If you are interested in being an Umpire, then the club will fund your journey into Umpiring. It's well worth it, without Umpires, hockey matches cannot happen and Umpires are paid £20 per match to umpire.

The first step is simple: sign up on the England Hockey Umpiring Website here. This is the general England Hockey hub, where all learning takes place.

You can find information about booking the online rules course here

This will get you to Level 1 Unassessed. This lets you umpire our Junior games (Badgers/Beavers) and Women's Development games.

Once your confidence and experience are at a level you are ready for, one of the club's assessors will assess a game you Umpire. This will move you to Level 1 Assessed. This lets you umpire all of our club games.

You only umpire the games you volunteer for, you are never forced to umpire a game you don't want to, or feel that you aren't ready for.

All games are set up in the club's Umpiring WhatsApp group. Please talk to Viv Lake or Kyle Hatch to get access.

Equipment

Once you've passed the test, you'll need to purchase some equipment yourself. The best place to start is the England Hockey Hub. They have an official shop found here. You will as a minimum need Cards, a whistle and a watch. It's not advised to use a phone but an actual wristwatch, as an example.

Inside the shop, you can link to the England Hockey Officating Clothing Store for Tops, Coats, hoodies, and other useful equipment.

If you're looking for a more cost-effective option for tops, we can recommend Joma Tops

Remember When officiating, remember to check the away team's top; they maybe playing in their own home or away kit. If you're unsure, check with the Bolton Captain to make sure your top doesn't clash. Standard colours are Yellow, Orange, Light Blue & Green, but anything fluorescent and non-clashing should suffice. Ideally, you and your colleague will match.

Another note: it's a good idea to have a baggy version for winter, so you can wear it over a coat or waterproof. A good hat and gloves are also advised for when it's wet and windy.

Radios
Bolton Hockey Club does provide umpiring radios. They are secured within the outdoor equipment cupboard within the red lock box. The code for the lock box is available upon request.

We ask that umpires using the headsets be aware of personal hygiene and give the earpieces a clean upon returning the headsets to the lockbox. Some cotton buds and a wet wipe are very useful.

If you wish, you can purchase your own headset plugs that are compatible here.