UmpireCast

Everyone within NPUA was devastated to learn of the passing of David Collier. A few years ago, David was interviewed by Paul Box-Grainger for NPUA’s 20th anniversary film. We’re releasing that interview in this podcast, to remember David and reflect on his incredible contribution to our sport. He will be greatly missed by everyone within NPUA and the wider hockey family.

Shed in the Sun? Surely not?!? Shed is for when the weather is cold, wet and windy?!?Not for 2 of our members; Rachel Williams, FIH Leading Panel, and Isaac Charles, FIH High Potential Panel, as this week they head off to the Southern Hemisphere for the Nkosi Cup, a PSI Event in Capetown, South Africa.Not sure what the Nkosi Cup is and how they have prepared? Listen in to find out everything about it, including what they do ahead of an Indoor Tournament ...

Ever wondered what is it like to be in the 'Box', clarifying decisions for the 'on field' Umpires?It may be a position that most of us may never experience but probably fascinates the majority of us!Listen to Andy Mair, Olympic & World Cup Umpire and ex-specific VU Umpire, as he tells us what it is like to be in the 'box'.It isn't as simple as it make seem ...

What constitutes a High Performing Umpire (HPU) from a Team Coach Point of View? Knowing the rules? Showing understanding or control?Join Todd Williams, renowned Hockey Coach, ex -International Player and Premier Division Umpire in Australia, as he gives his views as a Team Coach on what he believes make a HPU! Press Play and 'Take Control' of your game ...

How important is Professionalism in our position as a Hockey Umpire?How can it make a difference? What does it portray? Does it earn us more respect?Listen to Dr. Sue Jones, Sport & Exercise Psychologist at PGMOL, as she talks how Professionalism can make a difference to people's psychology in our role as an umpire!**Topic presented and discussed at NPUA Annual Conference 2025**

Both Men & Women play our beloved sport of hockey but do we umpire them the same as one game?Do or should we umpire them differently when the same rules apply?Listen to FIH, Paris Olympic and EuroHockey Men's Final 2025 Umpire; Ali Keogh as she gives her thoughts on how she approaches umpiring both the Men's and Women's game and if she treats them differently or not!

Resilience is one of our Key Characteristics for Umpires. The importance of having it cannot be underestimated. What builds it up and what drains it?Join Hamish Jamson, London 2012 Umpire, MN1 Panel Lead and FIH Umpire Manager, as he gives his take on Resilience and how you can build it and use situations to enhance it, with his 2 Checklists!!!**Topic presented and discussed at NPUA Annual Conference 2025**

The MO is an integral part of our EHL game, be it a TAP (Neutral) Appointed or Home Club Appointed MO.What is the difference having a TAP (Neutral) Appointed and Home Club Appointed MO? Do you deal with situations differently.Join David Ellcock, FIH TD, and David Monger, MN1 Panel Umpire and HPP Panel Mentor, as they discuss the difference and how to manage certain situations with either MO.**Topic presented and discussed at NPUA Annual Conference 2025**EHL Regulations 2025/2026: EHL Regulations 25-26 issued September 2025.pdfCompetition Contacts for EHO:Domestic Leagues And Competitions Useful ContactsNPUA Home Club Appointed MO Document:Guidance-for-Umpires-at-EHL-Games-with-Club-MO-August-2025.pdf

How important is it to mentally prepare for a game? What techniques do you use to do this?Dr. Sue Jones, Sport & Exercise Psychologist, discusses how you can use the technique of Visualisation as a Performance Tool to help you perform to your optimum.Not using it? Then listen to find out how you can ...**Topic presented and discussed at NPUA Annual Conference 2025**

How important is it to communicate effectively in an Umpire Support Role?Are you clear and concise?Join our NPUA Umpire Support Appointments Coordinator and EHF Trainee Umpire Manager, Jonah Hull, as he gives his take on the Umpire Support Key Characteristic, Effective Communicator.

As Umpire Support, do you observe what you are meant too? Are you picking up the key things for development?Join our NPUA Chairman, FIH International Umpire and Level 3 Assessor, Sean Edwards, as he discusses one of our Umpire Support Key Characteristics ... Observer.

