Join a Brisbane Mens Masters' Hockey competition today!

Everyone involved in the game of hockey, at any level, understands that the game needs qualified umpires but the number of umpires who want to perform this valuable service has been declining over the years. Brisbane Masters has, since 2015, taken an active role in developing initiatives to assist the development of new umpires. This started with a player umpiring mentoring scheme in 2015, and since 2016, has been replaced by the awarding of umpiring scholarships which run for two (2) years.

The inaugural umpiring scholarship was awarded for the two years 2016 and 2017 and since then three (3) young umpires have completed their masters umpiring scholarships and a further two (2) will be in their second year in 2019. All have developed well and have continued to umpire Masters games, as well as games in other Brisbane competitions which remains our ultimate objective. Brisbane Masters Committee is committed to continuing this program and will again offer a new scholarship for the 2020-2021 seasons and nominations are invited from Clubs and Master's clubs/teams. Nominations can be forwarded to Brisbane Masters Hockey committee via the BHA Secretary. Additional information and a nomination form can be found online via this link.

This program is designed to not only benefit the Masters Competition but the Brisbane Competition in the longer term. We are looking to invest a substantial amount of money and the time of senior qualified umpires to train one or more promising umpires across each two-year scholarship period, to HockeyEd Level 1 standard and provide representative opportunities at State and potentially National Level.

Funding has been raised by the Masters Committee and is seen by the committee as a way to actively demonstrate that Masters are committed to putting something back into the game for the future benefit of all players. However, there is an equal responsibility by the umpires to commit to and meet the particular requirements of the scholarship.

We have been very encouraged by the success achieved to date by the umpires themselves but also the general acceptance and appreciation by the players within the Masters competition. We are again seeking nominations through the clubs for another candidate for the scholarship period 2021-2023. Nomination forms will be distributed to Clubs by the BHA Secretary and are also available from Brisbane Masters Committee and Club representatives.

The nomination date is usually in February of each year and it is expected the successful nominee will be announced in early March to coincide with the season start. Your Club Committee Members know what is required and all clubs will be contacted through these members and the Brisbane Hockey Association. If you have a young person aged between 17 & 21 (ideally of driving age or having a reliable way to regularly get to and from masters games on Tuesday nights). Although some umpiring experience is advantageous it is not mandatory. The key attributes are a good learning attitude and a desire to develop the skills of umpiring as a complementary extension of their hockey career. A brief resume to accompany the form is useful to the selection process.

We want the clubs to be involved so the individual nomination forms should come through their club to the Masters Committee Secretary, Ian Harcla

(iharcla57(at)gmail(dot)com ) or via the BHA Secretary. Additional information and a nomination form can be found online via this link (Google Docs). After opening the document in your browser using the above link you can download it via the the Google Docs File menu using the "Download as" option.

Rod Hurst