In August 2012 the Chinese Hockey Association asked the FIH to assist by sending two Umpire Managers to assist in conducting Men’s and Women’s Umpiring Courses, which were to be held in conjunction with National Men's and Women's Tournaments in Beijing (CHN).
The Men’s Tournament took place September 24-29 and the Women’s October 16-21. The two Conductors, Amarjit Singh (MAS) and Sarah Garnett (NZL) recount their experiences from both the Course and watching the Games:
On the men’s side, Amarjit was particularly impressed with the hospitality of the Chinese, who provided excellent accommodation, meals, transportation and other logistics to make the course run smoothly. On the field, Amarjit found the Chinese National League to be keenly contested with a high umpiring standard. The umpires that took part in the course were eager to learn and there was a lot of interaction in the daily courses.
ne new twist for the Chinese umpires was the new ‘own goal’ rule, and the use of video umpire. While at this particular Tournaments there were only two cameras available, one at each end of the pitch for video umpire, it was a good introduction for the Chinese National Games, which will include more camera angles when it is held in Dalian in 2013.
On the women’s side, Sarah attended the women’s event with 10 participating national teams. She came away particularly impressed with the quality of the facilities, especially an indoor full-sized artificial grass pitch.
The course itself had 29 participants including nearly all the FIH international level umpires and focused on how to help umpires manage and control games, including tips for high-level umpires. The participants were presented with the new 2013 rules and a Video Umpiring briefing.
Overall, the support for all of the Umpires, Judges, TOs and TDs from the Chinese Hockey Association is strong, and it is clear that the association is keen to help their umpires improve. Some new National Umpires with potential were identified. The importance of good English was stressed for all Officials, since it will help their own development, understanding of Briefings and ability to interact with other Officials at Tournaments.
Overall, it was a successful week, not only for the participants, but also for the course leaders who had a chance to experience hockey in a different culture.
