Umpire Kit

The Shirt

After consultation, the illustrated shirt design was chosen as something to appeal to all age ranges.  The idea was to ‘capture’ as much of the Club colours as possible without, of course, clashing with the playing colours.  The main body of the shirt is Electric Lime (despite the photograph), with Navy Blue diagonal flashes and collar, and with (some) white lettering.  The umpire’s surname is printed in Navy Blue high on the back.

The shirts will be provided at no cost to qualified umpires who have officiated in excess of three matches for the Club.  All that is required is your shirt size and the correct spelling of your surname.

 The Trousers

In an effort to create some uniformity (and be in line with England Hockey requirements), it would be ideal if all umpires provided themselves with black trousers.  A practical suggestion is to get cargo trousers, for a couple of reasons.

First, with a lot of pockets, it helps to distribute everything you need to carry (score sheet & cards) so that they are readily available as circumstances dictate.  With your score sheet in one front pocket (usually written on one side of your yellow card), the green card can be in another and the red (for occasional use!) in a rear pocket.

Second, the Umpire Radios that we use need to be clipped to a belt, not stuffed into a jacket or tracksuit pocket.  The small white connecting cable can be damaged easily, and keeping it loose avoids this problem.

You can get good cargo trousers quite easily and reasonably cheaply (or someone else can, if lost for ideas for Christmas or birthdays) from places like Mountain Warehouse (but wait for the ‘sales’).

If you want something a bit warmer for the depths of winter, Craghoppers do lined cargo trousers for around £40.  Men’s Kiwi Winter Lined Trousers – Black | Craghoppers UK.  Alternatively, Morrisons do cotton cargo trousers a little cheaper and the all-important elasticated belt.

 Radios and Earpieces

The use of radios has made a very positive impact on the standard of umpiring in the game.  With both umpires in communication, they can help each other in tricky, fast-moving situations.  This, hopefully, makes the game better for the players as a result.

A few of our current umpires have their own radios (usually a pair) and the Club has purchased four individual ones from the same source – www.mci2.co.uk.  These come complete with the following:

1x V6 (umpire) radio / 1x Airtube earpiece / 1x USB charging cable / 1x Case

And, importantly, a set of instructions!  They are, in fact, easy to use – the instructions can also be found on the MCI2 website under “Documents”.

These sets typically cover the Club’s requirements on match days but, if you wish to buy your own, prices are published on that website.

However, in the interest of hygiene, the Club will provide an earpiece to new umpires who wish to have them.  Replacements can be bought directly from MCI2.