Durham Cricket Board Association of Cricket Officials have released weekend Stage One and Stage Two Umpire courses for the first time.
The weekend courses are ECB certified and fit the content of the regular four-session course in two days – on Saturday and Sunday – to suit people with busier schedules.
The courses are ECB certified and fit the content of the regular four-session course in two days – on Saturday and Sunday – to suit candidates with busier schedules.
The new provision was planned after a surge of interest in this year’s Umpire Education Programme. With a fully booked out Introduction to Umpiring course in October, the Association’s reach has expanded massively in comparison to last year when DCB ACO appealed for more people to “give back” to the game as lack of umpires was evident in the 2016 season.
The weekend Stage One course takes place on 24 and 25 November and the weekend Stage Two course will run on 1 and 2 December.
Candidates who book on the Stage One course are offered the Stage Two course at a special discounted rate of £10 (usually £30).
Here is more about the courses:
It's Your Call – Umpire Education Stage One
This is designed to give you an overview of the basic Laws of the game and how to apply them and introduce the principles of field craft and match management. It will give you the tools to enable you to umpire matches at the basic recreational level where there are no independent umpires appointed.
It's Your Call – Umpire Education Stage Two
This course is designed to give you further knowledge and skills to enable you to become a member of a league panel and is available if you are a member and have attended the Club Umpire. It will complement that course by looking beyond the basic laws, build on field craft and match management techniques and introduce the concept of working, as a team, with a colleague.