'Are You Match Fit? ...'Join Dr. Rob Argent, FIH International Umpire, former NPUA Premier Panel Umpire and qualified Physiotherapist, as he discusses this highly important and debatable topic in the world of 'High Performing Umpires'.Will you change your physical preparation or choose to do something differently? Listen in to find out if or why you should ...**Topic presented and discussed at NPUA Annual Conference 2025**

Is Umpiring at a Tournament different to umpiring week to week?Who else is around and what interactions do they play? The TD? The UM? How does it work?Listen to FIH Pro League TD; David Ellcock, and FIH Umpire Manager; Karen Evans, discuss the working relationship between a TD and a UM at a Tournament so it can be as efficient as possible!

We are back for Part 2 ...Sarah Wilson & Martin Madden, Paris 2024 Olympic Final Umpires, join us to tell us all about their experience at last years Summer Olympics!!Co-Hosted yet again by Paris 2024 Umpire Manager, Margaret Hunnaball, and London 2012 Olympic Umpire, Hamish Jamson.Listened to Part 1 ... now listen to Part 2 to complete the story!

A Bonus Episode of the #rideforjarvy challenge, live with the team as they roll into Jarvy's House from City of Peterborough Hockey Club!Listen for a quick update on how they are all getting on, throughout the challenge and especially on Day 4 as they roll down to London!!!If you are able to donate, then let's get behind them and you can donate by clicking on the link below: #RIDEFORJARVY is fundraising for Help for Heroes#rideforjarvy

How do you progress right to the top of our sport? How can you use this experience to help you reach your potential?Listen to Paris 2024 Olympic Final Umpires, Sarah Wilson & Martin Madden, on how they go to the top and what tips you could use to further develop your career.Co-hosted by Margaret Hunnaball, Paris 2024 Umpire Manager, and Hamish Jamson, London 2012 Olympic Umpire.

After all the planning and training, our #rideforjarvy team is just 1 week out from the go!!!How are they feeling? What is their strategy? How can you support them?Take a listen and see how things are going in the final stages ...

Ever wondered what other competitions you could umpire, other than league hockey to help improve your Umpiring?Ever heard of BUCS?Why not listen to seasoned BUCS Umpires; Crispy Phillips-Adams and Chris Duerden, as they explain what it is all about, how you can get involved and more importantly how this type of hockey could help improve your umpiring!

Episode Number 32 and what have we covered in the first 31? Listen to a round up of what we have done and what you may have missed.We are then joined by some of the Ride for Jarvy Team to give us an update on how the training and everything is progressing for their challenge in just over 50 days time!You can donate to the Ride for Jarvy Challenge by clicking on the following link ... https://www.justgiving.com/team/rideforjarvy

Beyond the English Hockey League is the Euro Hockey League which is the pinnacle of Euro Club Hockey!Free flowing, competitive hockey on the continent. What an excitement! How does this differ from what we do on a week to week basis? What can we learn from this tournament?Join Euro Hockey League Final Umpires, Bex Edwards and Nick Bennett, as they talk about their experience in umpiring the EHL Finals and what others could learn from their experience!

Being either a High Performing Umpire or a High Performing individual in your work life is a great achievement in itself.However, to be both is something exceptional. How is it possible to be both? Can you transfer skills between the two to help the progression of each.Join, Dr. Dan Stewart, FIH Umpire and CEO and Co-Founder of Viridi CO2, to hear how his managed the two and how skills he has learnt in one aspect of his High Performing Life has helped the other!

Without any umpires, there is no game. So how do we keep our Umpires umpiring?Join Liz Pelling, our NPUA Elite Chair, as she discusses the Umpire Support Key Characteristic of being a Motivator.How crucial is it? How can you do it? What effect does it have on the Umpire in their development?Listen in and this episode will hopefully explain everything ...

Are you a 'Game Based' or a 'Rules Based' Umpire? Or even a mixture of both?What does the game need? What do the players think?Join FIH Leading Panel Umpire, Harry Collinson, as his talks through this concept and how he has used it to become an even 'higher performing umpire'.

As the regular season comes to an end, how can we continue to improve our Umpiring Standards? Watch or attend events? Listen to our host Jaime Cox, tell you what is coming up in the next few months , over the summer period, and where you can watch some of our top umpires and pick up tips to continue to improve as a High Performing Umpires!

As Umpire Support, what is you r attitude towards Umpires progression? Do you encourage people to grow and give them the mindset to do this? Can you do it without the mindset yourself?Join London 2012 Olympic Umpire and now FIH Umpire Manager, Hamish Jamson, as he talks about having a Growth Mindset as Umpire Support and how you can help make the Umpires grow and flourish.

