MCC Laws and the ECB ACO Education Portfolio
At the time of going to press, ECB ACO is eagerly awaiting publication by MCC of its extensive review of Laws of Cricket. This should be finalised by the end of March and the Laws are scheduled to be introduced worldwide from 1 October, coming into effect for the UK for the 2018 season. At the same time, MCC intends to introduce an online Laws course, together with an assessment of knowledge. This course will give ECB ACO the freedom to complement it by concentrating more on field craft and match facilitation.
ECB ACO has taken this opportunity to establish a small task force of David Bird, Eddie Lunn, Rob Smith and Mark Williams, under the chairmanship of Education Manager Glyn Pearson, to review its suite of education courses and resources to be introduced at the same time as the new Laws. The task force was given the remit of designing the courses to attract new umpires and members, while maintaining the integrity of the education programme.
The task force identified four levels of education with a nomenclature reflecting the level of knowledge covered in each.
These are:
Club Umpire – This is designed to give an overview of the basic Laws of the game and how to apply them, and introduce the principles of field craft and match management. It will give the tools to enable someone to umpire matches at the basic recreational level where there are no independent umpires appointed.
League Panel Umpire – This course is designed to give candidates further knowledge and skills to enable them to become members of league panels, and is available for all members who have attended the Club Umpire course. It is intended that candidates can either take this immediately after completing the Club Umpire course or wait until the next training season, as appropriate. The course will complement Club Umpire by looking beyond the basic Laws, build-on field craft and match management techniques, and introduce the concept of working, as a team, with a colleague.
The Club Umpire and League Panel Umpire courses are intended to replace the existing Levels 1 and 1A.
Premier League Umpire – This is designed for experienced umpires who aspire to stand at the highest level of league cricket, and is available for all members who have attended the Club Umpire and League Panel Umpire courses. As well as the interpretation and application of Law, it also covers the management of the match, the field, and the players on it. Man management and other practical aspects are also covered. The course is also suitable for those umpires who, although not aspiring to Premier League cricket, still want to develop their skills to be the best umpire they can be. It can also be used as a set of continuing professional development( CPD) modules for anyone looking to refresh or hone their skills.
Advanced Recreational Umpire – This is the course for those who wish to stand at the highest levels of recreational cricket, and is available for all members who have attended the three earlier courses. It puts together all the knowledge and skills needed to become a confident, well-rounded umpire. It can also be used as a set of CPD modules.
The task force is liaising with other sports with a view to using resources from other areas of generic officiating skills. It is also acknowledged that ECB ACO needs‘ joined up thinking’ with MCC and that both bodies must work together to ensure a consistent approach, and to avoid duplication.
Another exciting development is that the task force is working with the ECB IT Department to provide online versions of all courses to complement the face-to-face versions. This will be extended to include a suite of online CPD modules for members who want guidance on a particular aspect of their game.
Although the Club Umpire will be available to everyone as part of the philosophy of‘ education for all’, attendees will be encouraged to join ECB ACO. A separate set of generic tutor notes and resources has been produced to cover the benefits of membership.
Obviously, some further amendment will be required to the materials to incorporate the changes to MCC Laws, once these are published.
A series of familiarisation sessions for both the revised Laws and the new education portfolio are being arranged by Regional Education Officers and will be run in October for existing and potential new tutors.
These are exciting times as we strive to make the ACO’ s education portfolio( both face-to-face and online) the best it can be.
email us at ecb. aco @ ecb. co. uk contact us on 0121 446 2710 11
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