Essex Cricket in the Community is proud to have introduced a new Umpioneers Programme to inspire women and girls into becoming cricket umpires.
Last winter, saw over 100 women umpire and score their own indoor hardball and softball cricket games. With this success, the Umpioneer Programme was officially launched on the evening of 27 April with 32 women attended an introductory session.
“The amount of cricket that females are playing across the county is growing at a great speed and it is vital we have the support to officiate all the games. We hope this programme will build the confidence of women to get involved with the game in a different way” explained Women & Girls Operations Manager, Natalie Samaranayake. Adding, “It is our aim to grow this programme so we would welcome any sponsors that would like to partner with us to help develop female leaders in this way.”
Women and girls from a variety of backgrounds got involved in activities, such as teaching and playing in softball cricket leagues, exciting all into being keen to know more about the laws of cricket.
Angela Tuff and Tracey Murphy, both well-known umpires in Essex, and Steve Davis, an ex-international umpire ran the evening; discussing umpire signals, no ball, run outs, wides, LBWs and boundaries. The women and girls then had the opportunity to ask Angela, Tracey and Steve about their experiences as umpires.
The evening was a wonderful success, and the women were very enthusiastic about what they had learned.
We hope that some of the women will now go on to do their ECB accreditation with the aim of running a female level 1 course before this season ends, to give themselves the opportunity to try out their new umpiring skills before the winter. The programme will also give the women access to Umpioneer mentors who can help them through their training.
For more information around this programme email [email protected]