How important is it to build relationships as an Umpire Support?Are there any barriers in your way that could prevent you from building these? If so, what are they?FIH Umpire Manager, Dawn Bonner, discusses how building relationships with Umpires and Teams, as Umpire Support, really can add value to what you offer ...

As Umpires and particularly Umpire Support, do we challenge ourselves, stimulate our curiosity or think outside the 'box'?Should we always go with the what we have done?Join Paul Box-Grainger (Box), founder of NPUA and FIH Umpire Manager, as he discusses the Key Characteristic of Strong Advocate for Umpire Support, and how sparking peoples curiosity could be the way forward to improving the game ...

What are the scores on the doors? ...Performance Assessment is what all umpires look for to progress their career. As Umpire Support, how can we make sure we do this in the right way to ensure this happens?Join Richard Kirk to hear how Umpire Support can help conduct a Performance Assessment , to bring the most benefit to the Umpires ...

As the first in our series of Key Characteristics of High Performing Umpire Support, we look at the characteristic of Integrity.Join Ex-FIH Outdoor Umpire Manager and current European Umpire Manager, Jackie Gibbs, as she discusses the importance of Integrity in Umpire Support?What do we add if we do not display Integrity? Why should we be honest in our feedback and debriefs?Give this a listen to see why this may be one of the most important characteristics for Umpire Support ...

The first time you are faced with something new, it could be a daunting prospect. So how do you go about dealing with this? Plan and Prepare?Listen to 2025 Indoor World Cup Umpire, Abby MacArthur, discuss how she planned and prepared for the biggest tournament of her life to ensure that she could perform at her best on the biggest stage ...With planning and prep, you can succeed ...

In the last of our 9 Key Characteristics of High Performing Umpires, we tackle the Characteristic of Poise & Presence.How important is Poise & Presence? Do you have the time? What does your Posture say about you? Are you comfortable in your arena?Listen to Clare White, Women's Premier & Men's A Panel Umpire, talk about all things Poise & Presence and how she manages it to her advantage.

Should we always be watching the ball? Can we add more value as a pair if one watches the ball and the other watches game? Join FIH Indoor Umpire and Men's Prem Panel Outdoor Umpire, Isaac Charles, as he discusses the benefits of watching the game and not just the ball! Is this something you are brave enough to do? ...

On 11th September 2024, the world of NPUA was turned upside down ... when our great member, friend and colleague Mark 'Jarvy' Jarvis suddenly passed away, the weekend after the Annual Conference.We were all shocked and a group of NPUA Members and his daughter, Hannah, have grouped together to complete a Charity Challenge to raise money for 2 Charities that were close to Jarvy's heart!Listen to the group talk about the challenge and how you can support them on their mammoth task as they 'Ride for Jarvy'.You can donate to the charities at the 'Ride for Jarvy' Fundraising Page at https://www.justgiving.com/team/rideforjarvy

What does a High Performing Umpire (HPU) look like from a Player's Perspective? What qualities do the Players see in HPU's and can you employ these traits to help improve your own game? Hamish Jamson, London 2012 Olympic Umpire, joins us as a Co-Host, with a very special guest, to discuss exactly this! Listen in, to see who it is and what they believe makes a HPU ...

In addition to the 2 Umpires at an EHL Game, there is also a Match Official (MO) to help with the smooth running and Management of the game. Have you worked with one before? Do you know how to work with them successfully? Why not join David Ellcock, an internationally recognised MO, to find out how you can get the best out of working with your MO to make the weekend experience a pleasurable one ... :-)

Join us for this Bonus Episode of UmpireCast, Live from the IWC ... Join 3 time FIH World Cup Final Umpire, Lee Barron, as Co-Host and our roving reporter, Robert Brownbridge, live from Porec, Croatia, as they discuss all things related to the IWC this week, especially how our NPUA trio are getting on!!! Listen in now ...

The Aerial Ball is arguably the most debated rule in the sport of hockey. Clear receiver? Interception? Phase 1? Phase 2? Aggressive Receiving? What does this all mean and how can it help you umpire the Aerial Ball? Dan Barstow, Olympic Umpire from Paris 2024, joins us to clarify and explain all of these to help make umpiring the Aerial Ball simpler ... Listen in now to hear his top tips!!

