As each member is expected to umpire at some stage of the season, Ger Banks has kindly put together some tips for a non-stressful umpiring experience:

Dress for umpiring

• Good astroturf shoes - stops slipping and helps to prevent muscle injuries.
• Appropriate attire - e.g. dark coloured ‘trousers’, rain gear if weather is dodgy (umpiring when you’re wet is miserable) - AND a jacket/top/jumper which distinguishes the umpire from the teams. One of the yellow luminous cycling ‘jackets’ worn over any top would be fine - or a yellow waterproof jacket or fleece. Avoid a dark coloured top - it is very hard for the other umpire to see you.
• A stopwatch is a good purchase - they don’t cost much - and are much better than trying to time a match with an ordinary watch or a mobile phone ! Either a wrist stopwatch or hand held stopwatch are fine - personally I prefer one on my wrist.
• A card/small notebook and a small pen/pencil for writing down the score are useful - it’s amazing how hard it is to remember the score of a match if there’s been a lot of goals.

Interactions with players

• If a player queries a decision POLITELY, try to give a BRIEF explanation. A training session on the rules should wait till after the game !
• A player who queries a decision IMPOLITELY should not be tolerated - speak to the Captain if this behaviour persists
• The Captain is responsible for his/her team (including the personnel on the sideline - e.g. coach etc) - use them if you are having a problem with a player.

Finally - ignore comments from spectators - you can’t do anything about them, and they probably don’t know the Rules anyway !