Club Commitments

The Auckland Hockey Association assigns umpires to all Premier hockey matches and the club is required to provide an umpire for all Champ hockey matches.

This means that most weeks each team will be required to provide a player or coach to umpire a team in a lower grade as assigned by the Umpires Officer.  If a team fails to meet their umpiring duties a $40 fine will be issued.  This fine is to cover any costs and inconvenience caused in organising another umpire with no notice.

If your allocated umpire did not show up or you have an issue with your teams umpiring allocations please contact the Umpires Officer (umpires.officer@auhc.org).

Training and Rules 

The first place to start is familiarise yourself with the rules of hockey by reading the FIH 2011 Rule Book which can be downloaded here.

Asking your coach or other AUHC members is also a good way to learn about umpiring.  If you are new to the club or are unsure who to ask email the club President who can arrange an informal umpiring discussion at training.

The Auckland Hockey Association hold several training sessions, usually at the beginning of the season, for players that wish to learn the basics of umpiring and for experienced umpires that wish to improve their skills.  These events will be advertised on the AUHC home page or you can contact the club Secretary to register interest for the next training session.

Simple Tips

• Know the rules.
  This is pretty self explanatory.
  
• Be confident - Blow the whistle!
  It is better to blow the whistle and be wrong than to not blow the whistle and let ugly play develop into dangerous play.  If you're really unsure about what to call, give the ball to the defence. If in doubt, left arm out. 
• Have a good whistle.
  Players need to be able to hear your whistle from all over the field so make sure it is a good one.  The whistle of choice for many umpires is the Fox 40 which can be purchased from Just Hockey.  If you don't want to buy one ask around and see if you can borrow one.
  

Auckland Hockey Umpires Association

The AHUA is always looking for members that want to umpire outside of their club commitments. Email info@akhockey.org.nz for information about becoming an AHA umpire.