of a special mention because of its rarity.
”Following the World Cup in Moenchengladbach 2006, Hamish was returned to the World Development Panel – rather than give up, as many would have done after 70+ internationals matches, Hamish re-examined every aspect of his umpiring and was both willing and able to make the adjustments necessary.
”That combination of willingness to change and commitment to the performance ethic has gained him the respect of the umpiring world across the globe and has reflected incredibly well on his own strength of character and the reputation of English umpiring.
”Many congratulations to Hamish, we are all very proud of what you have achieved.”
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| 8th January 2010 |
| Indoor News |
| Due to the adverse weather condiions all indoor is cancelled this weekend (9th-10th January).
This will result in a reorganisation of future dates so the published appointments for 16 - 17 Jan WILL be changed.
The selectors will endeavour to publish these changes ASAP. |
| 5th January 2010 |
| French Umpire Exchange experiences |
| Recently, the NPUA participated in an umpire exchange with France. Matt Harrison and Andy Burnette have written about their experience of umpiring in the another country's national league. It is a valuable insight into how and why such exchanges are beneficial. ... More |
| 15th December 2009 |
| IDG - Men's Report from Lille |
| At the end of October the Men's IDG attended the World Cup Qualifier in Lille and Andrew Kennedy has written a report to share the groups experiences and benefit from being part of the IDG. ... More |
| 11th December 2009 |
| Coaching & Development Administrator (CDA) |
| The NPUA Executive Committee are delighted to announce the appointment of Martyn Gallivan to the post of Coaching & Development Administrator. Martyn takes up the post from the New Year and will be an asset to the continued development of the coaching function within the NPUA. There was an extremely high calibre of applications and we would like to extend our thanks to all the applicants who applied. |
| 10th December 2009 |
| Outdoor Hockey 2009: clarification of interpretation |
| Rules of Hockey 2009: Interpretation of Rule 13.2.h
At its meeting in November 2009, the Hockey Rules Board reviewed the interpretation of part of Rule 13.2.h. The Rule states:
“Procedures for taking a free hit, centre pass and putting the ball back into play after it has been outside the field: from a free hit awarded to the attack within the 23 metres area, the ball must not be played into the circle until it has travelled at least 5 metres or has been touched by a player of either team other than the player taking the free hit.”
The Rule itself is unchanged but the following interpretation of a particular action is added and should be attached as a note beneath the Rule in printed copies:
”It is permitted to play the ball high above the attacking circle so that it lands outside the circle subject to Rules related to dangerous play and that the ball is not legitimately playable inside or above the circle by another player during its flight.”
This interpretation will be applied with effect from 1 January 2010 (ie it will not be applied at any FIH tournaments conducted before 1 January 2010).
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| 8th December 2009 |
| Pictures for the website |
| The NPUA website is always in need of new photos of its membership. As the indoor season approaches please send any photos of your fellow members to the NPUA Secretary, Hannah Sanders. |
| 5th December 2009 |
| Umpire Exchange Programme |
| Keely Dunn was the host to the two Spanish umpires who participated in the National Programme in November, as part of the Umpire Exchange Programme. She has written a report about her experience of the weekend and this can be found in the 'Umpiring Guidance' section of the website. ... More |
| 4th December 2009 |
| Milestone Matches |
| Congratulations to Jane Binner who umpired her 200th game at the weekend. |
| 20th November 2009 |
| Level 3 Umpire Congratulations |
| Congratulations to Eric Dickinson, who successfully passed his assessment to become a Level 3 Umpire and a member of the NPUA. We wish him well in the National Programme.
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| 17th November 2009 |
| Level 3 Umpire Congratulations |
| Congratulations to Kevin Freeman who successfully passed his assessment to become a Level 3 Umpire and a member of the NPUA. We wish him well in the National Programme.
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| Indoor Hockey Rules 2009 - Guidance |
| As the indoor hockey season rapidly approaches, guidance for the new rules has been produced by David 'Tex' Lane. It is well worth a read as preparation for your indoor season.
... More |
| Milestone Matches |
| Congratulations to Andy Higgins and Mark Waller who both umpired their 100th matches at the weekend. |
| Milestone Congratulations |
|  Nick Lockhart became only the third member of NPUA to reach 250 games this weekend. Nick's national league umpiring career has spanned the whole life of the national programme, since its inception back in 1988. Congratulations to Nick, following the match at Loughborough at the weekend. |
| 13th November 2009 |
| International Congratulations |
| Congratulations to Andy Mair who has been appointed to the Men's World Cup in 2010. We wish him every success at the tournament. |
| 1st February 2009 |
| Steelcase Solutions Information |
| Following a number of requests from members for more information about our sponsors, we have added a one page flyer to the website that can be printed and given to any interested parties.
Please take a look and use it to promote and support our sponsors. ... More |
| 26th January 2006 |
| Unusual Travel Authorisation |
|  A reminder to anyone appointed by NPUA, in any capacity, that authorisation for overnight accomodation arranged by the traveller or for taking the option of flying to a match or event must be approved prior to the event by the expenses administrator, Richard Wood.
Failing to get his approval prior to travelling or staying overnight may result in the expense claim not being paid.
No-one else can approve such arrangements. |
| 10th February 2005 |
| International Appointments Expenses |
|  In an attempt to standardise payments across all ”volunteers” in hockey, the following has been agreed with England Hockey.
NPUA will reimburse umpires for travel to and from the airport when travelling to appointments made by FIH, EHF or NPUA. This reimbursement will be on the normal mileage basis if travelling by car or the cost of train travel. NPUA will not refund the costs of taxis or airport parking.
In addition, NPUA will cover 50% of the costs of any visas required to fulfil the appointment, the remaining 50% being covered by the umpire.
This applies to England umpires in international appointments, unless appointed by NPUA. Umpires from other countries should seek clarification from their governing body as necessary. |
