Newsletter 4/2007 ITF England Umpire Course
Newsletter 4/2007 ITF England Umpire Course
Saturday 27th October saw ITF England run their annual National Umpiring Course, in preparation for the next big competition in England, the ITF England Championships on Saturday 24th November. The course was organised and run by Mr Philip Lear (5th degree), the Tournaments Director, with assistance from Mr Tom Denis (6th degree), the National Team Coach. It took place in the sports hall at Caterham public school, south of London, with many black belts, but also several red belts, in attendance. The course was excellent value, with each attendee paying a small Ł15 fee (which will go into the ITF England funds to help the national team), from which they not only got a whole day of learning about being a Taekwon-Do referee, but also a new ITF England tie each.
Starting at 10am, the morning session saw the theory aspects of Taekwon-Do umpiring being covered, with everyone in their navy blue suits, white shirts and new ties. All aspects of competition and umpiring were covered, from the ring set-up to the point awards in patterns and sparring; from the competition draw to warnings and fouls. There was also ample opportunity for questions and answers to clarify any uncertainties.
The afternoon session started at 1.30pm, after a lunch break, and saw everyone change into their doboks for the practical session. A patterns ring was set up, and the procedure for patterns competition was practised. Two attendees at a time acted as the competitors, while the others took turns being one of the five referees, the JP, or a JM. The competitors first performed optional patterns as best they could, with the referees scoring using official score sheets. Mr Lear then quietly told each competitor some specific mistakes to make when performing their next pattern, as a test for the referees. A deft transition from Joong-Gun to Yul-Gok from one ‘competitor’ highlighted how difficult it is for the referees to notice such mistakes.
The centre referee’s signals during sparring bouts were then practised in groups of three, before a sparring ring was set up. Again, two of the attendees at a time acted as the competitors, while the others practised as either centre ref, corner ref, JP or JM. Everyone got to appreciate just how difficult refereeing can be, especially for the centre ref and Jury President.
The last part of the course focused on refereeing the Power Test and Special Technique events, including the rule changes that allow a step or small slide or skip when breaking.
An excellent day finished at 5pm, with ITF England confident about the umpires for the upcoming championships.
We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday 24th November for the ITF England Championships in Crawley.
