ROE Districts Men’s Hockey Association umpires John Ward and Rodney Thornton have been awarded Department of Sport and Recreation Officiating Scholarships.
The scholarships are part of the Coaching and Officiating Excellence Program aimed at developing and supporting coaches, officials, administrators and practitioner/support personnel.
Ward was the recipient of the scholarship after strong performances at the 2008 Australian Country National Hockey Championships held in Busselton and again in 2009 in Tamworth.
“The scholarship allowed me to attend matches in Perth as part of the lead up to the championships over the past two years and be mentored by some of the world’s best including three time Olympic Umpire, Murray Grime,” he said.
“We are lucky to have an umpire of this standing in Western Australia.
“He is one of only 14 umpires on the World Panel from a group of 208 international qualified umpires so we are fortunate to umpire with and learn from him.
“The opportunity to umpire the top division in Perth, which is home to the Australian Hockey High Performance Program and Australian Institute of Sport Players, ensures we are getting quality matches all of the time.
“It is a great feeling when you walk away from a match knowing that you have done well.
“At this stage I am preparing for the 2010 championships which will be held in Canberra but I will have to wait to see if I am invited back onto the panel again.”
Thornton was also a recipient of a scholarship and is looking to bring some umpire coaching skills back to local hockey after several years of umpiring with the Australian Country Team with two tours to Fiji for the Pacific Cup Tournament and Singapore/Malaysia for last year’s Test Series.
“It is exciting to be umpiring at this level and performing well,” he said.
“Injuries over the past three years have been frustrating, as I have not been able to umpire as much as I would like, both in Perth and locally.
“This has seen me change my focus to an off field role as manager for the Western Australian and Australian Country Teams.
“While this change will see me touring with the Australian Country Team in April next year as the team manager, I am continuing to work on my umpiring as well.
“I have recently completed an accreditation course in Sydney at the Women’s Champions Trophy Tournament with Hockey Australia which allows me to facilitate and access umpires to my level of umpire accreditation.
“This will mean local umpires aspiring to umpire at a higher level will be able to learn a lot of the skill set required without having to travel to Perth.”
Both recipients agreed that the standard of umpiring at every level has a huge impact on the quality of the game.
“I actually find it more difficult to umpire local hockey and juniors than that of the international level” Thornton said.
“I take my hat off to anyone willing to umpire at all levels but especially grass roots hockey. It is not an easy task.”
Ward said they were looking to implement a program in the local men’s association to improve the umpiring with a focus on quality training and performance assessment.
“This will allow for independent feedback to the umpires to assist in them improving,” Ward said.
The Coaching and Officiating Excellence Scholarship Program is a State-wide initiative that provides opportunities for WA’s regional and metropolitan based coaches, officials, support personnel and administrators.
It provides access to education, training, mentoring and professional development to recipients to improve their skills and techniques within their own region or by travelling State- or nation-wide.
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