Crowborough is always keen to help develop young umpires. In the 2022-23 season, we had nine young umpires officiate at County tournaments. We had further young umpires helping at club festivals and attending the Beacon-based umpire practical training sessions. It was excellent to see Will qualified this year at L1 (joining the excellent Annie) and young umpires Harry, Grace, Freddie, Rosie and Annie all umpiring league games. We are massively proud of the huge contributions our young umpires make to the club.

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Now in 2023-24 we are encouraging young players to join the Sussex County program to continue (or indeed start) their amazing development. Anyone aged between 11-19 is incredibly welcome to join in. Umpiring is fun! It gives you a full understanding of the rules and a great overview of this fabulous sport. You will develop excellent communication skills, superb collaboration skills with your fellow umpire - and it enables those playing the matches to do so in a fair, safe and supported environment. You may also consider umpiring as part of your D of E - as a skill or a way to volunteer.

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We have some super experienced adult umpires her at Crowborough who are always happy to umpire alongside you and guide your journey. This season Brett and Julie ran a shadowing session, Amanda introduced new umpires to the basics with a clubhouse session, Fraser paired with new young umpires in league games, plus Julie and Keren travelled to county events to mentor the young officials from across the County.

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As a first step you may wish to do the free 7-A-side umpiring session available on the England Hockey Hub. If you are 14 or over you can find the L1 online course via the hockey hub also.

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Interested? Contact me (Vicky) and I can help you start your journey.