Officiate
Netball is the number one team sport played by women and girls in England and with interest in the sport growing at an unprecedented rate the need for Officials to service the game at every level has never been more important.
Below you’ll find lots of useful areas to help you with your officiating journey, whether you’re just starting out or as an experienced official.
All Officiating Courses are now delivered directly by England Netball, with support from the Region and Counties for mentoring and assessment, the details of which are below. The contacts for your local County Officiating Lead can be found below.
Into Officiating
Aim
To introduce the rudiments of umpiring a netball match at junior/youth/adult level in a club environment.
Who can attend?
Young people (from 13 years of age) and adults who have had no experience of umpiring. This course is mandatory prior to attending a C award course.
Course duration:
Online 4 hours (2 x 2 hours)
Mentoring & Assessment details
Learners will be required to attend the course and then undertake a practical assessment.
Contact your County Officiating Lead for more details on how to receive mentoring and completion of assessment (see above).
C Award
Aim
To prepare umpires with knowledge of rules and umpire competencies / protocols to umpire at either junior / youth and adult club level.
Who can attend?
Young people (from 14 years of age) and adults who have attended and passed the Into Officiating course.
Duration of the course
Course Duration
: 3 hours (online 2 x 1.5 hours)
Mentoring & Assessment Details
Learners will be required to attend the course and then undertake a written assessment followed by a practical assessment. You can contact your local County Officiating Lead with the links above.
B Award
Aim
- Improve their current knowledge of the rules
- Improve umpiring skills
- Identify the requirements for the Netball Europe B Award
- Prepare trainee ‘B’ umpires for the assessment, which is a prerequisite to applying for the test
Who can attend?
Any qualified umpire who has achieved the C Umpiring Award or who holds a B award qualification who has been out of umpiring for a while.
Duration of the course
Course Duration : 3 hours online (2 x 1.5 hours)
followed by a 2 hour tutor led practical session
Mentoring & Assessment Details
Along with attending the course, learners will be required to undertake a written assessment. (Additional course is provided by Europe Netball to support the written assessment)
Mentoring continues through the County Officiating Leads, with the Region undertaking the assessment. You can contact you County Officiating Lead using the links above or contact our Regional Officiating Lead
here.
A Award
Aim
To prepare ‘B’ Umpires with knowledge of rules & umpires competencies to umpire at regional & national level.
Outcomes to be achieved on the course
- To gain a clearer insight into technical aspects of umpiring, including rules, interpretations
- To develop their observation, concentration and communication skills including clearer insight into umpire protocols• To gain a clearer insight into technical aspects of umpiring, including rules interpretations on obstructions, contract advantage and umpire protocols
What to expect ?
Bench Officials
Match Bench Officials Course
Bench officials are integral to the smooth running of any match. Without the proper training it will be difficult to achieve all that is needed to properly score and time the match. To this end, England Netball has developed a Bench Officials Qualification.
​More information can be found on the England Netball Website or contact East Midlands Officiating Lead
Officiating Technical Support Group (TSG)
The Officiating TSG consists of the Regional Officiating Lead, as Chair, and the County Officiating Lead from each of our five counties.
Our aim is to provide the best umpires available to support the regional competitions and the development of netball within the region. The Counties and East Midlands Netball remains committed to the development of officials and will continue to provide mentoring to learner umpires. We will strive to provide the best service at each stage of an official’s journey.
We meet four times a year. Our remit is to keep abreast of any changes within officiating from England Netball and disseminate accordingly. To provide appropriate umpires for division 1 of the Regional Senior League and the Regional rounds of school’s tournament, U16 and U14 tournaments and regional play offs. We co-ordinate and manage any B Award assessments.
If you have any officiating question, please do not hesitate in contacting us.
