In February 2017, long-time and now-retired Kookaburra Simon Orchard published a scathing op-ed lambasting top-level umpires who “severely lack the ability to consistently apply, enforce or define” the rules of the game. Seven months later, the Irish Hockey Umpires Association withholds their services to competitions in their country including their premier EYHL. These two incidents are two heads of the same coin, illustrating the fundamental problem facing modern umpires: we must somehow achieve a level of professionalism in our performance without professional pay.
The bulk of Orchard’s argument consisted of three vague and intangible examples of unacceptable performance areas. We aren’t accountable, we have poor communication skills, and we react emotionally in games. Add to that apparently we don’t even know the rules, and I'm left to wonder if umpires do anything right.
All of these complaints can only be addressed by changing the support available to the umpires individually and as associations. Sorry, I
This is exactly what the IHUA strike is about. In addition to some degree of payment for matches, the IHUA is looking for a four-year plan that will address the umpiring crisis in that country, and the funding that kind of program would require.
Just a quick review for the three non-umpires out there reading this. Your umpires fall into three rough categories.* They could be volunteers who pay out of their own pocket to get the games and also give up their time. They could be volunteers who get their expenses covered to some extent via a stipend but still give up their weekends, weeknights and holidays to make sure you get a match. Last, they could be volunteers who get all their expenses paid but still give up their time, also known as international umpires.
That’s right: the top umpires in the world are still volunteers.
(* Some of you may have heard of the fabled American NCAA umpire who is paid north of $150USD per match plus their expenses, which could include a flight, and think that’s
Now, as a player, you know how critical coaches are to your development. No matter how keen you are at self-analysis, or how motivated you are to practice your dribbling in the backyard, having a coach to provide regular feedback, ideas, and techniques for improvement and working with your teammates on a continuing basis on an agreed outcome and goal is necessary.
By the way: our coaches are volunteers in those three categories, just like us.
Why is this a problem?
You might be thinking, “look, mate. Money is tight. We pay through the nose for our pitch time, our coaches, our uniforms. We give up the time too. And now we have to find more money for umpires?”
To be blunt; yes you do.
When your umpires are volunteers, you are automatically restricting your pool of people to those who are wealthy enough in time and money to be able to support themselves in their hobby. It’s not a coincidence that many of the world’s top umpires are in professions like law and sales which pay
Who do we miss out on because umpiring is just too expensive of a hobby for many, and surely too expensive to get good at?
Your next question might be, if we don’t get paid at our level as players, why should our umpires?
Because you demand they perform at a level of a professional.
Every week, we are expected to give our top-notch performance, by Simon Orchard and every single person with a stick who's ever been on a pitch. Preferably don’t make any mistakes, or if we do, none that detract from or “decide” the game.
“Make a mistake, and get chastised from pillar to post, pinned to the wall by pundits and players until your next match. Make no mistakes and just disappear into the background.”
That’s a grand hope: be perfect so as to be non-existent!
Don’t get me wrong. Every one of us would love to be able to execute on this plan, at least the part where we don’t make any mistakes. Despite what you may think, not a single umpire in the universe rocks up to a pitch and thinks, “I cannot wait until I can get out and royally screw up this game for everyone! Woohoo!”, and skips out of the clubhouse with errors dancing through their head.
We want to be amazing, and we strive for it. Just like you do. The difference is that when you’re playing, you’re not expected to be perfect. You don’t get told that the one pass you mishandled in the 7th min. decided the scoreline. Clearly not; the butterfly effect of the thousands of decisions and actions occur in a game make that a ridiculous notion.
Why is all common sense lost when it comes to umpires?
We'll agree to be held to high standards. However, when those standards are set without support being provided, you find your league, your association, your country in an umpiring crisis where no one will step forward and pick up the whistle. Young people especially are being crushed from all sides with a new economic reality where they must make hard choices, and volunteering for abuse isn't going to win out over jobs. Coaching and support services like video analysis and educational resources must be funded so the means can match the desire for excellence.
Umpires simply must be compensated for their time and resources. Doing so allows them to reinvest their resources back into their performance and thus into the game itself. Everyone wins.
Even Simon Orchard.
(This article appeared in the Hockey World News, Edition 2 October 2017)
