Association of Cricket Officials | Page 28

Educational Development Progress update and new appointment… I am delighted to inform you that just a short while ago, Sue Drinkwater was appointed to the role of Scorer Education Manager (SEM). This is a new position and vital to our way forward. Sue will be leading the way with all things educational on the scoring front, and presenting new initiatives and progress reports to the Scorer’s Subcommittee (SSC). As mentioned in the editorial in the front of the magazine, it is an exciting time for scorers and scoring. There is work in progress for the online version of our Level 1 scorer course (recently relabelled 'Club Scorer'). This is a first for ECB ACO and further information will be detailed by the SEM. It is presented as an addition to, not in place of, current tutorled and correspondence courses. Scorer Observer and Assessor seminars are currently being rolled out throughout the regions in order to build our work force. Verifiers will also be in action to ensure the correct criteria is being adhered to, and that observers and assessors are of a high standard. It will obviously take time to build the pyramid so that we train the required numbers. There will be occasions when these ‘officials’ will have to travel out of county. Nothing can be achieved overnight and we are certainly working hard in order to have the right people in the right places, wherever possible. This is another giant step forward, so that we can spread the load and not rely solely on the amazing few who are the backbone of our association. We are planning to hold roadshows across all areas, with the intention of engaging with the current scorer population who are not already members. Our aim is for County Scorer Officers (CSOs) to identify their local cricket clubs – ideally focus clubs – and encourage them to invite anyone they wish to attend from their surrounding leagues etc. I am aware that this idea has been mooted previously; however, the SSC now has a small working party putting together various ideas, combined with a good dose of enthusiasm! The recently circulated questionnaire will not only give us general feedback, but also specific reaction to the idea of ‘Grading for Scorers’, similar to that of umpires. I do hope that you have taken the time to check it out and respond. We greatly value and wish to hear your opinion. There will be more scope for appointments this coming season. Many invitations will come direct; however, some may be routed via your CSOs/Regional Scorer Officer (RSOs). We hope to be able to give appropriate opportunities across the board for anyone wishing to progress. As in the recent past, we will be appointing to MCC YC, MCCU, ECB age group matches and school festivals, plus corporate events. Another age group has been added to the London Schools Cricket Association's annual event at Oundle School, so we can now offer appointments to even more scorer Young Officials (YOs). The dates are: • Under 15s 24th–29th July • Under 12s 31st July–4th August • Under 14s 8th–12th August. We also have the JP Morgan day on Saturday 18th June and the MCC Corporate event on Thursday 8th September. Both are to be held at Lord's. If you are interested in any of these please contact me, preferably by email –[email protected] I have been asked by quite a few colleagues why there are not more photographs of scorers published in the magazine. Well, that's up to us really. If we make an effort and get some taken, then submit them to the editor (with or without full text), and maybe we can even out the balance! Ensure your cameras are packed along with all your other equipment and get someone else to do a bit of clicking. Let's see what we can come up with. I shall certainly be out and about with mine and see who I can capture on film. Have a great season. Sue Jones National Scorers’ Officer An Introduction from the Scorer Education Manager Hello to all the scorer members of ECB ACO (and also any umpires who are reading this). I would like to introduce both myself and, more importantly, the new ECB ACO role of Scorer Education Manager (SEM). My name is Sue Drinkwater and I am privileged to be the first person appointed to the role of SEM. My aim in this role is to co-ordinate the provision of scorer training material and to enable the large team of dedicated scorer tutors scattered throughout the ACO to train and mentor as many scorers as possible. Together, we will make sure that scorers count! The scorer tutors among you will already be familiar with some changes that have been made at the start of the scorer pathway. • The first level of scorer training is now available as an e-learning course, increasing our training options and potentially reaching out to a whole new set of scorers. I look forward to telling you more about this in the future editions. • The e-learning and base level of scorer training is now called Club Scorer, which reflects the scorers that make up the bulk of our membership. • 28 The testing process has been removed from Club Scorer training in all forms and replaced by observation, assessment and professional discussion. What does all this mean to your existing qualifications? Don’t worry, they are still a valid part of the scorer pathway. If you hold a Level 1 certificate, this now equates to a Club Scorer certificate. If you have a Level 1A certificate, this equates to Club Scorer Level 1. Both of these qualifications can lead you further up the scorer education pathway, if that’s where you would like to go. As well as passing information out to you, I hope that this will become a two-way process and that you will communicate with me. Improving our skills doesn’t have to occur in a formal environment, and I thought that including some scoring tips in the magazine might be o