Umpires Update – Bowls New Zealand Umpires Committee (BNZUC)

  • May 26, 2020
Introduction
It has certainly been a very interesting time over the last couple of months as we cope with an entirely different world and way of life.  This is an ever changing world but it has also given opportunities to think about the way we do things and the Umpires Committee looks to embrace some changes in the way we do things also.

Spotlight On Di Burton
Di became a bowler seven years ago after being encouraged by her husband, a bowler of 30 years. She joined Tauranga South and is now an avid bowler.
In 2019 she undertook the umpire’s tutorials. She realized that the umpires “getting older” and thought she could fill a need for younger umpires. Now she is hooked, and has even given up playing in her Championships Singles and Centre Singles to umpire them.
She decided that she had spent ten weeks getting this qualification and she was going to use it.

Di has been involved in sport all her life and was an athletics representative for both Waikato and Bay of Plenty and also has ballroom dancing and Latin American dancing medals.  Now gardening, sewing and garden art make up her hobbies.
 
Di enjoyed the course and learning about the laws. She said that she had a very good tutor who made the explanations on the laws very simple and the whole experience was an enjoyable one.
So if you see Di on the greens of Bay of Plenty say hello to her.
Good luck for your umpiring career Di.


Di receiving her umpires certificate from Neville Canute

Laws Corner

  1. A Toucher is in the ditch beside the jack. AS non toucher comes to rest on the rink resting on the toucher. Is this bowl live or dead?      
  2. The bell rings to stop play during bad weather. One team decides to stay on the green.  What happens to the bowls on the head and still to be played for the rink where players have stayed when play resumes.
Umpires Examinations 2020 
With the lockdown of all bowling clubs the exams have been disrupted for this year a little. However, the umpires committee do not believe that some tuition cannot proceed using a video link such as Zoom or Teams. The theory side of the course can be done as usual like this and the one person measures can also be adequately demonstrated also via video. Yes, the two person measures and finer points will need access to a green and mats and jacks but lots of practice can be done at home with equipment and two balls or bowls and a plum etc . The Umpires Committee members will be happy to conduct exams at a time to suit you throughout the rest of the season. So get your thinking caps on and come up with ways to make this work. This may be one of the best things to come out of Covid-19 as we change our thoughts.

Tutors Workshop
An online tutor’s workshop will be held in July to assist the tutors. It will be done as a Microsoft Teams meeting and one session will be held on Wednesday 22nd of July starting at 7.00pm and another (the same workshop) on Saturday 25th July, commencing at 10.00am. Please let us know if you would like to attend one of these so we can send you the link to the correct meeting and instructions to join.   We would like this to be a shared experience- believe it or not we all have the same issues and if we can share experiences and solutions it has to be for the betterment of all umpires.

Umpires Quiz
Have you done the quizzes for umpires on the Bowls NZ website? They have attracted some comments on the Bowls NZ Umpires Facebook page questioning whether the answers are correct- every one checked so far has been correct so maybe we all need to check out the law book a bit more carefully.
More quizzes are in the pipeline for umpires and also some designed  for players and markers.. 

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Laws Corner Answers:

  1. The bowl is live as it is at rest on the top of a bowl which is live (Law 17.4)
  2. If an end has started but all the required bowls have not been played, it must be declared dead. (The end must be declared dead even in one or more players choose to remain on the green during the stoppage).