Sunday January 13th 2008 there were 25 participants in the umpire courses of the I.T.F. the Netherlands. 16 new referees were educated in the sparring rules and 9 participants - experienced referees - were update about the newest facts on umpiring. A lot of these umpires will be participating in the International Umpire Course in Koln, next March.
This courses was conducted by Patrick den Hoed, 3rd Degree and Harry van Schaik, 5th Degree of the umpire committee of the Netherlands. Good new item were that the idea of learning from aside will be a new thing to investigate. This means to let young or less experienced referee be part of the umpire team just to watch and see what they decide during competitions. A good tool to let people grow and get more involved of competition as an umpire.
Harry van Schaik
Umpire Committee ITF Netherlands