The Barbados Hockey Federation, in association with the Barbados Olympic Association and the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) hosted an umpires' workshop for local umpires, during the recently concluded Barbados Tri-Nation Invitational Women's Hockey Series, held from June 28th to July 1st 2018, in Barbados. The workshop was facilitated by PAHF Umpires Committee Chairman and International Hockey Federation (FIH) Trainer, Mr. Roger St. Rose.
St. Rose, a stalwart of World Hockey from Trinidad & Tobago and former World Panel umpire, introduced participants to modern concepts and trends in Hockey, covering the FIH Hockey Revolution, as well as key concepts such as fitness, umpire psychology, team work, interpretations, match flow and facilitation, rules application and technical match management.
Over the four days of the workshop, St. Rose also held sessions with local umpire coaches and mentors and stressed the need for encouragement of new umpires and creating positive environments for umpires to succeed, given the demands placed on umpires in the sport.
Participants ranged in experience from beginners to practicing and retired international umpires and also included some veteran local umpires.
Matthew Williams, a local umpire and attendee commented, "The umpires workshop with Mr St. Rose was very informative and interactive. The workshop showcased the importance of umpiring standards and the key role umpires play in the development of hockey."
Local upcoming international umpire Shane Lewis, who will be heading to Colombia to umpire at the CAC Games later in the month also took part in the workshop. Lewis added, "It was educational, insightful and certainly exceeded expectations in terms of delivery. It highlighted the key role that officials play in successfully globalizing sports and further emphasized the need for persons to be as update as possible with regards to trends in modern-day umpiring."
St. Rose, who was also acting as the Umpires' Manager for the Tri-Nation tournament, introduced a template for local umpire training and grading, which the BHF will be working closely with him to implement.
Participants: Gina Belle, Justin Taitt, Kofi Hinds, Matthew Williams, Richanne Gaskin, Shane Lewis, Jamar Springer, Brian Burrowes, Ashlee Neblett, Andrea R. Nichols, Roger D. Broomes, Shaquille Callendar, Bertram Corbin and Corliss Boyce.
