Last season in the Midlands region there were a number of serious problems with the attitude of players to umpires resulting in action being taken and the England Hockey Board needing to get involved.

Many of these issues were the result of players not understanding rules correctly resulting in them disagreeing with decisions made by Umpires. Certainly there were issues resulting from Umpires making errors too and perhaps not quite communicating there reasons properly with players.

With this in mind, the BCHUA (Birmingham Counties Hockey Umpiring Association) are going to be running a number of Umpiring Forums around the area and Sutton Coldfield Hockey Club are pleased to host one of them.

We must all take responsibility for our own actions and attitudes on the pitch (and afterwards) towards umpires and show respect to them and of course to players from our own teams and those we are playing against. Remember the mantra "No Umpires, No Game".

All Club members are welcome, whether they are players, umpires, potential umpires or just spectators wanting to know more. We are also extending this welcome to members of other local Hockey Clubs and would appreciate it if you're planning on coming that you send us an email telling us so that we can ensure there is enough seating etc. Email: comms@suttoncoldfieldhc.co.uk

So please put this date in your diary as a must attend event.

The event will be a couple of hours and the bar will be open for refreshments!

Thursday 18th September in the Clubhouse at 7.15 PM - “Managing the Game”

The evening is a get-together of all Level One Umpires, Umpire Candidates and those who wish to understand umpiring – A must for all Players.

A panel of senior umpires will discuss this issue and answer questions from the members.

The panel will consist of : -

Martin Stott, President of BCHUA, & a NUPA Umpire.

Rob Crosson, MRHUA & BCHUA, Appointment Secretary, Level 1 Umpire Coach & a Grade A BCHUA Umpire

Peter Bell, BCHUA – VP, Level 1 & Practical Assessment Co-ordinator & Club Development Officer and a Level 1 Umpire Coach.

Last season the (Men's) Club fared rather poorly in hospitality & behaviour tables towards umpires and we need to address this problem. Everything you read about in Club reports is about playing the game but nothing about umpiring, which is a common feature in all clubs. However, No umpires - No game.

The evening is scheduled for Thursday 18th at the clubhouse, starting at 7:30 hosted by Peter Bell and two MRHUA umpires. The bar will be open.

The evening is aimed at both players (to understand rules and decisions) and umpires (to raise and discuss scenarios and rules).

We would like a good turnout to take advantage of this opportunity to discuss playing issues in a social environment rather than on the pitch.