What is Physically Strong? What is Physically Wrong? How thin is the line between the two? ... In this extended episode of UmpireCast, join two of the very best in the world in our profession; Dr. Margaret Hunnaball, Paris 2024 Olympic & FIH Leading Panel Umpire Manager, and Louise Knipe, FIH Umpiring Committee Chair and FIH Leading Panel Umpire Manager, as they discuss the topic of what is physically strong and physically wrong and how you can manage it ... plus a few other tangents around umpiring! :-) This episode is one not to be missed ...

Communication is not just important in life but also when you walk out onto the hockey pitch ... In what ways can or should we communicate? Who do we need to communicate with? What can good communication lead too? ... Join Debbie Garner, our Women's C Panel Lead and NPUA Assessor & Coach (Outdoor & Indoor), as she discusses this important Key Characteristic of High Performing Umpiring ...

Is Umpiring all about the Accuracy of the Decisions that you make?!?! How can we improve the Accuracy of the Decisions that we make? Join Men's Premier Panel Umpire, Dave Monger, to unpack the Decisions and the importance of their accuracy but more importantly, what could contribute to increasing the number that we make and further increase your credibility with the players!!!

Are you calm and composed when under pressure? What happens to your body language and voice when the pressure mounts? Join NPUA Record Breaker, Rob Jenkins, who shares his tips and tricks from his 600+ EHL Games on how to maintain and display your composure in even the toughest situations!

How coachable are you? ... Do you empathise with players? ... Join former NPUA Chair and Deputy Chair, Mark Everard, who joins us to discuss 2 of the 9 Characteristics of High Performing Umpires; Empathy & Coachability. How can empathy help you build trust and relationships with Umpires? Do you take on the feedback that is given to you? Listen in to see how you could improve these 2 characteristics ...

FIH Leading Panel (Outdoor & Umpire) Umpire Bex Edwards to discuss one of the nice characteristics of High Performing Umpires: Game Understanding. What can we learn from all levels of hockey that watch? How can we improve our reading of the game? Listen in to see how this vital Key Characteristic, that is less tangible than others, really can set you apart from the rest ...

How often do we feel we have made a poor decision and it affects the rest of our game?How can we be resilient against any negative behaviour that may try and break us down?Listen to Paris 2024 Olympic Umpire, Hannah Harrison talk about her relationship with Resilience and how it has got her to the top!!

In this episode, we delve into one of our nine characteristics of High Performing Umpiring: Fitness & Athleticism. Robert Brownbridge, Men's Premier Panel Outdoor and Men's A Panel Indoor, umpire joins us to discuss how important this characteristic is in your umpiring tool kit. Does appearance matter? Can your fitness affect your Cognitive Activity? Listen now to see how you can develop your umpiring through your Fitness & Athleticism ...

So you have found yourself in the unfortunate situation that you have had to show a Red Card or give a Misconduct Offence? What next? ... Join Co-Host, David Ellcock, NPUA Disciplinary Officer, and guest, Jo Pennycook, England Hockey Disciplinary Lead to discuss the changes in the England Hockey Disciplinary Regulations and the next steps. Link to the Discipline and Misconduct Page on England Hockey Website: https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/governance/rules-and-regulations/discipline-and-misconduct

Ever wondered who and how our Umpiring Progression occurs? Where do all the Assessors Marks and Coaching Reports get discussed?Liz Pelling, our Elite Chair, and Dawn Bonner, our Conference Chair, join us to discuss the OPC and explain; Who they are? What is their role? How they work? etc.Listen in to find out where and how your weekly umpiring gets discussed ...

Inside 'the shed' ... it isn't just about working as a Group of Umpires. At Indoor, there are many Technical Officials too! Who are they? What do they do? How can you best work with them? Join David Ellcock (International TO) and Lee Barron (Indoor World Cup Umpire) to listen to their take on 'Working as a Wider Team in 'the Shed'' to ensure things run smoothly for everyone ...

In this episode we talk all things Indoor with our NPUA Indoor Chairman and 3 time World Cup Final Umpire, Lee Barron. Listen to how Indoor could benefit your Outdoor Game, why you should get involved and if interested, how you can get involved! Ever given it a go in the Shed? If not, then why not try something new!

In this inaugural episode, we welcome our current Chair of NPUA, Sean Edwards, to discuss all things about the Association ... The Past, The Present and The Future. Sean gives us an insight into what NPUA is all about, the structure in place and the Strategy for the Association. Listen in to find out things you may not have known about NPUA ... :-)